A roundup of Saturday’s action in Spain and Italy’s top flights:
Granada 1-3 Barcelona
Barcelona, on the back of goals by Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, brushed aside Granada and closed the gap between themselves and La Liga leaders Real Madrid to a single point (Real are still to play Sunday). Don’t look now, but Suarez is really finding his feet at Barcelona, with another goal and assist on Saturday. | FULL RECAP WITH HIGHLIGHTS
Malaga 3-2 Getafe
Malaga’s (7th place, 41 points) chase for European qualification (fifth and sixth are Europa League places) got a high-scoring boost on Saturday.
Juanmi put the hosts ahead after 10 minutes, but Alvaro Vazquez equalized for Getafe in the 55th minute. Malaga were quick to respond through Sergi Darder two minutes later, followed by Ricardo Horta in the 68th minute. Vazquez scored his second of the game with 15 minutes to play, but Malaga held on for all three points and further safety in their mid-table status.
Elsewhere in La Liga
Rayo Vallecano 4-2 Levante
Almeria 0-0 Deportivo La Coruna
Sunday’s La Liga schedule
Valencia vs. Real Sociedad (6 am ET)
Eibar vs. Athletic Bilbao (11 am ET)
Sevilla vs. Atletico Madrid (1 pm ET)
Real Madrid vs. Villarreal (3 pm ET)
Chievo 0-0 AC Milan
It’s dark days for AC Milan. So much so that scoreless draws with the likes of 16th-placed Chievo are hardly anything at which to bat an eye. With just two wins in their last 10 Serie A games, Milan (33 points, 11th place) can pretty well forget about European qualification of any kind (fourth and fifth are Europa League places) and focus solely on finishing in the top half of the league.
As for Saturday, anytime you hold 60 percent of possession in a game and can muster just 11 shots (two on goal), it’s been a thoroughly disappointing performance.
Sunday’s La Liga schedule
Cagliari vs. Verona (6:30 am ET)
Sassuolo vs. Lazio (9 am ET)
Palermo vs. Empoli (9 am ET)
Genoa vs. Parma (PPD)
Atalanta vs. Sampdoria (9 am ET)
Cesena vs. Udinese (9 am ET)
Inter Milan vs. Fiorentina (12 pm ET)
Torino vs. Napoli (2:45 pm ET)