Atletico Madrid tightened their grip at the LaLiga summit after cruising to a 5-0 win over rock-bottom Eibar at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Los Colchoneros' bid for a first top-flight title since the 2013-14 season had faltered in recent weeks, but just a second win in six games keeps them a step ahead of neighbours Real Madrid. This result meant Real stood four points behind Atletico heading into a clash with Getafe later on Sunday.

Diego Simeone's home side were poor for much of the first half, yet Angel Correa struck twice shortly before the interval to give them a healthy lead.

Yannick Carrasco and Marcos Llorente added gloss to the scoreline in the second half as Atleti extended their unbeaten home run over Eibar to seven matches.

Despite a dismal start, which did not herald a shot until the 34th minute, Atleti went in at the break two goals to the good.

Correa opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, prodding in at the back post after Hector Herrera headed on Kieran Trippier's corner.

The man who made the breakthrough grabbed a second goal just two minutes later, superbly turning Anaitz Arbilla after collecting Carrasco's pass before slotting past Marko Dmitrovic from close range for his sixth goal of the season.

The hosts extended their advantage four minutes after the restart, Carrasco latching onto Saul Niguez's long ball over the top, rounding Dmitrovic and rolling into an empty net.

Correa turned provider for Atleti's fourth in the 53rd minute, his low pull-back into the middle of the penalty expertly dispatched by Llorente into Dmitrovic's bottom-right corner.

Llorente scored his 11th LaLiga goal of the season in the 68th minute, controlling Carrasco's pass before firing a half-volley past a hopelessly exposed Dmitrovic as Atleti sealed all three points in style.

 

Jamaican winger Leon Bailey scored two goals and had an assist as Bayer Leverkusen blanked Cologne 3-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Rangers ended Old Firm rivals Celtic's Scottish Cup dominance and took a big stride towards completing the double with a 2-0 victory at Ibrox.

Steven Davis opened the scoring with an acrobatic strike and a first-half Jonjoe Kenny own goal put the Premiership champions well on course for the last eight.

There was no way back for the Hoops, who had lifted the trophy in the previous four seasons, and Allan McGregor saved Odsonne Edouard's penalty as they suffered a first defeat under caretaker boss John Kennedy.

Victory for Rangers ensured they have won three and drawn one of their four clashes against their fierce city rivals in what has been an outstanding season.

Davis gave Rangers the lead in style in the 10th minute, volleying in from close range when Joe Aribo's deflected shot looped up invitingly for the midfielder following a sharp turn and incisive run from Ryan Kent.

Edouard shot straight at Allan McGregor after creating space for himself in the Rangers penalty area, then Callum McGregor's drive deflected over the crossbar and Stephen Welsh somehow failed to finish as Celtic pressed for an equaliser.

Steven Gerrard's side doubled their lead 12 minutes before half-time, though, with Aribo conjuring up some trickery to beat Diego Laxalt before crossing from the right and Kenny turned into his own net attempting to prevent Kent from slotting home.

Celtic should have reduced the deficit when Mohamed Elyounoussi was superbly denied by Allan McGregor and Edouard volleyed wastefully over following up.

The Gers keeper did brilliantly to race off his line and thwart Elyounoussi soon after, the Celtic forward letting himself down with a poor first touch after Edouard set him up.

Allan McGregor then dived to his right to keep out Edouard's spot-kick 11 minutes from time after Aribo was adjudged to have fouled Leigh Griffiths, which summed up Celtic's afternoon.

 

Europe's top leagues and UEFA have vowed to do everything in their power to block a so-called European Super League and urged others to boycott what they describe as a "cynical project founded on the self-interest of a few clubs".

In an emphatic response to media reports, UEFA together with the English Football Association (the FA), Premier League, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), LaLiga, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Serie A have joined forces in attempt to quell the Super League.

They reiterated a pledge to ban teams from other competitions if they take part in the Super League, while FIFA's threat of barring players from the World Cup was also alluded to.

French and German clubs were also thanked for refusing to sign up to the tournament, meaning neither of last season's Champions League finalists – Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain – are set to be involved.

The statement read: "UEFA, the English Football Association and the Premier League, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and LaLiga, and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Lega Serie A have learned that a few English, Spanish and Italian clubs may be planning to announce their creation of a closed, so-called Super League.

"If this were to happen, we wish to reiterate that we – UEFA, the English FA, RFEF, FIGC, the Premier League, LaLiga, Lega Serie A, but also FIFA and all our member associations - will remain united in our efforts to stop this cynical project, a project that is founded on the self-interest of a few clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever.

