Goalkeepers

After seeing its lead at the top of the table reduced because of a goalless draw with Getafe and following that up with a Champions League elimination at the hands of Chelsea, Atlético Madrid entered Sunday’s LaLiga match against Alavés in a precarious position.

Real Madrid defeated Celta Vigo 3-1 on Saturday to momentarily close the gap at the top to just three points, while Barcelona could apply even more pressure later on Sunday against Real Sociedad by recording its fifth straight league win. 

Goalkeeper Bono was Sevilla's unlikely hero as they snatched a 1-1 draw at struggling Real Valladolid in LaLiga on Saturday thanks to his strike deep in stoppage time.

Chilean midfielder Fabián Orellana put the hosts in charge with a 44th minute penalty after forward Shon Weissman had been barged over by Sevilla defenders Diego Carlos and Karim Rekik.

LONDON — Former England keeper Joe Hart apologised on Friday after an Instagram post from his account went out saying "job done" after Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League exit to Dinamo Zagreb.

Tottenham crashed to a 3-0 defeat in the Croatian capital to lose their last-16 tie 3-2 on aggregate, a result Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris described as "a disgrace."

David Ochoa might not have been expected to be the first-choice keeper for the U.S. at the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, but Jason Kreis is sure glad he went with the Real Salt Lake goalie in the USMNT’s opener. Ochoa made nine saves and Jesús Ferreira scored on the other end as the U.S. opened the qualifying tournament with a nervy 1-0 win over Costa Rica on Thursday in in Guadalajara, Mexico. 

Real Madrid was a bit fortunate to escape its first-leg Round of 16 Champions League match with Atalanta with a win. It fully deserved its win back at home on Tuesday. 

Karim Benzema capitalized on an awful mistake from Atalanta’s keeper to set Real Madrid on its way to a 3-1 win on Tuesday in Madrid. Los Blancos advanced to the quarterfinals 4-1 on aggregate.

I know, it’s hard being a goalkeeper. They’re rarely praised for making game-changing saves and heavily criticized for any blunders they make. But Rune Jarstein’s effort on the Julian Brandt goal vs Hertha Berlin on Saturday left a lot to be desired. 

Borussia Dortmund beat Hertha 2-0 thanks to Brandt’s long-range goal. It was a vital win for Borussia Dortmund, which has fallen out of the Champions League places in the Bundesliga and sits fifth but will likely end the weekend back in sixth. 

PARIS - Paris Saint-Germain looked shaky as they completed a 5-2 aggregate victory against Barcelona to reach the Champions League quarterfinals, but keeper Keylor Navas kept them afloat when their demons resurfaced.

On the stroke of halftime on Wednesday, Barça had a penalty that could have put them 2-1 up and two goals away from forcing extra time after a 4-1 defeat in the first leg at the Camp Nou. A repeat of the 2017 "remontada”, when Barça beat PSG 6-1 to overturn a 4-0 first leg defeat in the last 16, seemed more than just a pipe dream.

The old cliche about veteran players is that they've seen everything during their career. For 43-year-old Dungannon Swifts goalkeeper Roy Carroll, that adage holds true — but it doesn't even begin to encompass the struggles of a shot-stopper that has played professionally in four different decades.

Now, a new club in 2021 could be the fitting final act for a player who is still competing well-beyond the prescribed shelf-life of a footballer.