Barcelona remained on track to finish second in LaLiga after Fermin Lopez's brace sealed a 2-0 win over bottom side Almeria on Thursday.

Fermin gave Barca an early lead in the 14th minute when he headed past goalkeeper Luis Maximiano from Hector Fort's accurate cross.

Despite efforts from Cesar Montes and Lucas Robertone, Almeria were unable to find an equaliser.

Fermin netted his second from Sergi Roberto's cross to wrap up the win for Barca in the 67th minute.

Xavi's side are on 79 points, four clear of Catalan rivals Girona, whose hopes of finishing second are fading fast after Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Villarreal.

Real Madrid, who have already clinched the title, continue to pull away from Barca after a 5-0 win over Alaves on Tuesday.

Data Debrief: Holding the Fort

Fort provided the assist for Barca's opener, his second assist of the campaign in LaLiga.

Three players aged under 20 have provided an assist in LaLiga for the Blaugrana this term – Lamine Yamal (four), Fort (two) and Gavi (one). That is not a statistic matched by any other team in Europe's top five leagues.

Aryna Sabalenka defeated Danielle Collins 7-5 6-2 to set up yet another meeting with Iga Swiatek at the Italian Open.

Having defeated Collins en route to the final of the Madrid Open, which she lost to Swiatek, Sabalenka repeated the trick with a straight sets win over the American in Thursday's semi-final.

And the Belarusian's reward will be an immediate rematch with Swiatek.

The duo have met 10 times, including in Madrid earlier this month, with Swiatek winning seven times and Sabalenka claiming three victories.

This will be Sabalenka's first appearance in the Italian Open final.

She is the sixth player, along with Simona Halep (2017), Dinara Safina (2009), Serena Williams (2013), Ons Jabeur (2022), and Swiatek (2024) to have reached the final of both Madrid and Rome in the same season.

Data Debrief: Perfect record

Collins is the only player against whom Sabalenka has registered six wins without a loss in WTA events, while only against Maria Sakkari and Elise Mertens does she have more wins in her career in such events (seven each).

The final will mark the fourth meeting on clay between Swiatek and Sabalenka as world number one and two, equalling Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for the most meetings on the surface as the WTA's top-two ranked players.

Jurgen Klopp has joked he doesn't like James Maddison after the midfielder's failure to block Vincent Kompany's long-range winner in the 2018-19 season.

With the title race that campaign nearing its conclusion, Manchester City and Liverpool were going toe-to-toe at the Premier League summit.

City faced Leicester City in their penultimate game, and with the contest 0-0 with 20 minutes left, the ball sat up for Kompany to shoot from range with Maddison in the vicinity.

Maddison failed to block the effort, and Kompany's drive flew into the top corner before City ultimately went on to claim the title.

Klopp has joked that he now feels differently about Maddison following that incident, telling The Redmen TV: "The moment when Vinny Kompany fires the ball, I'm really happy I didn't get a stroke because that's how it must feel.

"I was watching thinking, 'Maddison, block him, close him down!'

"And since then, I don't like Maddison! I was also angry with Brendan [Rodgers, then Leicester manager] that day, because he should have taken him off, he was tired.

"It's a personal thing. Of course, I have no problem."

Leeds United thumped Norwich City 4-0 in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final to seal their place at Wembley.

After a goalless draw in the first leg left it all to play for at Elland Road on Thursday, Leeds turned on the style in front of a raucous home crowd to cruise into the final on May 26.

Ilia Gruev settled the majority of Elland Road's nerves with just seven minutes played as he caught out Angus Gunn with a long-range free-kick, curling into the space vacated by the Norwich goalkeeper's expectation of a cross.

Joel Piroe then doubled the hosts' advantage 13 minutes later, again capitalising on poor goalkeeping to beat Gunn to Wilfried Gnonto's cross and nod home.

The tie was effectively over five minutes from half-time, Georginio Rutter getting on the end of Crysencio Summerville's squared pass to rifle off the underside of the crossbar and in.

And after Gunn spilled Gnonto's low shot in the second half, Rutter cut the ball back for Summerville to poke home and secure Leeds' place in next Sunday's final, where they will meet either Southampton or West Brom.

Data debrief

Leeds may have looked pretty blunt in attack at Carrow Road, but that was far from the case on home soil as they put the Canaries to the sword in brutal fashion while keeping a 21st Championship clean sheet this season, more than any other side.

