Lewandowski Strikes Twice for Champion Barcelona but Can’t Catch Mbappé for Scoring Title 

Football - LaLiga - Athletic Bilbao v FC Barcelona - San Mames, Bilbao, Spain - May 25, 2025 FC Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski scores their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - LaLiga - Athletic Bilbao v FC Barcelona - San Mames, Bilbao, Spain - May 25, 2025 FC Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski scores their first goal. (Reuters)
TT

Lewandowski Strikes Twice for Champion Barcelona but Can’t Catch Mbappé for Scoring Title 

Football - LaLiga - Athletic Bilbao v FC Barcelona - San Mames, Bilbao, Spain - May 25, 2025 FC Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski scores their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - LaLiga - Athletic Bilbao v FC Barcelona - San Mames, Bilbao, Spain - May 25, 2025 FC Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski scores their first goal. (Reuters)

Barcelona capped its title-winning campaign with a 3-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice, but falling short of catching Kylian Mbappé as the Spanish league's top scorer for the season.

Lewandowski found the net in the 14th and 17th minutes in Bilbao to finish the league season with 27 goals, four fewer than Mbappé, who scored twice in Madrid's 2-0 win against Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Lewandowski, who was out injured in some recent matches, hadn't scored since April 9 in a Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund. His last league goal was in March against Girona.

Lewandowski had led the scoring race during most of the season, but Mbappé finished with a red-hot run that included 10 goals in his last six matches.

Barcelona finished with a goal-difference of plus 63 after scoring 102 times and conceding 39. It won 28 matches, drew four and lost six.

It ended with 88 points, four points more than second-placed Madrid and 12 points more than third-placed Atletico Madrid.

Athletic had already secured a fourth-placed finish to secure a Champions League spot for the first time in a decade.

‘Under control’

The 36-year-old Lewandowski reached 101 goals in total across all competitions in his three seasons with Barcelona. He had 42 this year after scoring 26 last season and 33 in his debut campaign.

“We had it under control,” Lewandowski said. “This season was almost perfect. We have to enjoy this moment.”

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick praised his team.

“We wanted to finish like we started it, like we performed during the season, and they did a great job,” Flick said.

Levante promoted

Carlos Álvarez scored seven minutes into stoppage time as Levante won 3-2 at Burgos to seal its promotion to the first division three years after being relegated.

Levante rallied for the victory after trailing 2-1 up to the 85th minute. It secured one of the top two spots in the second tier to automatically advance to the first division.

Relegation and European places

Saturday's matches decided the final European places and the last relegated team. Leganes was demoted after Las Palmas and Valladolid had already been relegated in advance. Celta Vigo grabbed the final Europa League spot and Rayo Vallecano earned the Conference League place.

Barcelona, Madrid, Atletico, Athletic and Villarreal will play in the Champions League next season. Real Betis got the other Europa League spot.

Atletico finished the season with a 4-0 win at Girona with a hat trick by striker Alexander Sorloth. He had scored four goals in a 4-0 win over Real Sociedad earlier this month.

Sorloth, often used as a substitute by Atletico coach Diego Simeone, ended with 20 goals, fourth in the league's scoring list. Ante Budimir of Osasuna was third with 21 goals, six fewer than Lewandowski and 10 fewer than Mbappé.

Fifth-placed Villarreal beat 17th-placed Sevilla 4-2 with a pair of goals by Pape Gueye.



Everton Hope to Pile Merseyside Derby Blues on Liverpool at New Stadium

Football - Premier League - Brentford v Everton - GTech Community Stadium, London, Britain - April 11, 2026 Everton manager David Moyes reacts. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Brentford v Everton - GTech Community Stadium, London, Britain - April 11, 2026 Everton manager David Moyes reacts. (Action Images via Reuters)
TT

Everton Hope to Pile Merseyside Derby Blues on Liverpool at New Stadium

Football - Premier League - Brentford v Everton - GTech Community Stadium, London, Britain - April 11, 2026 Everton manager David Moyes reacts. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Brentford v Everton - GTech Community Stadium, London, Britain - April 11, 2026 Everton manager David Moyes reacts. (Action Images via Reuters)

Everton manager David Moyes wants ‌to make the Hill Dickinson Stadium a happy home and a famous win over old foes Liverpool in the first Merseyside Derby at the new venue on Sunday would go a long way to achieving that.

It has been several seasons since Everton were involved in the European reckoning, but with six games to go in the Premier League campaign they are five points off fifth-placed Liverpool in the table, a gap they could cut to two this weekend.

It was a typically feverish final Goodison Park derby last season when James Tarkowski’s volley in the dying seconds earned Everton a 2-2 ‌draw as ‌they said farewell to the Grand Old Lady.

The Hill ‌Dickinson ⁠Stadium has not ⁠quite felt like home yet for many Evertonians, but a derby win on a raucous Sunday afternoon may start to change that.

“When you move to a new stadium it's always difficult,” Moyes told reporters on Friday. “If you look through the records of all teams who have built new stadiums, it has never been easy.

“We have had our ups and downs in it, ⁠we had a great start, the bits in the ‌middle were not so good, but we ‌are finding a bit better form now.”

