Europe

SEVILLE - Barcelona president Joan Laporta said he was very confident Lionel Messi would choose to stay at the club after the Argentine delivered a vintage performance in Saturday's 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final.

Messi scored a sensational individual goal midway through the second half after strikes from Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong had put the Catalans in charge.

This angle of Lionel Messi's goal pic.twitter.com/SFVfTAMKk3

Sergiño Dest became the first U.S. international to start a Copa del Rey final and 90 minutes later became the first to lift the trophy as he helped Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 4-0 on Saturday at Estadio Olímpico de la Cartuja in Seville. 

Before Saturday’s FA Cup semifinal, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said he’d “lose the team” if he didn’t start American keeper Zack Steffen vs Chelsea. In the end, the decision may have lost the game.

Steffen made a positioning error to allow Chelsea to score the only goal in 1-0 defeat on Saturday at Wembley, costing the Citizens a chance at a rare quadruple. Steffen, who was otherwise faultless and moments later made a one-on-one save to atone, will no doubt rue his moment of indecision that allowed Hakim Ziyech a tap-in. 

WOLFSBURG, Germany — Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick said on Saturday he had told the team and club bosses that he wanted to leave the German champions at the end of the season despite his contract running until 2023.

The former Germany assistant coach, who initially took over on an interim basis in November 2019, led the club to a spectacular winning run that earned them six domestic and international titles in the following months, including the Champions League and the club World Cup crown.

LIVERPOOL, April 16 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane moved clear at the top of this season's Premier League scoring charts but his brace in a 2-2 draw at Everton was overshadowed by a late injury on Friday.

Kane took his tally to 21 for the season with a goal in each half but Gylfi Sigurdsson also scored twice for the hosts in a draw that did little for either side's fading top-four hopes.

Worryingly for Tottenham, and England, Kane hobbled off in stoppage time with what appeared to be an ankle injury.

Tobin Heath’s season at Manchester United is over, manager Casey Stoney confirmed on Friday, a disappointing end after a second Tobin Heath injury for the USWNT winger. 

Heath had four goals and two assists in eight matches with United since joining (along with Christen Press) in September. She hasn’t played since Dec. 20, a two-goal performance against Bristol City.

Manchester City's Phil Foden has parted ways with a social media company handling his accounts after they posted a controversial tweet calling out Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe when both teams qualified for the Champions League semi-finals.

Foden sealed victory with a late goal in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund as City progressed to the semifinals where they will meet PSG, who knocked out holders Bayern Munich on away goals a day earlier.

Porto scored the goal of the competition during Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg. If you’re looking for the other Chelsea vs. Porto highlights, I’m afraid to tell you that there isn’t much to see. 

The Blues advanced to their first Champions League semifinal in seven years despite Porto winning 1-0 on the night. Chelsea advanced 2-1 on aggregate. 

To provide a taste of how riveting the affair was, here’s a highlight of the first shot on target … in the 64th minute.

PRAGUE - Arsenal cruised past Slavia Prague 4-0 to book a Europa League semifinal spot on Thursday after they struck three quick-fire goals in seven first-half minutes to advance 5-1 on aggregate.

Alexandre Lacazette scored twice, including a penalty, while Nicolas Pepe and Bukayo Saka also found the net in the quarterfinal second leg to set up a last-four clash with Villarreal.