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)
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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.



Juventus Ties Down Star Player Kenan Yildiz Until 2030

Turkish player Kenan Yildiz (Reuters)
Turkish player Kenan Yildiz (Reuters)
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Juventus Ties Down Star Player Kenan Yildiz Until 2030

Turkish player Kenan Yildiz (Reuters)
Turkish player Kenan Yildiz (Reuters)

Türkiye midfielder Kenan Yildiz has extended his contract with Juventus through June 2030, the Italian club announced Saturday.

The 20-year-old Yildiz scored on his debut against Frosinone in December 2023. He has since inherited the club’s No. 10 jersey and last year became the youngest player to captain the team.

Altogether Yildiz has scored 25 goals and also set up 19 in 115 appearances over two and half seasons with Juventus. This season he has eight goals and five assists in Serie A.

“Kenan embodies leadership, sacrifice and the constant pursuit of improvement. He is the personification of Juventus’ values, and he carries them onto the pitch in every game he plays,” The Associated Press quoted the club as saying.

Media reports suggested the new deal made Yildiz the best-paid player in the squad.

The German-born Yildiz switched to Juventus Under-19s from Bayern Munich’s youth setup in 2022.


Late Guirassy Goal Seals Win as Dortmund Cuts Bayern’s Bundesliga Lead to 3 Points

07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
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Late Guirassy Goal Seals Win as Dortmund Cuts Bayern’s Bundesliga Lead to 3 Points

07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)

Serhou Guirassy scored late for Borussia Dortmund to cut Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga lead to three points on Saturday with a 2-1 win at Wolfsburg.

Wolfsburg dominated the second half with Mohamed Amoura missing several good chances and Maximilian Arnold striking the crossbar.

Dortmund’s Maximilian Beier hit the underside of the bar with a deflected shot in the first half, when Julian Brandt opened the scoring with a header from Julian Ryerson’s corner in the 38th for the visitors.

Konstantinos Koulierakis replied in similar fashion after the break with a header from Arnold’s free kick, but Wolfsburg was to rue not taking its chances to score more.

Guirassy pounced for the winner in the 87th after good play between Fábio Silva and Felix Nmecha.

“That’s part of football,” Dortmund coach Niko Kovač said of his team’s scrappy win. “But then to decide it with one action is also a quality.”

Eighteen-year-old Italian defender Luca Reggiani went on late for Dortmund for his Bundesliga debut.

American winger Kevin Paredes made his first Wolfsburg start since April 25 after recovering from two operations on his right foot.

Bayern, which failed to win its last two games, can restore its six-point lead with a win over high-flying Hoffenheim on Sunday.

Borussia Mönchengladbach was hosting Bayer Leverkusen later.

Bremen loses on coach's debut

Werder Bremen’s coaching change did little to alter its fortunes as the team lost 1-0 in Freiburg on Daniel Thioune’s debut.

Jan-Niklas Beste let fly and found the top far corner in the 13th for Freiburg, which had Johan Manzambi sent off early in the second half for a foul on Bremen’s Olivier Deman.

Thioune’s team was unable to capitalize on the extra player and is now 11 league games without a win. Bremen faces a visit from Bayern next weekend.

Welcome win for St. Pauli

St. Pauli boosted its survival hopes with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Stuttgart.

The Hamburg-based team remained second-from-bottom, but it opened a four-point gap on bottom side Heidenheim, which lost 2-0 at home to Hamburger SV. Bremen's defeat means St. Pauli is just two points from the relegation playoff place.

Mainz keeps winning

Nadiem Amiri scored two penalties, one in each half, for Mainz to beat Augsburg 2-0 for its third straight win.

Amiri ripped off his distinctive carnival-inspired jersey as he celebrated the second one to seal the win. The thoughtful Lee Jae-sung picked it up so he could resume when the celebrations died down.

Mainz next visits Dortmund.


Man United Wins Again to Make It Four in a Row for New Coach Michael Carrick

Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)
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Man United Wins Again to Make It Four in a Row for New Coach Michael Carrick

Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)

It's four Premier League wins in a row for Manchester United under Michael Carrick and a season that was unraveling just weeks ago now looks full of promise.

A 2-0 victory against Tottenham on Saturday extended Carrick's 100% start as head coach and will further strengthen his case to be given the job on a long-term basis.

“Michael has won everything here and he knows what it means for these fans, what it means for the club to win and how much is needed to win in this football. I think that adds something special to the team,” United captain Bruno Fernandes told TNT Sports.

It was the first time in two years that United has won four straight league games and boosted its hopes of a return to the lucrative Champions League after missing out for the last two years.

Bryan Mbeumo and Fernandes scored in each half at Old Trafford in a game that saw Spurs reduced to 10 men after captain Cristian Romero was sent off in the 29th minute.

Carrick has transformed United's fortunes since he was parachuted in to replace the fired Ruben Amorim last month. Initially given a contract until the end of the season — having previously had a three-game interim spell in 2021 — his impressive impact will likely put him in serious contention to keep the job as the club's hierarchy consider its long-term plans.

“I think Michael came in with the right ideas of giving the players the responsibility, but some freedom to take the responsibility on the pitch, doing the decisions that were needed,” said Fernandes. “He's very good with the words.

“I think he still remembers what I told him the last time he was our manager for our last game. I was sure that Michael could be a great manager, and he’s just showing it.”

United is fourth and after moving up to 44 points, the 20-time English champion has already exceeded last season's total of 42 points for the entire campaign.

Fernandes’ goal, with a controlled finish off his shin in the 81st, was his 200th goal involvement since joining United in 2020.

It sealed victory after Mbeumo had given United the lead in the 38th when firing low from a corner to score his 10th goal of his debut season at the club.

While United's captain was inspirational, Tottenham's Romero did his team no favors with his sending off in the first half.

Having described as “disgraceful” the fact that Spurs were reduced to 11 fit players for the draw with Manchester City last weekend, Romero hardly helped his team’s cause with his red card for a dangerous tackle on Casemiro.

The league's stats partner Opta said it was Romero's sixth sending off since joining the club in 2021 — more than any other Premier League player in that time.