Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has criticised LaLiga referees for failing to issue cards to opponents who repeatedly foul him.

Vinicius was on target for Madrid in Saturday's 3-1 win over Espanyol, with that his team-high 19th goal in 39 appearances this season.

He was once again targeted by opposition players, with his 138 fouls won in all competitions this term at least 34 more than any other player across Europe's top five leagues.

But Vinicius was himself shown a 12th yellow card of the season against Espanyol – only Sofyan Amrabat (13) and Alex Baena (14) have more across the continent.

"Referees don't give fouls and they don't give yellow cards," he told ESPN. "Players can foul me 15 times and, when the game is in the 88th minute, the referee gives a yellow.

"Players have to think of a way to stop me, and, by [committing fouls], it becomes very easy for them. 

"I don't judge the players, but I judge the referees, because they have to apply the rules correctly."

Vinicius added: "I'm not asking for anyone to protect me. Nobody has protected me in my life, except my team-mates, my parents and the people that like me.

"What I have to do is to try to keep a clear head. I make mistakes sometimes; I'm only 22. I'll make a lot of mistakes. But I want to make fewer mistakes and keep learning."

Asked about referee Jorge Figuerola's decision to book Vinicius for a rather innocuous challenge, Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti said: "I didn't understand it.

"It wasn't an action that stopped a promising attack. I don't understand the yellow cards they give him. His attitude has been exemplary and he scored another fantastic goal."

Vinicius arced a fine strike into the bottom-right corner to cancel out Joselu's early opener at the Santiago Bernabeu, before Eder Militao put Madrid in the lead before half-time. 

Marco Asensio then sealed the comeback win for Madrid, who have now won 10 points from losing positions in LaLiga this term – a tally only Osasuna (12) can better.

Ancelotti's side are back to within six points of leaders Barcelona, who play their game in hand at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola believes Erling Haaland's secret weapon is that he "never gets sad" about missing chances.

The Norwegian striker scored his 28th Premier League goal of the season as his penalty gave Manchester City a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Haaland had missed a presentable chance in the first half but slotted his spot-kick with calm precision in the 78th minute at Selhurst Park. 

"One of his biggest attributes I discovered and knowing him, working together... he can miss one chance and he never gets depressed, he isn't sad," Guardiola said after the win.

"He's always thinking positive, the next one, he knows he'll have the chance and he'll be there. This is an incredible attribute for a football player.

"An athlete normally in football and basketball and tennis, when you're thinking in the action, in the past, that's finished, you cannot be a good athlete. This guy misses and he thinks, 'OK, I'll have another one and another one'."

Some have suggested City's occasional struggles this season, despite Haaland's incredible goal return, are a result of the former Borussia Dortmund man not offering much in the team's build-up play, and Guardiola acknowledged it as an area he wants his striker to improve.

"What I would like when I finish our period together is that he could improve his game with the association with the team, with the right tempo, to realise how he can be involved in our game and not just put the ball in the net," Guardiola said.

"Putting the ball in the net will happen all the time in his life. He doesn't score one or two goals and people say he's not the same. He's always there, the numbers speak for themselves. What he has scored in this league especially, we are still in March."

The City boss also described Haaland's first-half miss as a "penalty", despite the expected goal (xG) rate being just 0.2 according to Opta, compared to 0.8 for a penalty.

"He has to score five goals every game. If he doesn't score it's a lot of pressure," Guardiola joked. "He doesn't have the pressure, he's had an incredible season so far.

"He missed a penalty in the first half because the chance he missed, the penalty is more difficult, but he's always there. The way he celebrates his goals and his mates' goals shows how happy he is here and how happy we are with him.

"He's a young lad, to take the ball there in this pressure, it's not soft, the determination to put it there and score was great.

"Of course he feels the pressure, but it's nice. If you don't feel the pressure you'll be in the bar drinking something. You have to cope, you have to handle it."

Kylian Mbappe scored a late winner as Paris Saint-Germain beat Brest 2-1 in Ligue on Saturday, but their performance was not an emphatic response to Champions League elimination.

PSG appeared to be limping to a 1-1 draw at Stade Francis-Le Ble, which would have been a major disappointment after defeat to Bayern Munich, only for Mbappe to step up and spare their blushes.

Carlos Soler had put PSG in front late in the first half, but Brest arguably played the better football and were good value for Franck Honorat's excellent equaliser.

A commendable point looked set to be Brest's reward for a spirited display, though Lionel Messi and Mbappe linked up in the 90th minute to put PSG 11 points clear.

Kylian Mbappe scored a late winner as Paris Saint-Germain beat Brest 2-1 in Ligue on Saturday, but their performance was not an emphatic response to Champions League elimination.