Moyes has repeatedly said Everton hope to finish ‌in the European places this season but added that in such ‌a tight league table they need to be wary of the teams below them too.

“All we can do is try and catch whoever is above us,” he said. “It is Brentford at the moment. But probably more important is to make sure ‌nobody catches us.

"If we stay in a strong position, we give ourselves every chance of getting something in ⁠terms of ⁠Europe.

“The biggest thing for me is that with six games to go we have something to play for. Over recent years it has been the wrong thing we have been playing for (survival). I hope we can keep the dream alive.”

Moyes confirmed there had been no talks over a new contract, with his current deal running out at the end of next season.

“There is no need to start any talks now because I have so much on my mind. These six games will be crucial as to how things go. I want Everton to be in this position every year, having a chance of the top places."

He said there were no injury concerns with midfielder Carlos Alcaraz back in contention after a lengthy injury lay-off.


Romero Out for the Season but De Zerbi Backs Spurs to Survive

Football - Premier League - Sunderland v Tottenham Hotspur - Stadium of Light, Sunderland, Britain - April 12, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur's Cristian Romero looks dejected as he is substituted off after sustaining an injury. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Sunderland v Tottenham Hotspur - Stadium of Light, Sunderland, Britain - April 12, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur's Cristian Romero looks dejected as he is substituted off after sustaining an injury. (Reuters)
TT

Romero Out for the Season but De Zerbi Backs Spurs to Survive

Football - Premier League - Sunderland v Tottenham Hotspur - Stadium of Light, Sunderland, Britain - April 12, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur's Cristian Romero looks dejected as he is substituted off after sustaining an injury. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Sunderland v Tottenham Hotspur - Stadium of Light, Sunderland, Britain - April 12, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur's Cristian Romero looks dejected as he is substituted off after sustaining an injury. (Reuters)

Roberto De Zerbi confirmed on Friday Cristian Romero will miss the rest of Tottenham's battle for Premier League survival, but remains optimistic that just one win can transform his side's fortunes.

Romero suffered a knee injury, that could also endanger his place in Argentina's World Cup squad, during last weekend's 1-0 defeat by Sunderland in De Zerbi's first match in charge.

"I am really sorry for him and his injury," said De Zerbi.

"Romero first of all loves Tottenham and the people have to know he is suffering for this injury and because he cannot play any more for us this season."

Without a win in 14 league games, Spurs are two points adrift of safety with six matches of the campaign to go.

But victory against De Zerbi's former club Brighton on Saturday would propel Tottenham out of the bottom three for at least 48 hours.

"I think it is crucial to win a game not just for the table. Of course one part of the table for sure, but we have to feel again what is nice to win a game and what it can do," he added.

"I have no doubts about the quality of the players."

In a bid to build team chemistry, De Zerbi took his players out to dinner this week in London's Mayfair.

The Italian is happy to pick up the bill for more dinners in the coming weeks if he is rewarded with results on the field.

"The food was amazing and if we win, I am ready to pay every week for one dinner," said the former Marseille coach.

"I am positive, I am ready to fight and I believe to keep Premier League (status). I believe in my words that I said last week. The focus is to win one game."

Rodrigo Bentancur could make his return from a three-month injury layoff against the Seagulls.

However, first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario remains out after surgery on a hernia.


Verstappen Gave Lambiase His Blessing for ‘Great’ McLaren Move

Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen answers questions during a show "An evening with Max Verstappen" in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16 April 2026. (EPA)
Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen answers questions during a show "An evening with Max Verstappen" in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16 April 2026. (EPA)
TT

Verstappen Gave Lambiase His Blessing for ‘Great’ McLaren Move

Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen answers questions during a show "An evening with Max Verstappen" in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16 April 2026. (EPA)
Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen answers questions during a show "An evening with Max Verstappen" in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16 April 2026. (EPA)

Max Verstappen encouraged ‌his Red Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to move to McLaren after the Briton received an offer that was hard to refuse.

Lambiase will switch teams when his contract expires at the end of 2027 and join McLaren as their chief racing officer in a move announced last week.

"He told me what kind of offer he received," four-times ‌world champion ‌Verstappen said at a recent ‌Viaplay ⁠event in Amsterdam ⁠in his first public comments on the announcement. "I said: 'You would be stupid not to do that'.

"We have already achieved everything together. And then he gets such a great offer, also with his family in mind ⁠and the security it would give ‌him.

"He asked me ‌for a sort of permission and I said ‌that he absolutely had to do it. ‌He really wanted to hear that from me."

Lambiase will be the latest in a string of senior employees to have left once-dominant Red ‌Bull, with former principal Christian Horner sacked last year.

Verstappen's own future at ⁠the ⁠team remains uncertain, with the Dutch driver contracted to 2028 but unhappy with rule changes in a new engine era.

Red Bull announced on Thursday changes to their technical leadership team, with Ben Waterhouse taking on an expanded role as chief performance and design engineer with immediate effect.

From July 1, Andrea Landi will join from sister team Racing Bulls, where he was deputy technical director, as head of performance.