The victory saw Barca leapfrog Atletico Madrid into second place on 16 points, two behind leaders Real who they meet in three weeks’ time at the Camp Nou. Atleti are third on 15 after drawing 0-0 at Real Valladolid on Sunday.
* Juventus ended Inter Milan's perfect record in Serie A and took over top spot as Gonzalo Higuain's superb late strike earned a 2-1 victory in the San Siro on Sunday. Juventus moved top with 19 points to Inter's 18 and it was a deserved victory in an absorbing contest.
* Second-half substitute Robert Beric struck late to give St Etienne a 1-0 home win against bitter rivals Olympique Lyonnais in Claude Puel's first game in charge with Les Verts on Sunday. Beric found the back of the net in the final minute to lift St Etienne up to 13th in the standings on 11 points, two points and one spot ahead of Lyon, whose winless streak in the league stretched to seven games.
* Newcastle United's Matthew Longstaff enjoyed a dream Premier League debut as his goal earned his side a 1-0 home victory over Manchester United to move them out of the bottom three on Sunday. The 19-year-old, playing in midfield alongside his older brother Sean, clipped the bar with a dipping first-half effort but made no mistake as he beat David de Gea with a sweetly-struck low drive after 72 minutes.
* Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot outclassed a field including two Olympic champions to win the men's 1,500 metres at the world championships on Sunday after taking silver two years ago. The 23-year-old had a huge lead at the bell and never looked in danger over the final lap as he strode home in three minutes 29.26 seconds, more than two seconds clear, to claim Kenya's fifth straight win in the event.
* World number five Jon Rahm of Spain carded a five-under 66 in the final round of the Spanish Open to finish with 22-under overall, winning by five shots to defend his crown in Madrid on Sunday. The victory made Rahm the quickest Spaniard to win five European Tour titles in his 39th start - 10 fewer than former Ryder Cup captain Seve Ballestros, who has a record 50 tour titles to his name.
* Nerves affected Manchester City in their surprise 2-0 defeat at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, according to manager Pep Guardiola whose side are now eight points behind leaders Liverpool after eight matches. The former Barcelona boss, who has won the last two Premier League titles, said his belief in his team remained unshakeable despite them suffering a second loss in four games.
* Nikoloz Basilashvili avoided becoming an early casualty at the Shanghai Masters when the Georgian 15th seed was forced to fight back from a set down to beat Moldova's unseeded Radu Albot 4-6 6-1 6-3 and move into the second round on Sunday.
* Chelsea closed in on the Premier League's top four and their in-form striker Tammy Abraham scored his eighth league goal of the season after an excellent first-half performance helped them to a 4-1 win at struggling Southampton on Sunday. The result lifted Chelsea into fifth place on 14 points from eight games, behind fourth-placed Leicester on goal difference, while Southampton stayed 16th on seven points, one point above the relegation zone.
* Borussia Moenchengladbach fired five goals past a hapless Augsburg to win 5-1 and go top of the Bundesliga on Sunday. RB Leipzig, Freiburg, Schalke 04 and Bayer Leverkusen are also on 14 points in what is shaping up to be one of the tightest title races in recent years.
* Austrian top seed Dominic Thiem overcame a sluggish start and clawed his way back from a set and a break down to beat Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 6-4 6-1 in the final of the China Open in Beijing on Sunday. The win secured Thiem's fourth title of the year after triumphs at Indian Wells, Barcelona and Austria.
* Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos is a doubt for his side's crunch La Liga match against Barcelona later this month after hurting his thigh in his side's 4-2 win over Granada on Saturday. A statement from Real said Kroos had injured his left thigh muscle but did not say for how long he would be out, while Spanish media reports said he would be out of action for three weeks.
* Japan's Naomi Osaka fought back from a set down to beat Australian world number one Ash Barty 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the final of the China Open in Beijing on Sunday. It was world number four Osaka's second title in the Asian swing after clinching the Pan Pacific Open in Japan last month and she is yet to lose a match since her fourth-round exit at the US Open, extending her run to 10 victories.
* World number one Novak Djokovic won his first Japan Open title and the 76th of his career with a dominant 6-3 6-2 win over Australian John Millman in the final in Tokyo on Sunday. It was a triumphant return to the tour for Djokovic, who had withdrawn from the US Open in the fourth round due to a shoulder injury, and it was the 10th time he had won a title on his tournament debut.
* Honda's Marc Marquez sealed his sixth MotoGP title with four races to spare after winning the Thai Grand Prix on Sunday. The Spaniard had to score two points more than Italian Ducati rival Andrea Dovizioso, who finished fourth at Buriram's Chang International Circuit, to wrap up his fourth championship in a row.