"We will consider all measures available to us, at all levels, both judicial and sporting in order to prevent this happening. Football is based on open competitions and sporting merit; it cannot be any other way.

"As previously announced by FIFA and the six federations, the clubs concerned will be banned from playing in any other competition at domestic, European or world level, and their players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams.

"We thank those clubs in other countries, especially the French and German clubs, who have refused to sign up to this. We call on all lovers of football, supporters and politicians, to join us in fighting against such a project if it were to be announced. This persistent self-interest of a few has been going on for too long. Enough is enough."

Bayern Munich's board has voiced disapproval at head coach Hansi Flick for announcing he intends to leave at the end of the season.

Flick revealed in a television interview after Bayern's 3-2 win at Wolfsburg on Saturday that he has asked Bayern to terminate his contract, which is due to expire in 2023.

The 56-year-old also declared that taking over as Germany boss when Joachim Low steps down later this year is "an option", but no talks have been held with German Football Association (DFB) officials.

However, Bayern released a statement on their official website on Sunday questioning the timing of Flick's comments, with the Bavarians still embroiled in a Bundesliga title race.

"Yesterday, FC Bayern head coach Hansi Flick made public his wish to terminate his contract, which runs until June 2023, at the end of the current season," the statement, on behalf of the Bayern company board, read.

"Hansi Flick had informed the FC Bayern Munchen AG executive board of this wish during the past week.

"Hansi Flick and FC Bayern had agreed to place the focus on the matches against VfL Wolfsburg, Bayer 04 Leverkusen (20 April) and 1. FSV Mainz 05 (24 April), in order not to disrupt the concentration of the whole club on these three important matches.

"FC Bayern disapproves of the unilateral communications issued by Hansi Flick and will continue talks after the match at Mainz, as agreed."

Flick replaced Niko Kovac as Bayern boss in November 2019 and won a Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League treble in his first season at the Allianz Arena.

Bayern have added to that with three more major trophies this campaign, and another Bundesliga title is likely to follow as Flick's side are seven points clear at the top with five games to go.

Flick's announcement came amid suggestions of a strained relationship behind the scenes with sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.

Former Germany assistant manager Flick has won 67, drawn eight and lost six of his 81 games in charge of Bayern.

Ruslan Malinovskiy's late effort consigned Juventus to a 1-0 defeat at Atalanta and struck a blow to their chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

Only four minutes remained of Sunday's Serie A contest when Malinovskiy's effort deflected past Wojciech Szczesny to secure the points for Atalanta, who leapfrog Juve into third place in the table.

The Bianconeri were without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and his absence was acutely felt as Andrea Pirlo's side lacked a cutting edge in attack.

Juve have now drawn three and lost one of their games in Serie A this season where Ronaldo has been absent.

Returning substitute Mauro Icardi gave Paris Saint-Germain a remarkable 3-2 win at home to Saint-Etienne on Sunday to significantly boost the champions' title hopes.

A perplexing encounter was goalless until the 77th minute when Denis Bouanga had Saint-Etienne in front and PSG, beaten in their previous three home Ligue 1 games, facing defeat again.

Kylian Mbappe levelled just 84 seconds later, though, and then won and converted a penalty to seemingly win the match and close to within a point of leaders Lille, held by Montpellier on Friday.

Yet that was far from the end of the drama, with an awful error from stand-in goalkeeper Sergio Rico gifting Romain Hamouma a 92nd-minute equaliser.

Saint-Etienne had just three more minutes to see out to protect a point but allowed Icardi, back after a month out with a thigh strain, to reach Angel Di Maria's cross and nod in to spark jubilant celebrations.

Adelaide United missed the chance to go top of the A-League but at least avoided suffering defeat as they fought from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Sydney on Sunday.

It looked as though Adelaide were on their way to a second loss in four games, as Bobo rounded off a lovely move to open the scoring in the 19th minute, before doubling his tally early in the second half with a simple finish into an empty net after Kosta Barbarouses wasted a one-on-one situation.

But United pulled one back 15 minutes from time, Jordan Elsey turning in a left-wing cross, and Tomi Juric's fierce strike a few moments later restored parity.

Adelaide might have gone on to seal the win and subsequently leap above Melbourne City, who went top on Saturday with a remarkable 7-0 derby win over Melbourne Victory, but Rhyan Grant brought Craig Goodwin down as the last man to earn a straight red deep into stoppage time.

Just outside Sydney, Macarthur were held to a 2-2 draw by the Newcastle Jets, whose club-record winless streak was extended to eight games.

