Barcelona leapfrogged Catalan rivals Girona into second place in LaLiga after Lamine Yamal’s second-half goal handed them a 1-0 win against Real Mallorca.

The 16-year-old winger netted his sixth goal of the season in the 73rd minute, cutting inside on to his left foot and lashing a shot into the corner to break the visiting sides’ resolve.

Mallorca striker Vedat Muriqi had headed against the crossbar with goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen beaten, as Barca’s six-game unbeaten run in the league came under threat.

Pride

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)

Victory drags them to within five points of leaders Real Madrid, who have a game in hand.

Defending Serie A champions Napoli’s mini revival stalled as Torino hit back to earn a 1-1 dra…

Barcelona are a tough proposition but Real Madrid will gain the upper hand when the Spanish giants clash in the first classico of the season on Monday, Real s Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo predicted Thursday.

Barcelona is still a very difficult team. Barca is a very strong team, especially when they play at home. They are there to fight for the league title, he told reporters on the sidelines of a promotional event.

We know they are playing at a good level and for this reason it will be an important and beautiful game. May the best team win. And the best team will be Madrid, the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year added.

Ronaldo rejected suggestions that the match would be decisive like a final, claiming it is just another match .

We have one point…

Michael Tarnat and Jurgen Jung have left their roles within the Bayern Munich youth set-up by mutual consent.

Tarnat, who was the side’s sporting director, and Jung, the youth scouting director, asked to be released from their positions according to a statement on Bayern s website.

The statement continued: Different views on the future focus of the club s youth section led to the step. FC Bayern thanks Michael Tarnat and Jurgen Jung for their work and wishes them all the best for their professional and private future.

Tarnat spent six years at Bayern during his playing career before returning in a coaching capacity following his retirement, while Jung joined the Bundesliga champions in 2012.

…

Laurent Blanc and Paris Saint-Germain are seemingly prepared to lose Ezequiel Lavezzi for nothing in the off-season after ruling out a January move for the Argentine.

Lavezzi will be a free agent at the end of June when his contract with the French champions expires, unless the club and player can come to a new agreement.

But a new deal to remain in the French capital seems unlikely, with the Argentina international heavily linked with a return to Italy, which is reportedly his preferred destination according to his agent.

Lavezzi joined PSG from Napoli in 2012 for almost €30 million and has made over 150 appearances for Blanc s team, but the French coach will not be tempted to try and recoup some of the investment made in the forward by selling him in the curr…

Lionel Messi needed a professional on his side and not his father as he attempted to leave Barcelona, according to former Argentina team-mate Hernan Crespo.

After initially telling Barca he wished to leave after a trophyless campaign in 2019-20, and amid frustration with the Camp Nou board, Messi performed a U-turn and elected to stay with the embattled LaLiga giants.

Messi s contract expires next year, with Barca having been desperate to keep hold of their superstar captain as they look to overhaul the squad under new head coach Ronald Koeman, who replaced Quique Setien last month.

But Crespo believes the crisis could have been avoided, telling TyC Sports: Here again, with this whole situation, the issue is that with all due to respect to Jorge Messi, it seems…

Former Premier League referee Bobby Madley has revealed he was sacked for sending a video in which he mocked a disabled person.

Madley left his role in August 2018 and refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said at the time he had decided to relocate due to a change in his personal circumstances .

However, the 34-year-old explained in a blog post on Tuesday titled Time to move on   that he had been  dismissed with immediate effect for gross misconduct on grounds of discrimination .

Madley wrote that he sent a video to a friend, which was later passed to his employers, in which he captioned a clip of a person with a walking impairment: F*** me, I have a chance of winning the parents race this year.

The official said he had be…

Manchester City sealed their Champions League progress as group winners despite Riyad Mahrez missing a penalty and Erling Haaland being kept quiet on his return to Borussia Dortmund in a 0-0 draw.

Pep Guardiola s rode their luck at times on Tuesday and also wasted a glorious chance to claim victory at Signal Iduna Park, but they always knew a point would be enough to win Group G.

That did not always look a given, though. City could not handle Karim Adeyemi before half-time, the young forward teeing up team-mates three times and also missing a presentable chance of his own.

The away side looked brighter after Haaland s half-time withdrawal, but the Norwegian surely would have taken the penalty that Mahrez had saved; it had no bearing on City s main objective, howe…

Jose Gimenez has tested positive for coronavirus, Atletico Madrid have confirmed.

The Uruguay defender was the only player from Monday s tests to return a positive result, the club said in a statement on Tuesday.

Gimenez is now isolating at home, with Atletico confirming LaLiga s protocol has been implemented and the players will complete the next training session individually.

Head coach Diego Simeone also tested positive for the virus earlier this month and underwent a period of isolation, though he did not display any symptoms.

Atletico are due to start their new season at home to Granada at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday.

Simeone s men finished third in a disrupted 2019-20 campaign, while they were knocked out of the Champions League at …

Palermo have confirmed they are planning to take Brazilian striker Amauri back to Renzo Barbera.

The 31-year-old has been deemed surplus to requirements at Juventus and the Bianconeri are looking to cash in on him this summer.

Palermo sporting director, Sean Sogliano has revealed that the Rossanero are eager to have Amauri back after selling him to Juventus for €22 million in 2008.

“He is certainly a suggestive name,” Sogliano told Il Giornale di Sicilia. “He did very well at Palermo in the past.

“He’s someone that interests us and we know that he’s willing to come, but Juventus are in the middle of this too.

“He’s certainly a great player, but, unfortunately, it won’t be an easy operation to complete.”

Juventus are …

An emotional Sven-Goran Eriksson described the experience as “absolutely beautiful” after his long-held dream of managing Liverpool was fulfilled at Saturday’s charity match at a packed Anfield.

The 76-year-old former England boss, who in January revealed he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, grew up a Liverpool supporter and being in charge of the team was something he had always wanted to do.

That became reality as Eriksson, alongside former Reds stars Ian Rush, John Barnes and John Aldridge, oversaw a side that beat Ajax 4-2 in an LFC Foundation ‘Legends’ game.

An emotional Sven-Goran Eriksson made a ‘memory for life’ by being part of today s charity match

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

The Swede admitted he had shed tears both j…