Europe

NEWCASTLE, England - Manchester City's João Cancelo scored one goal and made another as they overwhelmed struggling Newcastle United 4-0 on Sunday to ensure they will spend Christmas Day top of the Premier League, a position Liverpool occupied in the last three seasons.

The visitors were gifted the opening goal in the fifth minute when Cancelo acrobatically crossed for Rúben Dias to head into an empty net after a mix-up between Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka and defender Ciaran Clark.

A Lucas Ocampos strike in the final minutes of the match gave second-placed Sevilla a 2-1 win over Atlético Madrid in LaLiga on Saturday.

In a feisty match between two sides that are trying to stay in contention with league leaders Real Madrid, Sevilla came out on top.

Sevilla now have 37 points, putting them five behind Real, while Atleti fall to fifth place on 29 points, leapfrogged by surprise outfit Rayo Vallecano, who beat Alaves 2-0 earlier in the day and remain unbeaten at home this season.

Barcelona’s women’s team continued its endless path of destruction on Saturday with a 4-0 defeat of Rayo Vallecano. Barcelona Femení hit a landmark number during the victory with the team’s 100th goal of the season after only 20 games. The Barcelona women goals fall like rain an overcast summer day in Oklahoma.

Jana Fernández scored the century goal in the 15th minute with a well-placed headed effort to give Barcelona a 1-0 lead.

MADRID — Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard will start at home to Cadiz in LaLiga on Sunday, manager Carlo Ancelotti has said.

It will be the first time the Belgium midfielder has been in the starting lineup since Real's 2-1 home loss to Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League on Sept. 28.

Ancelotti said Hazard's selection has nothing to do with Real missing six players due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the club.

PARIS — The French Cup last 64 game between Paris FC and Olympique Lyonnais was abandoned following crowd trouble on Friday, a stadium announcer said as violence continued to hit French football.

Supporters appeared to be fighting each other and some of them went onto the Charlety stadium's pitch and threw flares at halftime with the game tied at 1-1.

Inter Milan has terminated midfielder Christian Eriksen's contract, the Italian Serie A club said on Friday, after the Denmark international was suspended from playing in Italy because of his cardiac device implant.

Eriksen, 29, has not played since suffering a cardiac arrest during Denmark's opening game of the European Championship against Finland in June and receiving life-saving treatment on the pitch.

LONDON — Chelsea said its Women's Super League game against West Ham United on Sunday has been postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak in its squad, and Manchester City's game against Reading has also been called off.

Chelsea crashed out of the Women's Champions League following a 4-0 defeat by VfL Wolfsburg on Thursday, and more cases were identified when the team arrived home, leading to the cancellation of the West Ham fixture.

The draw for the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League took place on Friday, but that wasn’t the biggest Nations League news by a longshot. A massive announcement was made that in 2024 we will see a Neymar and Lionel Messi Nations League crossover. That’s right, South America is joining the UEFA Nations League. All 10 South American members will be joining Europe's best.