PSG appeared to be limping to a 1-1 draw at Stade Francis-Le Ble, which would have been a major disappointment after defeat to Bayern Munich, only for Mbappe to step up and spare their blushes.

Carlos Soler had put PSG in front late in the first half, but Brest arguably played the better football and were good value for Franck Honorat's excellent equaliser.

A commendable point looked set to be Brest's reward for a spirited display, though Lionel Messi and Mbappe linked up in the 90th minute to put PSG 11 points clear.

PSG quickly established control and almost took an early lead.

Despite a comical air kick, Messi managed to nudge the ball to Soler while stumbling, and the Spaniard saw his attempt pushed onto the post by Marco Bizot.

Bizot could not deny Soler in the 37th minute, however, the midfielder smashing home after Mbappe's long-range strike was parried.

But PSG were soon pegged back.

The lively Honorat brought down Romain Del Castillo's lofted throughball and held off Sergio Ramos and Timothee Pembele, before emphatically finishing beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Honorat turned provider 10 minutes after half-time, but Lilian Brassier's wayward header failed to do the pinpoint delivery justice.

PSG's desperation soon began to spawn chances. Bizot pushed a Messi curler wide, while Mbappe spurned two opportunities.

The two later combined to seal the points, however.

Mbappe broke the offside trap to collect Messi's pass and he slotted home after rounding the helpless Bizot.

A week certainly is a long time in football.

Just six days ago, jaws were on the floor as Liverpool handed in-form Manchester United their heaviest defeat in over 90 years, thumping their old rivals 7-0 at Anfield.

On Saturday, Jurgen Klopp's men went down 1-0 to previously bottom-of-the-table Bournemouth, who bounced back from their agonising last-minute defeat at Arsenal last time out.

Manchester City also had a tough away game at Crystal Palace but came out on the right side of a one-goal outcome to close the gap on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

Chelsea continued their rise in form with a third win in a week, while Antonio Conte's mood presumably improved as his Tottenham side beat Nottingham Forest.

Stats Perform has taken a look into some Opta data from the pick of the day's action.

Bournemouth 1-0 Liverpool: Reds bubble popped by Cherries

Last week at Anfield, it felt like Liverpool would score every time they surged forward. On Saturday at the Vitality Stadium, they looked like they would struggle to find the net even if Bournemouth had left the field for a few minutes.

This was just Bournemouth's second ever competitive win against Liverpool, and their first since their famous 4-3 victory in December 2016. It was also just their second clean sheet against the Reds and their first since January 1968 (0-0).

Philip Billing's first-half strike was his sixth goal in the league this season, twice as many as he had managed in his previous three campaigns in England's top-flight combined (three in 77 games).

Mohamed Salah was electric against United, but his only moment of note this week saw the Egyptian smash a second-half penalty wide, the first time he had missed the target from the spot in the Premier League (18 scored, two saved prior to Saturday).

The Reds lost consecutive Premier League matches against opponents starting the day bottom of the table for the first time since December 2010-February 2011 (vs Wolves and West Ham respectively), and have failed to win away against all three promoted clubs (D1 L2) in a single Premier League campaign for only the third time, also doing so in 2010-11 (L3) and 2003-04 (D2 L1).

Leicester City 1-3 Chelsea: Potter weaves his magic to get Blues firing again

Before last week, Graham Potter's Chelsea were a mess, having won only two of their previous 15 games.

Seven days later and they are on a run of three wins, completing the league double over Leicester for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign.

It also meant an end to a run of eight Premier League away games without a victory for the Blues (D4 L4), with this their first win on the road since a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa in October.

This was Leicester's 16th Premier League defeat of the season, with no team having suffered more (Southampton also 16), and they conceded first for the ninth consecutive league game, doing so 14 times in total this season, only Southampton (18) and West Ham (17) have shipped the opening goal of the game more often in 2022-23.

Chelsea's goals came through Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic, with Havertz scoring his first Premier League away goal since October (v Brighton).

Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers has suffered as many as 16 defeats in a single league season for the first time in his career, which was not an ideal way to celebrate his 150th Premier League game as Leicester manager (W64 D29 L57). Only Martin O'Neill has managed more games in the competition for the club (152), while only Claudio Ranieri (44 per cent) has a better win percentage than Rodgers (43 per cent).

Tottenham 3-1 Nottingham Forest: Kane able to reignite Spurs' season

Taking advantage of Liverpool's slip in the race for the top four, Tottenham recovered from their Champions League exit to Milan by easing past Forest thanks to goals from Harry Kane (two) and Son Heung-min.