But just as they did last week against Perth Glory, the Jets showed character to fight back from behind, with Charles M'Mombwa and Loic Puyo putting Macarthur 2-1 up after Roy O'Donovan's penalty had initially put the visitors in front.

Steven Ugarkovic equalised just before the hour mark with a gorgeous 20-yard effort and that ultimately salvaged a point.

The day's late game was similarly entertaining and did yield a winner as Wellington Phoenix beat Glory 3-1, with all goals coming in the second half.

Ben Waine caught Glory goalkeeper Luke Reddy out of his net for the first, only for Joel Chianese to equalise two minutes later with a stunning effort, picking out the top-left corner after slaloming between a couple of defenders.

But Louis Fenton tapped in to make it 2-1 with 66 on the clock and Jaushua Sotirio - released by the lively Ulises Davila - showed great composure to seal the win and boost the Phoenix's outside chances of reaching the Finals.

Milan kept some pressure on Serie A leaders Inter as they cut the gap at the top of the table to eight points with an unconvincing 2-1 win over Genoa.

Ante Rebic's superb 13th-minute opener appeared to put Milan on course for a routine win, but they made heavy weather of things thereafter.

Former Milan loanee Mattia Destro levelled before half-time and the Rossoneri required an own goal from Gianluca Scamacca to claim maximum points.

Inter can stretch their lead at the top back to 11 points by beating Napoli later on Sunday, but Milan's slim hopes are still alive, while this result is another step towards making sure of Champions League qualification.

Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin had not been tested in the opening 12 minutes but he was left with no chance when Rebic unleashed a stunning volley on the turn to find the bottom-right corner in style after the visitors failed to clear having initially blocked Theo Hernandez's effort from a free-kick.

But Milan were unable to build on their lead and saw it eradicated by an excellent header from Destro eight minutes before half-time as he lost his marker to meet Miha Zajc's corner.

Rebic spurned a golden chance to restore Milan's advantage but could only blaze over from point-blank range after excellent work from Pierre Kalulu.

Marko Pjaca threatened to complete the turnaround for Genoa as he came off the bench and shot narrowly wide and Simon Kjaer should have done better with a header at the other end.

However, Milan were given a helping hand by Scamacca, who inadvertently diverted Hakan Calhanoglu's corner into his own net in the 68th minute.

They required late defensive heroics from Kjaer and Fiyako Tomori to stay in front as they each produced goal-line clearances to deny Andrea Masiello and Valon Behrami and keep Milan hanging on Inter's coattails.

 

Lothar Matthaus expects Julian Nagelsmann to replace Hansi Flick at Bayern Munich and believes Jesse Marsch will be the next RB Leipzig boss.

Flick on Saturday announced he wants to leave Bayern at the end of the season and has made no secret of his interest in succeeding Germany head coach Joachim Low.

Matthaus thinks Flick will land the Germany job, with Bayern moving for Leipzig's 33-year-old coach Nagelsmann.

Bayern and Germany legend Matthaus envisages Leipzig turning to Red Bull Salzburg's Marsch to fill the void if Nagelsmann is appointed as boss of the European champions.

He told Sky: "My opinion is: Flick to the DFB, Nagelsmann to Bayern and Jesse Marsch to Leipzig."

Matthaus added: "Of course, Bayern didn't speak to Julian Nagelsmann directly, but started the conversation with Julian Nagelsmann's side and I'm still standing by that today.

"I am convinced that Julian Nagelsmann will succeed Hansi Flick. He wants to take the next step."

Matthaus believes Marsch would be a shrewd appointment if Leipzig are in the market for a new coach.

"He would be a good guy for the Bundesliga," said the ex-midfielder.

"Nagelsmann would be satisfied. Marsch would be satisfied. I can imagine that going in this direction, but there are contracts that have to be respected."

Matthaus thinks it is only a matter of time before Flick agrees terms to take charge of his country.

"Now the talks will get serious. He will succeed Joachim Low. Everyone knows him at the DFB. Everyone likes him at the DFB."

Antoine Griezmann accepts Lionel Messi's future is "not in our hands" but hopes Barcelona's inspirational captain can be convinced to remain at Camp Nou.

Messi was in typically brilliant form with a brace as Barca hammered Athletic Bilbao 4-0 to win the Copa del Rey on Saturday, the Blaugrana's first trophy under Ronald Koeman.

Griezmann had started the rout with the opening goal on the hour, with Frenkie de Jong doubling Barca's lead.

Messi's future at Los Cules, where he is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, remains the subject of debate with his contract up in June and Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain still rumoured to be interested in putting together a lucrative deal for the Argentina great.

