Spain

Atletico Madrid stayed firmly on course to secure Champions League football next season after two goals by Alvaro Morata and a late strike from Koke gave them a 3-0 home win over struggling Mallorca in LaLiga on Friday.

The result left Atletico third on 62 points from 34 games, five ahead of fourth-placed Sevilla and eight in front of fifth-placed Villarreal who both have a game in hand.

Mallorca have a only slim chance of avoiding relegation as they remained third-bottom on 29 points from 34 games, five behind 17th-placed Celta Vigo who have played a game less.

MADRID — Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos kept his nerve to score a late penalty and secure a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Getafe on Thursday for a sixth consecutive La Liga victory to take his side one step closer to winning the title.

Ramos coolly passed the ball into the net to break the deadlock in the 79th minute after Dani Carvajal was felled by the trailing leg of Getafe's Mathias Olivera, who was earlier denied a penalty after being knocked over by Carvajal.

MADRID — Real Madrid have taken the final step towards officially launching their women's team after the Spanish soccer federation approved a deal to merge with CD Tacon, the club said in a statement on Wednesday.

Real agreed to absorb Tacon last year after they were promoted to the top division of Spanish women's soccer, a move that was approved by the club's members at last year's general assembly.

Álvaro Cervera arrived in Cádiz after a three-year spell with Tenerife. It was mid-April when he took the job as manager, the season nearly over. Cervera was able to guide Cádiz CF to a fourth-place finish and promotion to the Spanish second division after six arduous years in the third tier. Four years on, El Submarino Amarillo is on the brink of a return to the promised land of LaLiga.

An important game in the LaLiga relegation picture beckons as 18th-place Mallorca takes on 17th-place Celta Vigo on Tuesday.

Mallorca is still winless since the restart, having faced a tough stretch on the schedule which pitted the side against Barcelona, Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. The Balearic Islands-based team, co-owned by retired basketball player Steve Nash, has taken just one point since play resumed in a draw against fellow basement dwellers Leganes. 

Barcelona coach Quique Setién has said he does not always see eye-to-eye with his squad as their LaLiga title bid threatens to unravel following Saturday's 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo.

Second-placed Barça trail Real Madrid by two points with six games to go and face a grueling match at home to third-placed Atlético Madrid on Tuesday which they need to win to stay in close contention in the title race.

"It's true that you often have arguments with players as you do in everyday life and that's nothing new," Setién told a virtual news conference on Monday. 

Real Madrid's Karim Benzema produced an audacious back-heeled assist for Casemiro to score as they beat Espanyol 1-0 away on Sunday to capitalize on Barcelona's slip-up a day earlier and move two points clear at the top of LaLiga.

Brazilian midfielder Casemiro slid to the ground to guide the ball home on the stroke of halftime after being played in by a stroke of genius from Benzema, who dragged the ball through the legs of the defender marking him to find his team mate.

Juventus are set to sign Brazil international Arthur Melo from Barcelona after the midfielder agreed a five-year contract with the Italian champions and passed a medical, according to Spanish media reports on Sunday.

The move is part of a twin negotiation between the clubs which involves Bosnia midfielder Miralem Pjanić moving to Barça, said reports in sports dailies Mundo Deportivo and Marca.

Villarreal goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo, midfielder Santi Cazorla and forward Gerard Moreno combined to score a goal of rare beauty on Sunday with the ball not touching the ground during the trio’s flowing move.

A Valencia clearance fluttered into Villarreal’s half, but Asenjo lumped it straight back at Los Che on the half-volley. That thump from the heavens was deftly met by a cushioned pass from Cazorla 20 yards out. 

Celta Vigo had 11 players behind the ball as Lionel Messi set up for a free kick just outside the box. Everyone expected the Argentine to shoot. Instead he picked out Luis Suarez with a pinpoint assist. Despite the impressive Messi assist to Suarez, however, Celta Vigo nicked a 2-2 draw to further hamper Barcelona’s title hopes on Saturday.

The Blaugrana looked strong for much of the match, especially when Messi set up a go-ahead goal in the 20th minute.