Despite the 0-0 against Milan at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday, none of Spurs' last 24 home league games have been drawn (W17 L7), while today was the first time they have had a two-goal lead at half-time in a Premier League home game since beating Arsenal last May.

Steve Cooper's Forest have lost all four of their league games in London this season by an aggregate score of 14-1. It is the first time they have lost four consecutive league games in the capital since February 1999 (a run of five).

Kane has now scored eight headed goals in the Premier League this season – only former Everton and Newcastle United striker Duncan Ferguson has ever netted more in a single campaign (nine in 1997-98).

The England captain has also scored 20 goals in a Premier League season for the sixth time, with only Alan Shearer (seven) doing so in more different campaigns than the Tottenham striker.

Fraser Forster's late penalty save from Andre Ayew was the fourth of his last eight penalties faced in the Premier League that he has kept out.

Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester City: Haaland steps up again as Palace fire blanks once more

It was far from a typical dominant Man City display, but Erling Haaland's late penalty earned them three points at Selhurst Park.

Despite their uncharacteristic wobbles this season, City have won five of their last six Premier League games (D1), and are on the longest current unbeaten run in the competition (six games).

Palace defended well in the main, but also became the first team on record (since 2003-04) to fail to have a single shot on target in three consecutive Premier League matches.

The Eagles remain winless in their 10 league games in 2023 (D5 L5), while no side has failed to score in more different Premier League games this season (12).

Haaland scored his 10th away goal of the season in the league – with 18 also scored at home, he is just the second City player to reach double figures both home and away in a single Premier League campaign, after Sergio Aguero in 2014-15 (13 home, 13 away).

No player has scored more penalties in England's top-flight this season than Haaland (five, level with Brentford's Ivan Toney). Only Yaya Toure has scored more from the spot in a single campaign for the Citizens (six in 2013-14).

Edin Terzic bemoaned the way Borussia Dortmund were drawn into a "wild" Revierderby after Schalke twice came from behind to damage their rivals' title hopes in a dramatic 2-2 draw.

Dortmund were chasing a club record ninth consecutive Bundesliga win when they faced their fierce rivals on Saturday, having played their way into contention with Bayern Munich at the summit. 

While Nico Schlotterbeck's 38th-minute drive put them in the ascendency, Marius Buelter restored parity before Kenan Karaman did likewise after Raphael Guerreiro struck on the hour mark.

The result ended a run of four consecutive Revierderby wins for Dortmund, who sit two points adrift at the top of the table after Bayern's thrilling 5-3 win over Augsburg earlier on Saturday.

Speaking after the draw, Terzic said Schalke had succeeded in dragging Dortmund into an end-to-end contest, which worked to the relegation-threatened hosts' advantage.

"We said before the game that there were two options," Terzic said. 

"[Either] we get involved with Schalke's emotional and passionate game, and then it gets tight. Or we stay clear and try to win the game with football. 

"We showed that in the first half. We had a lot of good phases there, in which we controlled both the ball and the opponent. We were able to create a lot of clear chances. 

"We stopped that in the second half and then it got wild – just like Schalke wanted it to be. In the end we gave up the win and go home with a draw."

The draw means Schalke and Dortmund remain the only two Bundesliga teams to have gone unbeaten since the mid-season break, with Thomas Reis' men just one point adrift of safety after a run of seven games without defeat.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland appreciates there are no easy games in the Premier League after his 28th top-flight goal of the season sealed a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Haaland's penalty in the 78th minute earned City a vital win in the race for the title at Selhurst Park after Palace had frustrated the defending champions.

While Haaland was relieved to get the win, he referenced Liverpool's 1-0 defeat earlier in the day at Bournemouth as an example of the difficulty of the division.

"In the end all that matters is three points," he told Sky Sports. "It's not easy. Every single game is not easy. You saw Bournemouth beat Liverpool. Every single game is a fight and you saw that [for City], and we won and I am really happy."

No player has scored more Premier League penalties this season than Haaland (five, level with Brentford's Ivan Toney), while only Yaya Toure has scored more from the spot in a single campaign for City (six in 2013-14).

Pep Guardiola's men had to come from 2-0 down to beat Palace 4-2 in the reverse fixture in August, which, according to Haaland, is why he and his team-mates did not panic while their game on Saturday was goalless.

"I was not concerned, I just tried to do as I do every single game and that was to focus on my game," he said. "The last game against [Palace] we were 2-0 down, and this time we were 0-0, so it's not that bad, we had to keep going. As I said, it's not easy, but I'm really proud."

