Zinedine Zidane insisted he does not know what is going to happen concerning his future at Real Madrid, but did little to quell talk of him quitting amid rumours of an impending resignation.
ZIdane has a contract with Madrid until the end of next season but reports have suggested he will end his second stint as the club's coach prematurely even if they win LaLiga. Madrid trail city rivals Atletico Madrid by two points with two games remaining.
Talk of him departing was predictably a hot topic ahead of Sunday's visit to Athletic Bilbao, with Zidane adamant his future is not in his thinking as Los Blancos bid to retain the title.
"I'm going to answer the same thing," he told a pre-match media conference. "It's boring because of what I always say, playing both games ... It's the truth, I don't know what's going to happen.
"I am here, yes, tomorrow we are going to play and the last game will be missing [from his thinking]. The rest I do not know, anything can happen, it is Real Madrid.
"My strength is from day to day, I do not see myself beyond day to day. I do not look at the past or the future, it is the present to the fullest."
However, asked if he was "making it easy for the club", Zidane appeared to drop several hints that this spell as coach is about to come to a close.
"Maybe you think I'm quitting because I'm taking responsibility or I'm quitting because things get complicated. Never, nothing," Zidane replied.
"The only thing is that what I do, I do it to the max. And there comes a time when things ... It's time to change. But for everyone, not for me. For the good of the players, the club, the people.
"I don't let go because it's easy to say that I take off, turn around and don't want to look at them, moments are like that. There are moments when you have to be and others when you have to change."
Madrid have not lost a league game since January, but damaging draws with Getafe, Real Betis and Sevilla have left them needing a slip-up from Atletico to tilt the title race in their favour.
They have won 10 of their last 15 away games against Athletic but Los Leones coach Marcelino has won his last two meetings against Madrid.
"We have to watch and do what we can control, which is our game," said Zidane. "In the rest we don't know what will happen.
"The important thing is to keep adding and we want to win the three points. We are going to be playing against a very good opponent, he is doing very well and we will try to give everything."
Crystal Palace 2-0 Newcastle United: Eagles' late-season flourish continues
Crystal Palace made it three straight Premier League wins as a Jean-Philippe Mateta double earned them a 2-0 win over Newcastle United at Selhurst Park.
Palace had not scored in their last four Premier League matches against Newcastle before Wednesday's game, and it looked like the Magpies could stifle them again.
But after the hosts failed to break the deadlock in a Palace-dominated first half, a neat one-two with Jordan Ayew allowed Mateta to lash the Eagles in front before he added another late on to make sure of the three points.
Oliver Glasner's impressive start as Palace head coach continues with the Eagles' safety from relegation now mathematically confirmed in 14th, while Eddie Howe's side drop below Manchester United into seventh place.
Eberechi Eze nearly put Palace ahead after 12 minutes when he jinked onto his right foot and fired just wide, while Mateta nodded narrowly over as the hosts edged the opening exchanges.
Ayew sent an ambitious long-range effort past the post, while Palace shouts for a penalty fell on deaf ears when Eze took a tumble in the box.
Neither side could find the opener in the first half, but the hosts made their threat pay 10 minutes after the restart as Mateta latched onto Ayew's neat first-time pass before firing into the back of the net.
Mateta nodded straight at Martin Dubravka, while Will Hughes curled just over with Newcastle forced to cling on for long periods of the second half.
Palace survived a scare of their own when Hughes' tug on Sean Longstaff in the Eagles' box went unpunished, before Mateta made the points safe with two minutes left when he drilled through the legs of Dubravka to secure the hosts' survival.
Mateta on fire
Mateta's goalscoring record since arriving at Palace from Mainz has not always been impressive, but he is certainly in the groove at the moment in front of goal.
The forward has now scored eight Premier League goals in nine games under Glasner, who only arrived in February. That is more than he managed under both Roy Hodgson (five in 35 games) and Patrick Vieira (six in 44).
This is by far Mateta’s best scoring run in an Eagles shirt, and his all-round performance was impressive too, leading Palace to victory.
Newcastle never get going
Having hammered top-four chasing Tottenham 4-0 last time out, Newcastle looked a shell of that team in South London, failing to test Dean Henderson between the Palace sticks until the 86th minute.
Any slender hopes of repeating last season's heroics of finishing in the Champions League spots are surely over after their fourth defeat in six Premier League games in London this season.
