Real Madrid and Barcelona rest starters in Liga wins ahead of clashes with Man City and PSG
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Real Madrid and Barcelona ground out road wins in the Spanish league on Saturday while resting starters for their respective Champions League clashes against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
League leader Madrid won at Mallorca 1-0 to remain eight points clear of Barcelona after its 1-0 victory at Cadiz. The Spanish powerhouses will meet next weekend after their games in Europe’s elite competition.
Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni scored the game's only goal at Mallorca three minutes after halftime.
Madrid visits City on Wednesday with their quarterfinal poised after a 3-3 draw in Spain’s capital this week.
“We played a very difficult game against City and we are tired, but we know that when we play for Madrid we have to give it our all until the end,” Tchouaméni said.
Vinicius Júnior and Eduardo Camavinga played the final half hour as substitutes. Dani Carvajal went on for the final minutes, while Rodrygo and Toni Kroos never left the bench. Jude Bellingham started and was replaced by Camavinga.
João Félix scored to lead Barcelona at relegation-threatened Cadiz, while Xavi Hernández rested several starters ahead of their home match against PSG on Tuesday.
Raphinha, who scored twice in Barcelona’s 3-2 win in Paris, played only the final 10 minutes at Cadiz. Lamine Yamal, Jules Koundé, and potential starter Pedri González went on for the final half hour. Ilkay Gundogan, Frenkie de Jong, Ronald Araújo, and João Cancelo stayed on the bench at Cadiz. Robert Lewandowski was unavailable while serving a suspension.
MADRID WINS
A long strike by Tchouaméni that deflected off a defender before finding the net was the only way Madrid got past the defense of Javier Aguirre’s Mallorca.
Tchouaméni will miss the game in England to serve a suspension. A holding midfielder, he was used as a central defender by manager Carlo Ancelotti in the first leg against City while Madrid dealt with injuries.
Ancelotti equaled Zinedine Zidane with 183 league games coached for Madrid, second only to Miguel Muñoz’s record 424 league games.
Mallorca was playing its first game since losing the Copa del Rey final on penalties to Athletic Bilbao last weekend. It remained in 15th place.
FÉLIX SCORES
Félix did his best to convince Xavi he should get minutes against PSG by scoring the game’s only goal in an overall strong performance.
He took the 36th-minute winner with a bicycle kick from the edge of the six-yard box to whip in a corner kick that was knocked on by a Cadiz defender.
“We all work to be starters,” Félix said. “I am just like any other player who wants to play since I know I have what it takes to help the team.”
Barcelona goalie Marc-Andre ter Stegen protected the three points by stretching to get one hand on Diadié Samassékou’s powerful strike in the 80th, the hosts’ only real threat.
ATLETICO BEATS GIRONA
Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Atletico Madrid beat Girona 3-1 to boost its chances of finishing in the top four.
Griezmann got his first league goal since December by converting a penalty after a handball by Girona. His leveler in the 34th canceled Artem Dovbyk’s early opener.
Álvaro Morata’s hustle proved key to putting the hosts ahead in first-half stoppage time when he chased down a ball before it could cross the end-line and whipped it into the area for Ángel Correo to head into the top corner.
Griezmann, Atletico's all-time top scorer, then blasted in a loose ball in the 50th for his 13th league goal of the campaign.
Dovbyk moved ahead of Bellingham as the leading league scorer with his 17th to give Girona the fourth-minute lead.
Girona remained in third place at four points clear of Atletico in fourth. Atletico moved five points ahead of Athletic Bilbao in fifth. The top four finishers in Spain earn Champions League berths for next season.
“We want to be in the Champions League next season,” Griezmann said. “We didn’t start well but when we took it to them we could turn it around.”
Atletico visits Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday leading their Champions League quarterfinal after a 2-1 first-leg win in Spain.
Rayo Vallecano also drew with Getafe 0-0 at home.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
