The Catalans created little in one of their worst first-half displays at the Camp Nou this season but found a breakthrough early in the second when Martin Braithwaite released Messi with a classy backheel and the Argentine did the rest. * Bernardo Silva scored once and set up another as Manchester City eased to a 2-0 victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Wednesday (Feb 25), extending their winning run to 19 games in all competitions. * Ferland Mendy grabbed a late winner to earn lacklustre Real Madrid a 1-0 win over 10-man Atalanta in Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg. * Dele Alli and Gareth Bale staked their claims for places in Tottenham Hotspur's first team with superbly-taken goals in a 4-0 victory over Austrian club Wolfsberg in the Europa League last 32 second leg on Wednesday. * Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he is still in contact with former charge Erling Braut Haaland and has not ruled out a future move for the Borussia Dortmund star. The 20-year-old striker has established himself as one of the hottest prospects in world football during goal-laden stints with Austrian side Salzburg and Dortmund. * World number one Ash Barty has withdrawn from next week's Qatar Open in Doha due to a left leg injury, organisers of the WTA 500 tournament said on Wednesday. Barty's decision comes after being knocked out of the Adelaide International on Wednesday, losing 6-3 6-4 to American Danielle Collins in the second round. * American Grant Holloway broke the world indoor 60m hurdles record that had endured since 1994 on Wednesday, finishing in 7.29 seconds to shave 0.01 seconds off the previous mark set by Briton Colin Jackson. Holloway, the 110m hurdles world champion, won the race at the Villa de Madrid by 0.22 seconds, extending his victory streak in indoor sprint hurdles to 54 races. * Tiger Woods could return to competitive golf within a year, top orthopedic surgeons …
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Atletico extend La Liga lead after Real slip at Elche
Atletico Madrid's players celebrate at the end of the Spanish League football match between Atletico Madrid and Getafe at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on December 30, 2020.(OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP) Suarez struck in the 20th minute with a superb header from Yannick Carrasco's cross to move Diego Simeone's Atletico up to 35 points, two ahead of local rivals Madrid after they were pegged back by a Fidel Chaves penalty following Luka Modric's early opener. Real Sociedad, Sevilla and Villarreal are all a further seven points back, with Barcelona 10 behind Atletico in sixth after their 1-1 draw with Eibar on Tuesday. Atletico have also played two fewer matches than reigning champions Madrid after a scrappy win emblematic of Simeone's reign on his 500th match as club coach. "When I got on the plane to come here I thought that when I left the club (as a player) that I always wanted to come back," said Simeone, who is in his 10th year as Atletico coach. "I found men (Koke, Saul Niguez) who wanted to get the club out of the bad patch it was in, and I have a relationship with them that goes beyond football." Uruguay forward Suarez's eighth goal of the season was a good as it got for Atletico, who despite fielding a strong line-up did not impress in a match of little incident at the Wanda Metropolitano. However Atletico's third straight win keeps them top of the pile after a fraught last few days in which Diego Costa was allowed to leave and Kieran Trippier was banned until the end of February for betting breaches. - 'Two points dropped' - Zinedine Zidane's Madrid knew that whatever happened in the late fixture they would trail Atletico going into the new year, but they looked on course for a routine win at struggling Elche when Modric opened the scoring in the 20th minute. Croatian Modric pounced to place a perfect header in the top corner after Marco Asensio's longe range shot thumped back out off the bar, the second time Madrid had hit the …
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Hazard leads Real Madrid to Alaves rout to relieve pressure on Zidane
Athletic Bilbao's Spanish defender Inigo Martinez (L) and Spanish defender Unai Nunez (R) challenge Real Madrid's Belgian forward Eden Hazard (C) during the Spanish Super Cup semi final football match between Real Madrid and Athletic Club Bilbao at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga on January 14, 2021.(JORGE GUERRERO / AFP) Zidane's position has come under scrutiny again after Wednesday's defeat by third-tier side Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey but Madrid responded at Mendizorroza without their coach, or their captain Sergio Ramos, who was out with a knee injury. Goals from Casemiro, Karim Benzema and Hazard put Madrid three up at half-time and while Alaves briefly threatened a fightback when Joselu headed in, Benzema added a second to put the result beyond doubt. The victory is only Real Madrid's second in six matches and leaves them four points behind Atletico Madrid, who have two games in hand and play Valencia at home on Sunday. "The goals are good for the confidence, for everyone," said Benzema. "It's been a tough week for us because we always have to win, always have to be on the up. There's always pressure. Today it went well, not just for me, for everyone." Zidane was confirmed to have tested positive on Friday, leaving his assistant David Bettoni to take charge in the dug-out, although Bettoni was pictured on the telephone in the second half. "He was very happy with the attitude of the team," said Bettoni when asked what Zidane had told him after the game. "He told me to congratulate the players, as he would have done if he was with us." Bettoni took off Hazard as Alaves were gaining belief early in the second period but the Belgian enjoyed a positive outing overall that Zidane will hope is the start of a revival. The 29-year-old has had a nightmare year and a half in Spain, with this only his third goal in La Liga and his first in the league away from home since joining from Chelsea for 100 million euros. "We have to have more patience, it's …
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