13/04/2026

SPORTS MONDAY | APR 13, 2026

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Yamal shines for Barca Catalans thrash Espanyol to extend La Liga lead L AMINE YAMAL set up two goals and scored another as Barcelona took a significant step towards defending their La Liga title with a 4-1 derby win over Espanyol yesterday. Barca fans adore watching him. Yamal’s assist for the second was sumptuous, playing Torres through with the outside of his boot and the striker’s shot trickled past Marko Dmitrovic and into the net.

Hurzeler urges Brighton ‘to go all in’

Milan’s title hopes in tatters

FABIAN HURZELER insists Brighton can qualify for Europe if they stay humble after Mats Wieffer’s brace moved them to within two points of sixth-place and edged Burnley closer to relegation. The Dutchman produced two clinical finishes, in the 43rd and 89th minutes, to fire the visitors to a 2-0 victory over oppo nents who look destined for the drop. Although Scott Parker’s men saw Jaidon Anthony and Bashir Humphreys both have efforts disallowed for offside, they lacked the quality to trouble an Albion side who took the lead when Wieffer swept a low drive past Martin Dubravka after Yankuba Minteh and Pascal Gross had combined. The 26-year-old pounced again in the closing stages, sweeping home a perfectly placed finish from Yasin Ayari’s pass. With Albion recording a third straight win for the first time this term, Hurzeler said: “What I want to say, regarding our run, is that we are now better at managing the key moments. “The results will always come if daily we have the right work ethic and the right behaviour. Now we try to go all in and play every game like it is a final. “I’m not a big fan of talking about Europe, but we are known as a well-struc tured and well-run club. On the other side, we are also ambitious and we want to keep improving. “Most importantly, we need to earn the right to compete with the top teams and if we show that right then we can always be confident.” Hurzeler added: “It was not our best game and we were a little lucky with two tight (offside) decisions. “The Premier League is so competitive and there’s no such thing as an easy game. So we had to work hard and show the right effort, which we did.” Burnley refused to give up the ghost but are now without a win in seven and 12 points from safety. Parker said: “I thought we did well and there wasn’t a great deal in the game. “To be honest, those two decisions were so tight. “Effectively it was about a sleeve or a kneecap. We live in a world now where, if a robot says it’s offside, then I’ve become accus

second place despite their four-game winning streak coming to an end. A day after extending his deal at the club to 2031, Nico Schlotterbeck received a smattering of boos and whistles from the home fans amid reports he had a release clause for this summer inserted into his contract. “We’re really happy Schlotti extended,” centreback partner Waldemar Anton told DAZN . “He didn’t deserve the boos. That hurts the team, everyone in the stands needs to know that. It’s nonsense and it’s not some thing we can accept.” – AFP “When you win, you’re praised; when you lose, you’re not. It’s only right that we were booed today. It’s not that the team didn’t try, nothing to criticise in terms of effort from the lads. “The only thing to do now is work, prepare properly for the match in Verona with total calm, and above all see this defeat as an opportunity to do better next time. “We need to play in line with our identity, with much more organisation, patience, and clarity, things we lacked today. We were too eager to get the result and ended up playing into the opponent’s hands.” – AFP/Agencies AC MILAN relinquished any remaining hope of winning the Serie A title yes terday after falling to a shock 3-0 home defeat by Udinese, while Juventus beat Atalanta 1-0 to move into the Champions League positions. A Davide Bartesaghi own goal and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp’s glancing header in the first half, and Arthur Atta’s superb low finish in the 71st minute, left Milan nine points behind Inter Milan ahead of the league lead ers’ clash at Como overnight. With six matches remaining this season, even an Inter loss at Como would leave third-placed Milan with a near-impossible gap to close. And a Como win would not be good news either as the lakeside outfit currently sit fifth and five points behind Milan, who have lost three of four matches since winning last month’s Milan derby, after Juve moved provisionally fourth. Jeremie Boga bundled home the only goal in an uneventful match in Bergamo the day after coach Luciano Spalletti – hired with the aim of getting Juve into the Champions League – signed a new deal with the Turin club until 2028. Milan host Juve in a fortnight, a match which looks likely to be key to the top-four positions come May, and Allegri described as “right” the loud whistles which accompanied the end of the game at the San Siro. “This defeat should make us understand that our qualification for the Champions League is u n d e r th r ea t ,” Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said to DAZN .