Newcastle star man Alexander Isak was barely involved, recording only one shot and accumulating just 0.06 xG (expected goals) as Palace successfully kept the Sweden international quiet.
Manchester United 4-2 Sheffield United: Fernandes double helps Red Devils to comeback win
Bruno Fernandes produced a decisive double as Manchester United twice came from behind for a 4-2 win over Sheffield United at Old Trafford, easing the pressure on under-fire boss Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag received fierce criticism after his team surrendered a 3-0 lead in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City, who they beat on penalties after a 3-3 draw.
His team trailed twice on Wednesday, with Jayden Bogle punishing Andre Onana's error to score and Ben Brereton Diaz prodding home the Blades' second, either side of Harry Maguire equalising.
However, Fernandes equalised from the spot in the second half before teeing up Rasmus Hojliund's late finish after another great strike from the Red Devils captain sent his side 3-2 up.
The win takes Ten Hag's side above Newcastle United and into the top six with 53 points, while bottom club Sheffield United stay 10 points adrift of safety.
Just 28 seconds had been played when Diogo Dalot worked Wes Foderingham from range, but if the hosts thought that effort would precipitate an assault on the Blades' goal, they were mistaken.
Alejandro Garnacho was denied by Foderingham after a mazy run, but the Red Devils were largely uninspired as the visitors sat back.
They gifted Sheffield United the lead after 35 minutes as Onana passed straight to Bogle, who side-footed home at the near post.
That sparked Ten Hag's team into life, though, and they were level within seven minutes as Maguire glanced Garnacho's cross home.
Foderingham denied Garnacho with a fine stop on the stroke of half-time, and Sheffield United made that reprieve count within five minutes of the restart, Brereton Diaz pouncing to prod Ben Osborn's cross home.
Yet Chris Wilder's visitors again failed to hold on as Auston Trusty wrestled Maguire to the ground from a corner, allowing Fernandes to blast into the top-left corner from the spot.
Fernandes then blasted home from 25 yards out to send Ten Hag's hosts ahead for the first time, and the midfielder was not done there, teeing up Hojlund to make the points safe with a pinpoint cross from the right.
Fernandes rescues Red Devils
Ahead of Wednesday's game, Manchester United had only won one of their last seven Premier League matches (three draws, three defeats), going winless through the last four of those (three draws, one defeat) – their worst such streak since 2019.
They twice looked on course for a humiliating defeat, but Fernandes led from the front to down the Blades and boost his team's hopes of salvaging Europa League qualification.
He has now scored seven goals in his last six Premier League appearances, netting on each of his last four outings. This is just the second time he has enjoyed a four-match scoring streak with the Red Devils in the competition, having done so under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in February 2021.
Blades on the brink
While Sheffield United can take heart from their performance at Old Trafford, the result does nothing for their slim hopes of remaining among England's elite.
Wilder's men are 10 points from safety with just 12 to play for this season and will be relegated to the Championship if they lose to Newcastle United on Saturday.
The Blades could even see their fate confirmed this weekend with a victory, depending on Nottingham Forest's result against Manchester City on Sunday.
They have now conceded 92 goals in 34 Premier League matches this term, the most ever conceded in a 38-game season in the competition.
Xavi makes U-turn and elects to stay at Barcelona
Barcelona head coach Xavi will continue in his role next season after an unexpected reversal of his decision to leave at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, according to widespread reports.
The former Barcelona midfielder announced in January that he would walk away from the job at the end of the current season, even though his contract was due to run until the end of the following term.
Xavi acknowledged the Barcelona role had taken its toll but reportedly changed his plans after a meeting with Blaugrana president Joan Laporta on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old was initially appointed as Barca coach in 2021 before leading the LaLiga giants to the top-flight title in the 2022-23 campaign.
Xavi's initial announcement of his intentions to depart Barcelona came after a tough period following defeats to Girona, Real Madrid and Athletic Club before revealing the news in the aftermath of a 5-3 loss to Villarreal.
The Blaugrana turned their fortunes around after that decision became public, though, going 13 games unbeaten across all competitions.
Unsurprisingly, that run encouraged Laporta, vice president Rafa Yuste and sporting director Deco to plead with Xavi to continue until the end of his agreed contract.
Though that undefeated streak ended with a 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain that dumped Barcelona out of the Champions League quarter-finals, Xavi has now agreed to stay in his role.
The league title is almost out of reach this term, however, as Real Madrid moved 11 points clear of second-placed Barca with Sunday's 3-2 Clasico victory.
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