World Sports News in Brief

Record-breaking Messi at the double as Barcelona win 6-1

Lionel Messi celebrated becoming Barcelona's highest appearance maker of all time by scoring twice as his rampant side crushed Real Sociedad 6-1 away in La Liga on Sunday with a stunning team display.

Soccer Football - La Liga Santander - Real Sociedad v FC Barcelona - Reale Arena, San Sebastian, Spain - March 21, 2021 FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - La Liga Santander - Real Sociedad v FC Barcelona - Reale Arena, San Sebastian, Spain - March 21, 2021 FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)

* Jan Oblak saved a late penalty to boost Atletico Madrid's stuttering La Liga title challenge as Luis Suarez's header proved enough for a nervy 1-0 win over Alaves on Sunday.

* Chelsea beat Sheffield United 2-0 on Sunday thanks to an own goal by Oliver Norwood and winger Hakim Ziyech's late strike to reach the FA Cup semi-finals for the fourth time in five seasons.

* Arsenal came from 3-0 down to claim a 3-3 draw at West Ham on Sunday (Mar 21), but a share of the points from a thrilling encounter did little for either side's hopes of a top-four Premier League finish.

* Tottenham Hotspur emerged from the gloom of the past week to claim a morale-boosting 2-0 victory at Aston Villa and climb to sixth place in the Premier League on Sunday.

* Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho scored two poacher's goals as they beat Manchester United 3-1 in their FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday to set up a last-four clash against Southampton.

* Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defended his decision to field a weakened team as Manchester United crashed out of the FA Cup with a 3-1 quarter-final defeat at Leicester on Sunday (Mar 21).

* Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player to score 100 goals in Ligue 1 when his double powered Paris St Germain to a 4-2 win at Olympique Lyonnais and to the top of the standings on Sunday.

* Lille's hopes of a first Ligue 1 title in a decade suffered a major blow as the leaders slumped to a shock 2-1 home defeat at the hands of struggling Nimes on Sunday (Mar 21).

* Atalanta bounced back after their Champions League last 16 exit to Real Madrid with a 2-0 win at Hellas Verona on Sunday (Mar 21) to consolidate fourth place in Serie A.

* Dries Mertens scored his 99th and 100th Serie A goals for Napoli to secure a 2-0 win away to top-four rivals AS Roma on Sunday.

* Zlatan Ibrahimovic marked his return to the AC Milan starting line-up with a goal in a thrilling 3-2 win at Fiorentina on Sunday (Mar 21), narrowing the gap to Serie A leaders Inter to six points.

* World number seven Alexander Zverev recovered from an uncertain start to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 7-6 (3) in a thrilling Mexican Open final in Acapulco on Saturday (Mar 20) and land his 14th ATP title.

* Benevento dented Juventus’ Serie A title hopes on Sunday as Adolfo Gaich’s second-half strike sealed a shock 1-0 victory in Turin and ended the relegation battlers’ 11-match winless run.

* Hertha Berlin boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Bundesliga after an impressive 3-0 home win over sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday (Mar 21).

* Gemma Evans scored a second-half equaliser to earn Bristol City a 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Women's Super League on Sunday and another valuable point in their battle against relegation.

* Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia claimed his first All England Open on Sunday (Mar 21) as he outlasted Danish second seed Viktor Axelsen 30-29, 20-22, 21-9. Lee edged a marathon opening set that went all the way to the maximum 59 points.

* Serena Williams became the latest high-profile player to pull out of the Miami Open on Sunday (Mar 21), saying she was withdrawing in order to concentrate on her recovery from recent oral surgery.

Reuters, CNA