Daniel Farke's men produced 2.45 xG (expected goals) to Norwich's 0.51, while Summerville made it 20 league goals for the season, more than any other Leeds player.

Joshua Zirkzee was a surprise omission from Ronald Koeman's Netherlands squad for Euro 2024, as Frenkie de Jong made the selection.

A 30-man preliminary squad was confirmed on Thursday, with that pool to be whittled down to 26 for the tournament, which starts on June 14.

The Netherlands have been drawn against France, Austria and Poland in Group D, and Koeman somewhat surprisingly did not include in-form Bologna attacker Zirkzee, who has scored 12 goals this season, propelling his side towards Champions League qualification.

Koeman has preferred to go with the experienced Wout Weghorst, along with Memphis Depay and Brian Brobbey.

De Jong, though, did make the cut despite having not played for Barcelona in close to a month due to an ankle issue.

Ryan Gravenberch has earned a recall after a year away, and he is joined by Liverpool team-mates Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo.

Micky van de Ven, who has impressed for Tottenham this season, has also been selected, as has wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, who has been in sensational form for Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. Arsenal's Jurrien Timber, who sustained a serious injury in August, does not feature.

Georginio Wijnaldum, the former Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder who now plays in Saudi Arabia, has been included.

Koeman will confirm his 26-man squad by the end of May.

Netherlands squad

Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Mark Flekken (Brentford), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove Albion), Nick Olij (Sparta Rotterdam); Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Daley Blind (Girona), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan), Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen), Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord), Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich), Ian Maatsen (Borussia Dortmund), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur), Stefan de Vrij (Inter); Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Frenkie de Jong (FC Barcelona), Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta), Tijjani Reijnders (Milan), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Jerdy Schouten (PSV), Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig), Quinten Timber (Feyenoord), Joey Veerman (PSV Eindhoven), Georginio Wijnaldum (Al Ettifaq); Steven Bergwijn (Ajax), Brian Brobbey (Ajax), Memphis Depay (Atletico Madrid), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Donyell Malen (Borussia Dortmund), Wout Weghorst (Hoffenheim).

N'Golo Kante has been named as a surprise inclusion in France's squad for Euro 2024.

Kante has not played for Les Bleus since 2022, but despite the long exodus from the squad, the Al Ittihad midfielder has been named in head coach Didier Deschamps' 26-man squad for the upcoming tournament in Germany.

The squad is headlined by Kylian Mbappe, who has plied his trade for Paris Saint-Germain since 2017 but looks set to move to Real Madrid in the upcoming window. Mbappe's PSG team-mate Bradley Barcola makes the squad for the first time.

Also making the journey to Germany will be Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and William Saliba, though Bayern Munich's Lucas Hernandez misses out through injury.

Among the notable exclusions are Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku and Crystal Palace's Michael Olise, who both miss out despite recently returning to fitness in the Premier League.

France will play two warm-up friendlies against Luxembourg and then Canada, before they kick off their Euro 2024 campaign against Austria on June 17. France will also face the Netherlands and Poland in the group stage as they look to reclaim the European Championships crown they lost to Italy in the 2020 edition.

France squad

Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens); Jonathan Clauss (Marseille), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), Ferland Mendy (Madrid), Benjamin Pavard (Inter), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich); Eduardo Camavinga (Madrid), Youssouf Fofana (Monaco), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico), N'Golo Kante (Al Ittihad), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurelien Tchouameni (Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain); Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain), Olivier Giroud (Milan), Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint-Germain), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Marcus Thuram (Inter).

Sunrisers Hyderabad are into the Indian Premier League play-offs despite their game against Gujarat Titans being abandoned without even doing the toss due to rain.

SRH move onto 15 points, with one game remaining, but are now ensured a top-four finish for the first time since 2020.

Their top-two hopes have taken a hit though – they have to beat Punjab Kings in their final game and hope Rajasthan Royals lose to Kolkata Knights Riders to finish second.

The Titans were already out of play-off contention after their previous game against KKR was also called off due to a heavy storm without hitting a ball. They finish their season currently third from bottom, though that could change depending on results in the final few matches.

Lando Norris says McLaren still need more time if they want to challenge Red Bull consistently after taking his maiden victory in the Miami Grand Prix.

Norris was helped by a well-timed safety car that allowed him to jump ahead of Max Verstappen in Miami to become just the third different driver to win a Grand Prix this season.

The 24-year-old currently sits fourth in the F1 drivers’ standings after three podium finishes, and he expects another competitive race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday.

"I'm confident we can make steps forward, but I've made it clear we're not going to be there every weekend," Norris said.

