European football: Real Madrid thrash Granada as Dortmund slump at Mainz

Carlo Ancelotti made a number of changes from the Champions League semi-final win over Bayern Munich, but the La Liga winners continued their relentless form. Fran García broke the deadlock after a passing move in the 38th minute, then set up Arda Guler to double Real’s advantage just before half-time.

Brahim Díaz made it 3-0 in the 49th minute with a shot inside the near post, and he scored his second nine minutes later from Luka Modric’s pinpoint pass.

“We all wanted to show that we want to get maximum points in the league. I’m very happy with the goals,” Díaz told RMTV. “I reached 12 goals and seven assists. It’s very easy to play here, with these teammates. The most important thing is the titles. We already have the Super Cup, the league and we want the Champions League.”

Alexander Sørloth’s last-gasp winner earned Villarreal a 3-2 victory over Sevilla, and Real Mallorca boosted their survival hopes with a 1-0 win over Las Palmas.

In the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund suffered a hangover from their European exploits as Mainz scored three early goals to boost their hopes of beating the drop. Leandro Barreiro’s opener and a quickfire double from Lee Jae-sung helped the hosts climb above Union Berlin, who drop into the relegation playoff spot.

Earlier, Cologne gave themselves hope of avoiding automatic relegation with a dramatic 3-2 win over Union, who they can still overtake on the final day. The hosts were 2-1 down and staring down the barrel with 87 minutes played, but Steffen Tigges’ leveller and a stoppage-time winner from Damion Downs kept hope alive.

RB Leipzig played out a 1-1 home draw with Werder Bremen after Benjamin Sesko cancelled out Nicolas Seiwald’s own goal to extend their unbeaten run to 10 games. Eintracht Frankfurt drew 1-1 at Mönchengladbach, and that was also the scoreline as Freiburg were held at home by Heidenheim.

In Serie A, Bologna moved up to third with a 2-0 win over lacklustre Napoli, who extended their winless run to five games. Forward Dan Ndoye headed home the opener in the ninth minute, and defender Stefan Posch nodded in to double the advantage three minutes later after a corner.

Napoli should have pulled one back when they were awarded a penalty for Remo Freuler’s foul on Victor Osimhen, but the Bologna keeper Federico Ravaglia kept out Matteo Politano’s low shot. Last season’s champions are at risk of missing out on European football; they are currently eighth but Fiorentina have two games in hand.

Milan and Cagliari were the first of seven Italian clubs to wear their mother’s maiden names on their shirts to bring attention to personal identity rights for all individuals on Saturday night. On the eve of Mother’s Day in Italy on Sunday, Genoa, Lecce, Torino, Verona and Udinese will also take part in the initiative across the weekend.

On 27 April 2022, Italy’s constitutional court deemed the law imposing automatic attribution of the paternal surname discriminatory. Since 1 June of that year, according to Italian law, both parents must have the right to choose their children’s surnames, as a fundamental element of their personal identity.

Milan’s captain, Davide Calabria, said: “In my personal and professional growth my mother has been the most important person. She sacrificed everything for me, teaching me the spirit of sacrifice and dedication. Wearing her surname on the field this weekend will be a great source of pride for me.”

Christian Pulisic scored twice in Milan’s 5-1 win against Cagliari, with Ismaël Bennacer, Tijjani Reijnders and Rafael Leão also on target.

Ludogorets have sealed a 13th straight Bulgarian league title by beating CSKA Sofia 3-1 at home, extending the longest current title-winning streak in European football. Ludogorets lead the standings on 79 points from 32 games and have increased their advantage over second-placed CSKA to 13 points with three games left in the season.

Ludogorets have equalled Rosenborg’s and Bate Borisov’s records, who also won their respective leagues 13 times between 1992-2004 and 2006-2018. Latvia’s Skonto and Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps have 14 consecutive national titles.