Haaland missed an opportunity in the 28th minute when he scooped Nathan Ake's cross over the bar, and though the chance only had an expected goals (xG) rate of 0.2, the Norwegian said it annoyed him.

"Of course I don't like to miss chances," he said. "I had one in the first half that I should have scored, it was a small thing in the grass that made the ball bounce a bit higher, but what can I do?

"I have to keep going and try to get the next chance, and I got my chance and I scored and we win, so I'm happy."

City are just two points behind Arsenal at the top of the table, with the Gunners travelling to Fulham on Sunday.

Clive Woodward never thought he would see the day England were so badly outclassed on home soil after witnessing their record home loss to France.

France crossed over seven times in their astonishing 53-10 victory at Twickenham on Saturday to keep their Six Nations title defence alive.

It is the most points ever conceded by England in a home Test, overtaking the 42 points scored by South Africa in November 2008.

Woodward, who guided the Red Rose to World Cup glory in 2003, was left stunned by his former side's capitulation and is fearing the worst ahead of next week's trip to Ireland.

"England were never going to win that game; we were second best by a long, long way," he told ITV Sport. "To think we're going to play Ireland next week is a sobering thought.

"To actually see that in a Six Nations game... I never thought I'd see that scoreboard ever at Twickenham."

Fellow pundit Johnny Wilkinson described the loss as "a massive reality check" for England, who tasted defeat at home to France for the first time in 18 years.

England have now lost two of their four matches this campaign – Steve Borthwick's first since replacing Eddie Jones in December – and find themselves in fourth place.

Borthwick accepts England were too easily dismantled by France and knows there is a gulf between his side and the world's elite heading into the Rugby World Cup.

"Certainly you have to give immense credit to France and they are clearly a world-class team," he told ITV Sport. "We are really disappointed in that performance. 

"There are lots of things we wanted to do but we couldn't execute. I think we lost collisions across both lines, attack and defence. 

"We knew they have immense power and unfortunately we didn't deal with it. When we attacked they were able to dominate. There is plenty of work on the collision areas

"We got exposed today. I thought we would get a measure of where we are at – there is a big gap between us and the top teams in the world. 

"I don't think it matters what I thought it [the gap] was before; I think we understand where we are and what we have to do."

France were 24 points to the good by half-time – another unwanted record for England in the Six Nations – with 23-point Thomas Ramos opening the scoring inside two minutes.

Thibaud Flament, Charles Ollivon and Damian Penaud all crossed over twice each in a one-sided contest, with Freddie Steward scoring England's only try.

It is the first time in the Six Nations era that three different France players have scored two tries each in a single game.

Reflecting on one of England's all-time worst displays, captain Ellis Genge admitted there can be no excuses.

"I am not going to sugar-coat it. That is one of our worst performances and we were punished numerous times," he said. 

"We asked the boys to keep fighting and I think for 80 per cent of it we were fighting. The momentum was against us for too long and we didn't claw it back. 

"I am not hiding away from it – we were well beaten today. [France] are brilliant. They have shown time and time again why they are the number two team in the world. 

"We are way off where we want to be. If I had the answers I would be somewhere else earning millions. It's a bit of a mystery at the moment."

France boss Fabien Galthie found the 53-10 drubbing of England "very moving" as he delivered an emotional response to his team's record win at Twickenham.

Les Bleus had not won a Six Nations game at England's London HQ since 2005, but they turned on the style and piled on the most points England have ever conceded on home soil in a Test.

Defeat to Ireland last month could be the result that costs France the championship, but this was a third win in four this year and the biggest statement yet from Galthie's team in this Rugby World Cup year.

France inflicted a seven-try humiliation on their hosts, revelling in each score. They are the World Cup hosts this year, and performances such as Saturday's barnstorming rout will raise expectations.

Speaking to France 2, Galthie appeared to momentarily shed a tear as he considered the scale of his side's achievement.

He said: "I've been coming here for a long time, you realise that... it's very moving.

"We played just the way we wanted to play. We wanted to do this. We didn't know how, but we wanted to do it.

"This place, the context ... it's not a coincidence. We have been working for four years with the players. At the start of the tournament, we weren't satisfied, but we were on the right track.

"The players wanted to do something. We were able to get the game out. The players, the staff, the French Rugby Federation, all the people who helped us to be here today... I spare a thought for them."

Reigning champions France are now level on points with Grand Slam-chasing Ireland, who take on Scotland in Edinburgh on Sunday in their penultimate game of the tournament.

Julian Nagelsmann is keen to keep in-demand defender Benjamin Pavard at Bayern Munich after he scored twice in the Bundesliga leaders' thrilling 5-3 win over Augsburg on Saturday.

