Carlo Ancelotti's side had been imperious as they thrashed rivals Barcelona 4-0 at the Camp Nou in the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Wednesday. Yet they could not build on that momentum as they fell to a defeat that left them on 59 points in second place and opened the door for Barcelona to go 15 points clear at the summit if they beat Girona on Monday.
* Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane struck a late winner in a fiery 2-1 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday to boost his side's hopes of a top-four finish. Victory kept Tottenham in fifth place with 53 points but they have played a game more than Manchester United in fourth and Newcastle United who both have 56 after wins on Saturday.
* Erling Haaland netted a brilliant bicycle kick as he scored a brace on his return to Manchester City's starting lineup after injury in a 4-1 Premier League win at bottom side Southampton on Saturday to keep the pressure on leaders Arsenal. City remain second on 67 points, five behind Arsenal after 29 games of the 38-game season, with the Gunners set to take on Liverpool on Sunday. Southampton are bottom on 23 points, four behind Everton in 17th.
* Frank Lampard got off to a losing start on his return as interim Chelsea manager on Saturday with the Blues beaten 1-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers and still looking toothless in the Premier League. Chelsea great Lampard's appointment was announced on Thursday after Graham Potter paid the price for a string of poor results which left the team 11th and with a Champions league quarter-final away leg at Real Madrid looming next Wednesday.
* Leicester City's relegation plight worsened as they suffered a 1-0 home defeat by fellow strugglers Bournemouth on Saturday, their seventh defeat in eight Premier League games. They were booed off at the end of a dismal display which left them second-from-bottom with 25 points. Bournemouth moved up to 15th place with 30 points.
* Newcastle United moved back up to third in the Premier League with a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Brentford on Saturday after Ivan Toney missed a penalty for the London side for the first time in his career. Newcastle's fifth consecutive win moved them up to 56 points from 29 games - the same as Manchester United who beat Everton 2-0 earlier on Saturday - but Eddie Howe's side have a superior goal difference.
* A first-half own goal gave West Ham United three vital points in the battle against relegation as they beat Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage in their Premier League clash on Saturday. Having started the day among four clubs on 27 points, including third-bottom Bournemouth, the Hammers overcame Fulham's dominance in possession to secure a win that lifts them to 13th spot on 30 points.
* McIlroy's bid for a career Grand Slam officially came to an end for another year on Saturday when the Northern Irishman failed to make the Masters cut. Needing only the Green Jacket to complete a set of all four major titles, McIlroy's fate was pretty much sealed on Friday when he signed for a second round five-over 77 to leave him at five-over for the tournament.
* Borussia Dortmund struggled to a 2-1 home win over Union Berlin thanks to teenaged substitute Youssoufa Moukoko's second-half winner on Saturday to stay within striking distance of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich. Dortmund's victory lifted them to 56 points, two behind Bayern and five in front of Union, who are third, with seven matches left in the campaign.
* An unstoppable 25-metres strike from defender Matthijs de Ligt handed Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory over Freiburg on Saturday. The Bavarians, who face Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-final first leg next week, had been beaten at home by Freiburg 2-1 in the German Cup last eight on Tuesday.
* A Paulo Dybala penalty and a superb defensive performance gave AS Roma a 1-0 win away to Torino on Saturday that lifted them to third place in the table and boosted their hopes of a spot in next season's Champions League. Jose Mourinho's side are on 53 points with nine matches left in the campaign and are one point ahead of fourth-placed AC Milan.
* Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Mattia Zaccagni scored as Lazio put on an attacking masterclass to beat Juventus 2-1 at home on Saturday as Maurizio Sarri's side consolidated second place in Serie A. Lazio have 58 points, five ahead of AS Roma in third with nine matches left in the campaign. Juventus, who are fighting for a place in the top six, are seventh with 44 points, four points behind Atalanta, who occupy the final European qualification spot.
* Lionel Messi scored one goal and set up another for Sergio Ramos as Paris Saint-Germain won 2-0 at Nice on Saturday to restore their six-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table and ease the pressure on coach Christophe Galtier. A win for nearest challengers Lens on Friday had cut PSG's lead at the top of the table to just three points before this game, and before the top two meet in Paris next weekend.
* Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic beat Rangers 3-2 in the Old Firm clash to move 12 points clear of their rivals at the top as Kyogo Furuhashi scored twice at Celtic Park on Saturday. Celtic held on for their 11th straight victory in the Premiership as Ange Postecoglou's side moved up to 88 points from 31 games ahead of second-placed Rangers on 76.
* Thirty-one years after his 1992 championship at Augusta, Fred Couples became the oldest player ever to make the cut at the Masters at 63. Competing in his 38th Masters, Couples has hit 23 of 28 fairways and averaged better than 290 yards off the tee through two rounds. His 31 made cuts at Augusta rank third on the all-time list.
* Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology has returned to the Egyptian Premier League after being absent for one round of matches in the competition due to financial problems. VAR went missing after last month's international break, and Gamal Allam, President of the Egyptian Football Association, acknowledged there was a problem with late payments to Spanish company Mediapro who supply the technology in Egypt. However, the video system returned for Al-Masry’s 1-0 victory against Haras Al-Hodood on Friday.
* Al-Hilal's faltering bid to retain their Saudi Pro League title has suffered another blow with a 3-0 defeat at third-placed Riyadh rivals Al-Shabab with Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, battling it out for the championship. Al-Hilal, who had Colombian midfielder Gustavo Cuellar sent off in the 76th minute, conceded three second-half goals that leaves them in fourth spot, eight points behind leaders Al-Ittihad and seven off Al-Nassr with eight matches remaining.
* Chess will crown a new world champion when Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren begin their battle on Sunday in the shadow of incumbent Magnus Carlsen, who voluntarily relinquished the title he held since 2013. Russia's Nepomniachtchi will compete under the neutral flag of the world governing body (FIDE) when he takes on China's Ding for the vacant title and a €1.2 million (US$1.31 million) winners' prize in the best-of-14 contest in Astana, Kazakhstan.
* The race walking team event, which will make its debut at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, will comprise a male and female athlete covering the marathon distance in four legs of almost equal measure, according to the format released on Saturday. Governing body World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee agreed on the format, saying the marathon distance of 42.195km was selected owing to its "existing popularity in athletics and link to the traditions of the Olympic Games". The event will feature 25 teams and each athlete will complete two legs of just over 10km.