Newly-re-elected president Joan Laporta spoke of his hope that Messi, who tried to engineer a move before the start of the campaign, will stay put and Griezmann echoed those sentiments.

"I think he's good here, we'll see what happens," Griezmann said in quotes reported by L'Equipe.

"It is not in our hands.  It is he who will decide, but we are proud and happy of the have with us and hope he will stay."

Griezmann joined Barca from Atletico Madrid in a big-money deal ahead of the 2019-2020 campaign. The Copa triumph represents the first trophy since he joined Barca but LaLiga success remains a realistic prospect, with only two points separating Koeman's third-placed side and leaders Atletico Madrid.

"I am very happy and very proud," he added. "I have been in the Spanish league for 10 years and I had not won the Copa del Rey.

"It's a relief, for the club and for me too, he said. There have been ups and downs since I arrived, sometimes negative comments, sometimes unfair, but it's like I have always worked and with the team we were focused on this game since we knew each other in the final."

Raheem Sterling has lost his place in the Manchester City starting line-up prompting fresh speculation.

Phil Foden has taken Sterling's role with devastating effect, including scoring the winner in their midweek Champions League triumph over Borussia Dortmund.

Sterling's contract talks have also been shelved for the season, fuelling the rumours.

 

TOP STORY - REAL REIGNITE RAHEEM INTEREST

Real Madrid have reignited their interest in Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling according to the Daily Star.

Sterling is contracted with City for another two seasons, putting them in a strong position to hang on to the England international with a reported £80million price tag.

But regular football and the lure of Madrid could be compelling for Sterling who joined City from Liverpool in 2015 for £44m.

 

ROUND-UP

-The Daily Star reports that Paul Pogba's agent Mino Raiola has informed Manchester United that he will only re-sign for a mammoth £500,000-a-week contract. Interested clubs Juventus, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have also been informed of his wage demands.

-Adama Traore will be offloaded by Wolverhampton as they seek to raise funds for their off-season recruitment reports Football Insider.

-Mundo Deportivo claims that Tottenham are keen to sign Real Betis defender Emerson, having shown interest last off-season.

-Manchester United are homing in on 18-year-old Metz midfielder Pape Sarr according to The Sun although they will face plenty of competition.

The New York Red Bulls let slip a lead to lose 2-1 to Sporting Kansas City on the opening weekend of the new Major League Soccer (MLS) season.

Caden Clark had put the Red Bulls up with a spectacular goal early in the second half but last season's Western Conference top spot finishers hit back.

Gadi Kinda netted a 59th minute penalty with Hungarian forward Daniel Salloi putting KC ahead barely 60 seconds later with a simple close-range finish.

New York City were also opening day losers, blowing a 1-0 lead to go down 2-1 at D.C. United.

City, who reached last season's play-offs, went ahead on the quarter hour from Valentin Castellanos.

But United responded by taking the lead before the interval with a sensational long-range drive from Brendan Hines-Ike and another from Russell Canouse, coming from a perfectly executed corner routine.

 

10-man Revolution hit back, Pato debut

Last season's semi-finalists New England Revolution fought back from two goals down to claim a thrilling 2-2 draw away to Chicago Fire.

Revolution, who were reduced to 10 men in second-half stoppage time after a DeJuan Jones red card, trailed 2-0 after 11 minutes following goals from Robert Beric and Luka Stojanovic.

Polish attacker Adam Buksa and Gustavo Gou netted in the following 15 minutes to level the match.

New England debutant Edward Kizza should have scored the winner when he struck the crossbar with an 87th minute header.

Victor Wanyama was among the goals as Montreal eased past Toronto 4-2 in their Canadian clash, while former Brazil international Alexandre Pato debuted for 2020 quarter-finalists Orlando City who had a scoreless draw with Atlanta United.

However, Pato limped off in the 80th minute with an apparent knee issue which will have Orlando sweating on scans.

Los Angeles FC started the new season with a solid 2-0 victory at home over newcomers Austin with goals from Corey Baird and Jose Cifuentes.

Nashville fought back from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Cincinnati thanks to Randall Leal's 64th minute long-range curler, while Dallas and Colorado also played out a 0-0 draw.

 

Premature substitution

LAFC coach Michael Bradley admitted he "might have jumped the gun" when he accidentally subbed off star Mexican attacker Carlos Vela in the 22nd minute after he waved in his direction. In hindsight, Vela was calling for treatment from a trainer after picking up a knock.

 

Teenager's special strike

The Red Bulls went ahead when 17-year-old midfielder Clark fired in a superb volley out of mid-air. The teenager appears a star in the making.