Mergim Berisha opened the scoring for Augsburg early on, but Bayern surged into a 4-1 lead by the break as Joao Cancelo and Leroy Sane struck either side of Pavard's brace.

While Berisha sealed his own double after the interval and Irvin Cardona also netted late on, Alphonso Davies' goal ensured Bayern sealed a fourth successive win in relative comfort.

Last November, Pavard discussed the possibility of leaving Bayern for a new project, and with the France international's contract due to expire next year, he has been linked with Barcelona, Inter and Manchester United.

Having seen the 26-year-old mark his 150th competitive Bayern outing with his first double for the club, Nagelsmann said: "Of course I want to keep Benjamin at Bayern. 

"Playing in that position that he loves as a centre-back… he played very well today. So yes, I'd love to keep him."

Despite seeing Augsburg put to the sword in a typically ruthless Bayern performance, Nagelsmann was not impressed with some aspects of the hosts' display.  

"I'm happy with the result. It's job done today, that was important," Nagelsmann said.

"It was very similar to the game in the DFB-Pokal against Augsburg [a 5-2 win in October], it was a bit chaotic right from the start. We conceded the goal right away.

"Then we played really well for 30 minutes, everything was done well on our offensive side. In the second half, we did not have as much control or pressure any more.

"The game was a little bit too open in my opinion, we could have scored a couple more goals, but the result is above everything. 

"Not everything was perfect on the offensive or defensive side, but all in all, it's all about the three points."

A late penalty from Erling Haaland gave Manchester City a hard-fought 1-0 win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Palace are now without a win in their last 11 games (D5 L6), but Patrick Vieira's side put up a strong challenge and kept City at bay for large periods of the contest.

Pep Guardiola left Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker on the bench and was about to bring the Belgium international on with time running out, before his side won a penalty in the 78th minute, which Haaland converted.

A third straight Premier League victory moves City to within two points of leaders Arsenal, who visit Fulham on Sunday.

City made their intentions clear early as Rodri forced Vicente Guaita into a save from a volley while Jack Grealish dragged a good chance wide of the near post inside the first four minutes.

Palace came into the game more as the first half went on but were reliant on an uncharacteristic miss from Haaland as the Premier League's top scorer lifted a presentable effort over the bar from Nathan Ake's cross.

Guaita saved well from Phil Foden's free-kick 11 minutes into the second half, while substitute Julian Alvarez – who replaced Foden moments later – turned beautifully before firing his shot over.

It looked like Palace would hold out for a fifth consecutive home draw before Michael Olise conceded a penalty by fouling Ilkay Gundogan after a short corner, allowing Haaland to send Guaita the wrong way from the spot and score his 28th league goal of the campaign.

The Norwegian had another chance with seven minutes remaining when he headed over Grealish's cross, but City held on to put further pressure on Arsenal in the title race.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia hit a stunning winner as Napoli beat Atalanta 2-0 to move 18 points clear again at the top of Serie A.

The 11th goal of the Georgian's debut Serie A season came in the 60th minute, with his twinkle-toed run into the penalty area followed by an explosive finish.

Fed the ball by Victor Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia still had plenty of work to do and left Atalanta captain Rafael Toloi bamboozled by his shimmying footwork, with the defenders collectively powerless to prevent a masterpiece.

Amir Rrahmani's looping header in the 77th minute made the points safe, as Eljif Elmas sent a corner from the right into the danger zone and the centre-back did the rest.

With first-choice goalkeeper Alex Meret injured in the warm-up, Napoli fielded on-loan back-up Pierluigi Gollini, who faced his parent club. The home side were not obviously jolted by that loss and dominated the first half, but they could not find a breakthrough before the interval.

Matteo Politano saw an early effort turned wide for a corner, while Kvaratskhelia had three goal attempts that brought no reward.

Atalanta won 3-2 in this fixture last season, coming from behind to win as Napoli on that occasion slipped from first to third place. But such was their lead in the standings this time, Napoli knew they would stay comfortably top whatever the result, regardless of last week's defeat to Lazio giving the chasing pack a sliver of hope.

Kvaratskhelia smashed over the bar from the edge of the penalty area early in the second half, with Napoli creating plenty of half-chances. Osimhen spurned a more clear opening when the Serie A top scorer headed wide from Politano's right-wing cross.

But then came Kvaratskhelia's special strike, a goal of quality that is rarely surpassed. He was player of the month in Serie A for February, and this underlined his blossoming talent.

Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel went close as Atalanta chased a leveller, Gollini defying the visitors with necessary saves from both forwards, but Rrahmani's header killed off the contest.