"We need more if we are to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari more consistently.

"We definitely took a step forward, but other teams have upgrades, too. So, we're not getting ahead of ourselves.

"I still think we’re the third-best team at the moment, but that could change if we have another good weekend here, and I'm confident with our rate of development that by next year we can challenge a lot more often for wins and, in the big picture, challenge for the title."

Norris’ victory in Florida followed a major aerodynamic development to the McLaren, and he believes it will be an even better match to the track on Sunday.

"We are just better suited for Imola, potentially the upgrade a little bit as well,” he added.

"Imola has generally been one of our more successful tracks - and for me as driver."

Napoli's Serie A title defence has long since ended, and they must beat Fiorentina on Friday to have any hope of playing in Europe next season.

Napoli strolled to the Scudetto last year, clinching the title with five games to spare and finishing 16 points ahead of runners-up Lazio.

This time around, it was Inter who wrapped up the league with five games remaining, while Napoli sit ninth in the standings, 41 points adrift of the leaders with a Europa Conference League spot their only hope of playing in Europe.

Napoli are without a win in their last five games, though even if they can get back to winning ways, their European hopes would be out of their own hands due to having played a game more than Fiorentina.

Fiorentina have won three of their last five league matches, and won the previous meeting between the sides 3-1, which could prove vital they end the season level on points and the head-to-head record comes into play.

Vincenzo Italiano's side have already qualified for this season's Europa Conference League final, where they face Greek side Olympiacos in Athens. 

The Viola, unbeaten in Europe this season, are aiming to end the league campaign on a high and take that momentum into the final - they are looking to go one better than last year when they lost to West Ham in the final.

Napoli are likely to be without top scorer Victor Osimhen, who is a serious doubt due to a muscular problem. Fiorentina, meanwhile, welcome back Andre Belotti who missed Monday's win over Monza.

Iga Swiatek is through to the Italian Open final for the third time after seeing off Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday.

There was little to separate the two in the opening 50 minutes as they played to 4-4 before Gauff left an opening with back-to-back double faults, and Swiatek took full advantage.

The world number one broke Gauff’s serve four times, including in the fifth game of the second set to swing the momentum firmly in her favour after one hour 48 minutes on the court.

Swiatek has now reached back-to-back WTA 1000 finals after winning the Madrid Open earlier this month and could face Aryna Sabalenka for the title once more if the Belarusian gets past Danielle Collins in the other semi-final.

Data Debrief: Unstoppable on clay

Swiatek has now won 11 consecutive matches, and registered her 10th victory over Gauff in 11 meetings between the two - she has won all four matches against the American on clay. 

Since the format’s introduction in 2009, Swiatek (40 per cent, 12/30) holds the highest percentage of finals reached from WTA-1000 main draws entered. Serena Williams (36.7 per cent, 18/49) is the next best in the format's history.

Since the WTA rankings were first published in 1975, Swiatek has become only the third player to reach multiple Italian Open finals as the WTA's number one, along with Serena Williams (three) and Monica Seles (two). She will be looking for her third Italian Open title on Saturday.

Tommy Paul reached the semi-final of the Italian Open after pulling through a rollercoaster clash with Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday.

The number 14 seed downed Hurkacz 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarter-final, keeping his composure during his two hours and 43 minutes on the court.

After winning the first set, Hurkacz fought back to win the second, but the American was not out of the contest yet as he clawed back from 0-2 down early in the third.

He closed out the win in a dramatic fashion, fending off six break points while letting three of his own slip, to eventually set up a semi-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas or Nicolas Jerry on Friday. 

Data Debrief: Into the final four

After beating Daniil Medvedev in the previous round, Paul has now won back-to-back matches against top-10 opponents for the first time in his professional career with his victory over Hurkacz. 

Paul earned his 150th tour-level win to take him through to his third Masters 1000 semi-final, as he aims to become the first American finalist in Rome since Andre Agassi in 2002.

Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson will miss the final two games of the season due to a fractured eye socket.

The Citizens face West Ham on Sunday as they aim to win a fourth consecutive Premier League title, before taking on rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final on May 25.

The goalkeeper was involved in a heavy collision with Cristian Romero in their 2-0 win over Tottenham on Tuesday, with the goalkeeper initially allowed to continue after receiving treatment before being replaced by Stefan Ortega.

City revealed Ederson has since undergone scans which revealed a small fracture to the right eye socket, forcing him out of their last two games of the season.