 

Saturday's results

Montreal 4-2 Toronto FC
Orlando City 0-0 Atlanta United
Los Angeles FC 2-0 Austin
Sporting KC 2-1 New York Red Bulls 
FC Dallas 0-0 Colorado Rapids
DC United 2-1 New York City FC
Chicago Fire 2-2 New England Revolution
Nashville 2-2 Cincinnati

 

Galaxy in Florida

There's three games on Sunday including a glamour fixture between David Beckham's Inter Miami against his former club Los Angeles Galaxy.

Ronald Koeman has revelled in his first title as Barcelona head coach but set his sights on clinching the LaLiga crown.

Barcelona lifted the Copa del Rey with a 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in Saturday's final, marking the Dutchman's first title since taking over at Camp Nou in August.

The Catalans lost the Supercopa final to Bilbao in January and exited the Champions League in the last-16 to Paris Saint-Germain.

Barca are firmly in contention in the league, sitting third, two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid in a three-horse race with Real Madrid too.

"To win a title is important for me," Koeman said. "Despite the changes at the club and the young players, at Barca you have to always fight for trophies.

"We have the first one and now we are going to fight to the last game in La Liga."

Saturday's victory was earned with four second-half goals, with Antoine Grizemann breaking the deadlock on the hour mark.

Frenkie de Jong doubled their advantage on 63 minutes, before a Lionel Messi rounded out an emphatic win which Koeman said they deserved.

"A result like this is not normal, but we deserved the cup," Koeman said.

"It took us a bit to score, but we had chances. Our possession has been good and after 1-0 we have dominated the game with great football in every way."

The 58-year-old former Netherlands coach also heaped praise on De Jong and Messi for their leading role.

"De Jong and Messi are great players: Leo has been proving for so many years that he is the best in the world, he has returned to being effective, but we must also highlight Frenkie and the whole team," Koeman said.

"We have been at an extraordinary level. We deserve this cup."

Lionel Messi hailed the special achievement of captaining Barcelona to another trophy as president Joan Laporta backed the superstar forward to sign a new deal with the club.

The 33-year-old scored twice in Saturday's 4-0 Copa del Rey final victory over Athletic Bilbao after Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong had given Barca a two-goal lead.

With that double, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner made it a record nine goals in 10 appearances in the final of the competition to overtake Athletic great Telmo Zarra.

He has now scored the fourth most goals ever in the competition (56), meanwhile, behind Guillermo Gorostiza (64), Jose Samitier (69) and Zarra (81).

Messi's future remains a hot topic of debate with his contract due to expire at the end of the season, potentially making this seventh Copa triumph his last for the Catalan giants.

Barca were made to wait until the hour mark to find a way past opposition goalkeeper Unai Simon, but Messi is glad his side's patient approach to breaking down Athletic paid off.

"It's nice to lift a title. It's a very happy day for this group," Messi said. "It is very special to be the captain of this club. It is a very special cup for me to lift.

"We knew Athletic played this way, with a solid 4-4-2. We had patience with the ball and created spaces. We moved a lot in the first half and I think they fell in the second half.

"Not being able to celebrate it with our people, it's a shame. The situation is what we have to live in. The cups are always special and people enjoy them a lot."

Barca have enjoyed an upturn in form since the turn of the year and are two points off top spot in LaLiga, despite defeat to Real Madrid in last week's Clasico.

"It was difficult for us in the first half of the year. We lost a lot of silly points," Messi added. 

"Then we became strong, very good, and we got into the title fight. Last week, unfortunately, we couldn't get a good result from the Clasico."

Messi, who has now hit 30 or more goals for Barca in 13 successive seasons, has been touted as a possible target for Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

However, recently elected club president Laporta remains confident that the Argentina international can be tempted to stay at Camp Nou beyond the end of this season.

"Leo is the best in the world, he is deeply rooted in the club," Laporta said. "I am convinced that he wants to stay and we will do everything in our power to make him stay.

"Today we have seen that he is supported by a great team."

The victory at Estadio Olimpico de la Cartuja marked the first piece of silverware won by Koeman since being appointed by Barcelona last August.

And like Laporta, Koeman is hopeful Barca's improved performances in 2021 will be enough to persuade Messi to put pen to paper on fresh terms.

"I hope it is not the last Messi's cup match with us, we want him to continue with us," Koeman said at his post-match news conference.

"You never know if it has been Leo's last final because it is he who must decide. As the president says, we will do our best to make him stay. 

"He has proven, once again, to be the best in the world. With enormous effectiveness, he has led the team."

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