Italy

BARCELONA — Barcelona gave up more ground to Real Madrid in LaLiga's title race on Tuesday after being held to a 2-2 draw at home to Atletico Madrid as a late penalty from Saul Niguez canceled out Lionel Messi's 700th career goal.

The draw meant the Catalans stayed second in the standings on 70 points and leaders Real Madrid, who have 71, will go four points clear at the top with five games left if they beat Getafe at home on Thursday.

GENOA, Italy — Juventus secured a 3-1 win at lowly Genoa on Tuesday to stay four points clear at the top of Serie A thanks to a solo goal by Paulo Dybala, a long-range rocket from Cristiano Ronaldo and an exquisite curling shot by Douglas Costa.

Genoa held out defiantly until halftime with goalkeeper Mattia Perin saving everything his former club could throw at him but they had no answer to Juve's individual brilliance in the second period.

I remember when, back in the fall of 2017, Andrés Iniesta put pen to paper on a lifetime contract with Barcelona. A part of me immediately understood that it was, in theory, merely symbolic (he would move to Vissel Kobe come summer), but there was a part of me that really wanted to learn that the contract was actually practical: Why not keep Iniesta in Barcelona’s midfield until the age of 76?

Substitute Luis Muriel rifled in two long-range goals as irrepressible Atalanta beat Udinese 3-2 away on Sunday for their third straight win since restarting the Serie A campaign.

The league's most prolific team took their tally to 80 goals in 28 games, including 10 in three matches since the resumption, as they stayed fourth and on course for a Champions League spot.

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.

ROME — Serie A leading scorer Ciro Immobile converted a contentious second-half penalty to set second-placed Lazio on the way to a 2-1 comeback win over Fiorentina that kept them four points behind leaders Juventus on Saturday.

Franck Ribery stunned the hosts when the 37-year-old Frenchman put Fiorentina ahead with a solo goal in the 25th minute, slipping between two defenders, then gliding past a third before firing past Thomas Strakosha.

TURIN, Italy — Cristiano Ronaldo scored a thumping penalty and created goals for Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain as Juventus hammered 10-man Lecce 4-0 on Friday to stretch their lead over Lazio at the top of Serie A to seven points.

With Lecce's Fabio Lucioni getting a straight red card for a clumsy challenge after 32 minutes, Juve took the lead in the 53rd when Ronaldo fed Dybala, who clipped a superb shot into the top corner.

Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri has rubbished suggestions of a falling out with midfielder Miralem Pjanic and is confident Cristiano Ronaldo will quickly bounce back from his disappointing restart to the season.

Sarri has quickly found himself under pressure after Juventus were beaten on penalties by Napoli in Wednesday's Coppa Italia final.

The only other game they have contested since the three-month stoppage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was the Coppa semifinal at home to AC Milan five days earlier, which also ended 0-0 after Ronaldo missed a penalty.

Last night in Rome, Napoli captured the Coppa Italia by defeating Juventus on penalties to send Naples into raptures. There are few cities on the planet that are so culturally and socially intertwined with their football club, and a first major honor since 2014 — coupled with the fact that it was achieved against Cristiano Ronaldo and 94-year rival Juve — drew fans out onto the streets to celebrate into the early hours.

Serie A has not even restarted following the coronavirus stoppage, yet pressure is already mounting on Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri following his side's failure to win the Coppa Italia.