Real Madrid defeated Manchester City 4-3 on penalties to become the fourth club in the semifinals of the 23-24 Champions League. Madrid joins Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.

Over the past 10 years, Madrid has reached the semifinals in all but two seasons.

Semifinal Ties

• Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich (April 30 / May 8)

• Paris Saint-Germain vs. Borussia Dortmund (May 1 / May 7)

Rafa Marquez has emerged as a candidate to replace Xavi Hernandez as manager of Barcelona.

Marquez, 45, was initially only considered as a potential caretaker in the event Xavi, who announced in January he will step down in the summer after over two years in the job, did not see the season out.

Marquez is currently in charge of Barcelona's B team, who are competing for promotion into the second division of Spanish soccer.

Hansi Flick and Thomas Tuchel are also candidates, but Marquez is now also a long-term option considering Barcelona's delicate financial situation.

Paris Saint-Germain has advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League in what will likely be the final season with Kylian Mbappe on the club. PSG defeated Barcelona 6-4 on aggregate with their 4-1 comeback win at Barcelona.

"I have the dream of winning the Champions League for Paris," Mbappe told reporters at the Barcelona Olympic stadium on Tuesday. "I'm proud to be at PSG since the first day. It's not because there are good times and bad times that my pride takes a hit. The pride of playing for this club, of representing the club of the capital of my country, it's something special for me who grew up there.

"To experience an evening like this one as a Parisian, it's great. We have one more step to go before we reach the final in Wembley, so we need to stay calm."

Mbappe is expected to sign with Real Madrid this summer.

Jude Bellingham said Vinícius Júnior and other Black players need more support in dealing with the "massive problem" of racism in Spanish football.

TV images showed a fan making racist gestures toward Bellingham's Real Madrid teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni after scoring in Saturday's 1-0 LaLiga win at Real Mallorca.

"I didn't even know [about the Tchouaméni incident]," Bellingham said when asked about the problem during a news conference Tuesday. "In games when we go away in LaLiga, you almost get so used to it that I wasn't even aware of the incident. That's a massive problem.

"More has to be done, whether it's the punishment or how you react to it, or how you move proactively. It's a horrible way for a player to have to prepare for a game, knowing they'll probably get racially abused. It's disgusting, it shouldn't happen. People in power need to do more, especially with Viní.

"The blame gets shifted more onto him with his playing style, and the way he likes to express himself, and I don't think that's fair. The game would miss Viní if he decided to take a break because of this kind of thing. More needs to be done to support these kinds of players."

Bayer Leverkusen clinched their first Bundesliga title with their 5-0 win over Werder Bremen on Sunday.

Victor Boniface scored in the 25th minute on a penalty, followed by a goal from Granit Xhaka, and then three from Florian Wirtz.

Xabi Alonso's side is up 16 points with five matches left to break Bayern's 12-season streak.

Alonso was hired by Leverkusen in October 2022. Alonso's contract runs through 2026 and he's already committed to at least one more season with the club. 

Pep Guardiola admitted his Manchester City team is tired and also dealing with injuries.

After City's tie with Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League tie, Rodri talked about how fatigue he feels during this final stretch of the season.

"Take a look at our games and you realize," Guardiola told a news conference Friday on Rodri's comments. "It is simple. He is so important for the quality he gives us. But if you have a player that doesn't want to play, he won't play.

"I need to rest the centre halves also but in [England's] friendly games, [John Stones and Kyle Walker] got injured so they get cannot rest. We are in big, big trouble.

"I had the feeling we were tired in the last games. We will decide tomorrow what we have to do," he added.

While Real Madrid has continued to buy expensive players such as Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni, its academy remains highly productive. Ninety-seven of its graduates are currently playing professionally in Europe.

Achraf Hakimi, Marcos Llorente and Pablo Barrios are among the notable academy players succeeding elsewhere. 

Martin Odegaard was a high profile youth signing who never cracked Real Madrid's senior team, but has subsequently become a star with Arsenal. 

Luis Enrique said he embodies Barcelona's style of football better than counterpart Xavi Hernandez ahead of their Champions League tie on Wednesday. 

Enrique spent eight seasons with Barcelona as a manager and three more as a manager. Enrique led Barcelona to a treble in 2015. 

"Without any doubt, I do," he told his pre-game news conference when asked whether he or Barça boss Xavi better represent the Blaugrana's philosophy, which is based on possession, pressing, positioning and attacking.

"Look at the data: ball possession, goal scoring chances created, the high press, trophies. Look at it. It's not an opinion. The numbers and figures are there. It's not debatable. Others may think differently, but there are no doubts."

Enrique played alongside Xavi and later managed him.

"I don't know Xavi at all as a coach," Luis Enrique said.

"I only know him as a player. I know the club very well, but not Xavi the coach.

"I know Barcelona really well and I know the players, but I don't know if that could be an advantage or not. It could be the opposite.

"The club means a lot to me emotionally because of the experiences I had there, but I am also a professional and I have to think about my job and my team.

"It will be special for me, but I am more than ready to give my all for PSG. I am l

Monterrey assistant coach Nico Sanchez issued an apology after audio leaked of him calling Lionel Messi a “dwarf” and saying Messi had “the face of the devil.”

There was a confrontation involving Messi, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez and Miami coach Tata Martino in a mixed zone outside the visitors’ locker room. 

Audio of Sanchez discussing the locker room confrontation leaked through Fox Sports MX. “The dwarf was possessed, he had the face of the devil,” Sanchez said. “He put his fist next to my face and says: ‘Who do you think you are?’ But because I didn’t look at him, I was looking away, I never answered back, it made things worse.

“And Tata Martino, what a poor dummy, I had him in front of me telling me: ‘Fool, you going to cry? Fool you going to cry?’ What a dummy! All those videos, they probably erased them all because it leaves them looking bad. What they did was really serious. They want to dirty the pitch.”

Sanchez apologised to Martino in a video posted on social media. “Since I do not know the Inter coach, Gerardo Martino, and I referred to him in a disrespectful manner, and I apologize,” Sanchez said. “I am as Argentine as all of them and I will always defend my club. I’m here to show my face and take charge.”

Everton's potential first relegation in 73 years has received another blow as they have been deducted two points for breaching Premier League profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) up to 2023.

The club were docked a record 10 points in November for a £19.5 million overspend in the four-year period up to 2022. The deduction was later reduced to six points on appeal.