Ferran Torres netted twice with Yamal and Marcus Rashford finding the net late on as the Catalans moved nine points clear of second-placed rivals Real Madrid. Real drew 1-1 against Girona on Saturday and with seven games remaining, one of which is a Clasico at the Nou Camp in May, Hansi Flick’s side have a commanding lead. Barca face Atletico Madrid on Tuesday (Wed 3am Malaysian time) in the Champions League quarterfinals, aiming to fight back from a 2-0 first leg defeat, but the coach still picked a strong side against Espanyol. Midfielder Pedri Gonzalez

“You always hear noise around you, more for the bad things than for the good… I am always focused on myself, on improving,” Torres told DAZN . Espanyol came close when Tyrhys Dolan’s chipped effort clipped the top of the crossbar but they were mainly pinned back in their own terri tory. Yamal curled a free-kick narrowly over the cross bar and Dmitrovic made a good double save to keep Fermin Lopez and Eric Garcia at bay. Barcelona thought they had extended their lead early in the second half when Torres stabbed home Garcia’s goal-bound header but it was ruled out for a tight offside against the defender. Espanyol pulled one back through Pol Lozano immediately afterwards with a rasping effort after Barca struggled to clear the ball. “Small errors killed us a bit, we have to be proud of the work we did,” said Lozano. “We’re getting better and sooner rather than later the victory will come.” Substitute Rashford could have got a third for Barca but the England international seemed to lack confidence as he delayed his shot before firing straight at Dmitrovic. The winger missed several chances against Atletico in the first leg of t h e

and 18-year-old winger Yamal played the full match as Flick tried not to let the second leg disrupt the team’s league campaign. Flick said he would not accept his team slacking off despite their strong position. “Every game has to start with the right attitude and right mentality, with only quality you will win nothing,” said the German coach. “I’m positive we can win La Liga but it’s not

Barca’s Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring the third goal during the La Liga match against Espanyol at the Nou Camp yesterday. – AFPPIC

Champions League tie, but by the end he found the net and will look to make further amends at the Metropolitano. Yamal notched the third in the 87th minute by charging down a loose ball, which rebounded beyond Dmitrovic, leaving him with a tap-in. Two minutes later Rashford hooked home the fourth with a volley from Frenkie de Jong’s cross, with the Dutch midfielder on as a substitute for his first appearance since suf fering a hamstring injury in February. – AFP

done.” After a strong start to the season

Espanyol were beaten at home by Barca in the first game of 2026 and have failed to win a match since. They offered little resistance as Flick’s side cruised into a two-goal lead. Yamal created both goals for Torres, whipping in a corner which the Spain international nodded home for his first goal since January. Although some wondered if Flick would rest Yamal for Wednesday’s visit to face

tomed to that. Listen, the run is not good. It is what it is. The biggest chal lenge for us is the remaining games and keeping fighting away.” – The Independent

Atletico, the teenager is always keen to play and

Relentless Bayern march closer to Bundesliga title

BAYERN MUNICH romped to a 5-0 win at St. Pauli yesterday, breaking a 54-year Bundesliga goalscoring record and moving to within touching dis tance of a 35th league crown. Leon Goretzka’s 53rd-minute goal, Bayern’s second of the match, brought up 102 league goals this season, breaking a previous mark set by the Bavarian giants in 1971-72. The longstanding record was set by a team that featured club legends Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller and Uli Hoeness. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany

told Sky Germany he knew his side would shatter the total. “I saw Uli Hoeness yesterday and told him ‘We’re coming for the record’. The mark existed for so long and the lads can be proud, but we’re going to keep going.” Top scorer Harry Kane was left on the bench but Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise, Nicolas Jackson and Raphael Guerreiro joined Goretzka on the scoresheet as Bayern pulled 12 points clear of Borussia Dortmund, who lost to Bayer Leverkusen earlier on Saturday.

best a record the Bavarians set over half a century ago. Olise added another just a minute later. Kane replacement Jackson got one of his own and Guerreiro scored late to round out the victory and up the record to 105. Robert Andrich hit a long-range strike late in the first half as Leverkusen became just the second team to beat Dortmund in the league this season with a 1-0 away victory. Dortmund, whose two previous defeats this season came against Bayern, remain eight points clear in

With five matches remaining this season, defending champions Bayern can win the title as early as next week at home against Stuttgart. Mindful of Wednesday’s (Thurs 3am) Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Real Madrid, Bayern also started with Luis Diaz, Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah on the bench. The missing firepower mattered lit tle as Musiala headed the visitors in front with nine minutes gone. Early in the second half, Goretzka turned the ball in from close range to