With a home match to come against Levante on Saturday followed by next Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg against Liverpool, Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde elected to begin today’s away match versus Alavés with Lionel Messi on the bench.

No matter.

Before Messi entered the match in the 61st minute, goals from Carles Aleñá and Luis Suárez had already put Barça on the verge of a second straight LaLiga title. If Atlético Madrid loses to Valencia tomorrow, the crown belongs to Barcelona. Regardless, there’s no way in hell Barça loses it now.

After a quarterfinal round that produced two absolute classic, the semifinals of the 2018-19 Champions League can’t come soon enough. Today, UEFA confirmed the dates and times for both Tottenham vs. Ajax and Barcelona vs. Liverpool in the final four the competition.

The semifinals will begin on Tuesday, Apr. 30, with Spurs hosting Ajax at the newly opened Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Action continues on Wednesday, May 1, when Barcelona welcomes Liverpool to the Camp Nou for the first leg of their tie. 

Manchester United started brightly against Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Tuesday. Marcus Rashford was in on goal and nearly scored seconds into the match. 

And the Red Devils had a bit of fortune when the VAR overturned a penalty decision to keep the scores level.

Then Lionel Messi broke loose with two goals in four minutes, quickly making up for a quiet first leg in Manchester (after being bloodied by Chris Smalling). 

In the Champions League quarterfinals, Barcelona came out with a solid 1-0 away victory over Manchester United.

It only took 12 minutes for Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez magic to commence, but neither will be credited for the Barcelona score.

A fantastic cross from the GOAT found Suarez on the far post. Suarez then headed it into traffic in front of the United goal and a bounce off left back Luke Shaw would be all she wrote for Manchester.

Although Lionel Messi is consistently targeted by opposing defenses, it’s rare that he takes too much physical abuse from opponents. Quick on his feet and with a low center of gravity, the Barcelona No. 10 is usually able to avoid the brunt of challenges he faces. 

But when he’s attacked from behind, as he was by Manchester United’s Chris Smalling, there’s little Messi can do to prevent harm.

Manchester United’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Barcelona did not start well.

The Blaugrana (or neon yellows, as it was), opened the scoring a dozen minutes into the match at Old Trafford on Tuesday thanks to some interplay from Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez — and some help from the Video Assistant Referee.

Thorgan Hazard has been a revelation for Borussia Mönchengladbach this season. The Belgian has scored 12 goals and assisted 12 in all competitions in Germany and has attracted suitors from across Europe.

Hazard left Chelsea on loan to Möchengladbach in 2015, where he would earn a permanent stay.

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Late work in the visual arts, like those of Rembrandt, can often showcase an artist at their most profound. What’s revealed is the certainty of a master — the piece stands apart from the contemporary and proclaims its own thingness. With that being said, have a look at what Xavi’s aging right foot is up to.

It painted a stunning work in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Tuesday during Al Sadd’s Asian Champions League group stage match against Pakhtakor. 

In the sixth minute of the match, here’s the 39-year-old going top bins after ambling his way to the top of the box.