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Barcelona to start run-in for La Liga title without the injured Yamal at Getafe

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona will start its run-in for the La Liga title without the injured Lamine Yamal when it visits Getafe on Saturday.

The defending champion said on Thursday that Yamal, the team’s top scorer and assist maker, will miss the final six games of the season after he injured a muscle in his left leg while playing the day before.

The 18-year-old Yamal secured the 1-0 win over Celta Vigo in La Liga on Wednesday but after his spot kick he immediately dropped to the ground and grabbed the back of his left leg. He was promptly substituted.

Barcelona added that its doctors expect Yamal will be fit in time to play for Spain at the World Cup starting in seven weeks.

Key matches

Barcelona holds a healthy nine-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid as the season enters its home stretch.

Madrid visits fifth-placed Real Betis on Friday needing a victory to maintain its options of catching the defending champion. Madrid will visit Barcelona in three rounds on May 10.

La Liga is the only chance either powerhouse has to finish the season with a major title after both were eliminated in the Champions League quarterfinals last week.

“Our objective has to be to win all six matches, regardless of what Barcelona does,” said Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa, who replaced Xabi Alonso midseason and is most likely to be replaced this summer.

Atletico, which beat Barcelona to reach the final four of the Champions League, will most likely prioritize next week’s semifinal against Arsenal over its domestic match against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

Coach Diego Simeone is sure to rotate his squad and rest his best players for Wednesday’s home game against Arsenal.

Villarreal hosts Celta on Sunday aiming to hold onto third place and the corresponding Champions League berth for next season.

Players to watch

With Raphinha also likely to be unavailable, coach Hansi Flick still has options to form his starting front line. They include forward Marcus Rashford, winger Roony Bardghji or even Dani Olmo, Gavi Paéz or Fermín López shifting forward from the midfield.

Kylian Mbappé leads the league with 24 goals — three more than Mallorca’s Vedat Muriqi — after he scored to help Madrid beat Alaves 2-1 on Tuesday. That broke a winless run of four games overall for Arbeloa’s side.

Out of action

Besides Yamal and Raphinha, Barcelona will likely also be without right back Joao Cancelo after he was injured in the Celta win, too.

Madrid will be missing central defender Éder Militão and in-form midfielder Arda Güler after the club said on Wednesday they both had muscle injuries.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

CNN
(CNN) — Ryan Fox took home the Claret Jug after draining a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.The 39-year-old Fox beat out American Cameron Young to win his first career major title, becoming only the third New Zealander to win a men’s major golf championship.Fox came into the final hole tied with Young, after the 29-year-old finished the round at 6-under 64 a few hours before.The Kiwi powered his drive into the middle of the fairway and then set up the biggest putt of his golf career so far with an approach shot that landed about 12 feet from the pin.As the putt fell into the hole, the crowd in Southport, England, gave Fox a rousing ovation as he raised both arms in the air to celebrate the achievement.The putt capped off four birdies in the last six holes for Fox.Fox was at a loss for words while speaking to the NBC Sports broadcast after the win.“I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. First of all, my family. My wife and kids are in Florida at the moment. I spoke to my kids last night and they said, bring back a trophy. I think that’s a pretty cool one to bring back for them,” Fox said. “My family back in New Zealand and all my supporters back there. I know it’s been a long night for them, but I’m glad it was worthwhile.”Fox finished with a 2-under 68 after trailing Sam Burns, who held a two-stroke lead coming into Sunday’s final round.Fox also becomes the third-oldest major winner in the last 10 years, trailing only Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship and Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters.“Just an unbelievable week. The golf course was fantastic. The English weather was fantastic. You guys out there were fantastic. The support was amazing. This is pretty cool. I’m sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone, but thank you very much,” Fox added.It is another disappointment for Young, who is still looking for his first career major title despite winning The Players earlier this year. Young finished one shot back of the win at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews and held the lead heading into the final round at the Masters back in April.It is also another let down for Burns, another golfer looking for his maiden major win.The Louisiana State University alum came into the round ahead by two strokes but quickly lost it and went birdie-free for the final 12 holes.“(Fox) is a well-earned champion and hats off to him,” Burns said. “He did what he needed to do down the stretch and ultimately just came up a couple short today.”Defending champion Scottie Scheffler stayed within striking range throughout the round, but wound up with a 3-under 67 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood.After a drama-filled tournament, Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 14th while Rory McIlroy, who has been critical of the LIV Golfer all tournament long, ended tied for 40th.Fox’s journey to first major winFox’s road to his first career major title wasn’t the easiest. It came with many bumps and U-turns.While speaking to CNN’s Don Riddell ahead of the Desert Classic in Dubai in early 2025, Fox opened up about his mental health issues, including being an older rookie after spending years on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of Australia.“I think being a rookie at 37 years old on the PGA Tour was, I probably wasn’t quite prepared for what that was again,” Fox told CNN.“I knew all the golf courses, knew how to travel work, knew where to stay, and everything was new on the PGA Tour, and that was probably a shock to the system more than anything.”Fox comes from a lineage of athletes within his family tree, including his father, Grant Fox, who was a main kicker for the New Zealand national rugby team and his grandfather, Merv Wallace, a former New Zealand cricketer who later coached the national team.Fox spoke out on the “pressure” a golfer faces, mentioning the 2024 death of former PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray, whose parents later confirmed it was death by suicide.“It can be a stressful life. It’s all performance-based. There’s a lot of pressure on – Looking after your mental health is really, really important, and having people to talk to and all of that is part of that,” Fox said.“It’s a shame it got to that point with Grayson that, you know, we’ve had to have those, those pretty tough conversations now, but it will help – hopefully it helps someone else in a similar situation going forward because we certainly don’t want to see it again.”CNN’s Kyle Tatelbaum and Don Riddell contributed to this reporting This write has been updated with additional reporting The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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