Reuters Sports News Summary

With only six games remaining, Barca recovered from a disappointing midweek loss at Rayo Vallecano and moved to 79 points and extended their lead to 11 points over second-placed Real Madrid, while Betis remain sixth on 49 points. Motor racing-Ferrari have made a step forward, says Leclerc Ferrari have made a step forward but Formula One champions Red Bull are still the team to beat, Charles Leclerc said after finishing second in the first sprint race of the season on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Roma and Milan share spoils with late goals in top-four battle

AS Roma and AC Milan shared the points in a 1-1 draw at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday after a stoppage-time goal by visiting winger Alexis Saelemaekers cancelled out a Tammy Abraham strike three minutes earlier as the Serie A top-four race intensifies. Milan remain fourth in the standings, level on 57 points with Roma in fifth, with both sides two points behind third-placed Juventus who travel to Bologna on Sunday.

Soccer-Chelsea players baffled by poor form, says Sterling

Chelsea's players are struggling to find answers for their poor run of form this season, Raheem Sterling said, but the attacker maintained that the Premier League club can turn around their fortunes under the right manager. Chelsea's 2-0 defeat to Brentford on Wednesday left them 11th in the standings, stumbling towards possibly their worst campaign since the 1993/94 season - when they finished 14th under Glenn Hoddle - despite their new U.S. owners' huge outlay on players.

Soccer-Ronaldo scores to keep Al-Nassr's slim title hopes alive

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal in four games on Friday to help Al-Nassr to a 4-0 win over Al-Raed, keeping alive the team's slim Saudi Pro League title hopes. With five matches remaining this season, Al-Nassr remain second in the league, three points behind leaders Al-Ittihad having played a game more than their rivals.

Soccer-Benzema hits hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Almeria 4-2

Karim Benzema scored a first-half hat-trick as Real Madrid recovered from a disappointing midweek loss at Girona by beating lowly Almeria 4-2 at home in LaLiga on Saturday. With six-games remaining, second-placed Real maintained their slim title hopes by moving up to 68 points, cutting Barcelona's lead to eight points. Barcelona host sixth-placed Real Betis later on Saturday.

Soccer-Liverpool boss Klopp wary of Spurs threat

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp thought his television was broken after seeing the scoreline in Tottenham Hotspur's 6-1 Premier League defeat to Newcastle United, warning the north London club remain dangerous opponents despite their thrashing. On Sunday, Liverpool host European qualifying rivals Spurs, who are without a win in their last three games and were humbled by third-placed Newcastle last Sunday, conceding five goals in the opening 21 minutes.

Motor racing-Verstappen slams sprint format: 'Just scrap the whole thing'

Formula One's new standalone sprint format had its fans on Saturday but Red Bull's double world champion Max Verstappen was not among them. "Just scrap the whole thing," he said after finishing third in the 100km race, the first of six scheduled for 2023's record 23-round season.

Soccer-Barcelona edge closer to title with 4-0 win over 10-man Betis

Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha were on target as Barcelona thrashed 10-man Real Betis 4-0 on Saturday to tighten their grip on top spot and moved a step closer to their 27th LaLiga title. With only six games remaining, Barca recovered from a disappointing midweek loss at Rayo Vallecano and moved to 79 points and extended their lead to 11 points over second-placed Real Madrid, while Betis remain sixth on 49 points.

Motor racing-Ferrari have made a step forward, says Leclerc

Ferrari have made a step forward but Formula One champions Red Bull are still the team to beat, Charles Leclerc said after finishing second in the first sprint race of the season on Saturday. The Monegasque started on pole position in Baku, and will do so again on Sunday's main Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but was unable to prevent Mexican Sergio Perez from winning and taking the full eight points.

Motor racing-Verstappen fumes at Russell after sprint clash

Max Verstappen swore angrily at Mercedes rival George Russell after a first lap clash in Saturday's Baku sprint race ripped a hole in the Formula One champion's Red Bull. The Dutch driver, who still finished third in a race won by Mexican team mate Sergio Perez, refused to let the matter drop despite later taking back the place after a safety car deployment.

Motor racing-I said cat, not cut; Leclerc clarifies radio confusion

Charles Leclerc caused some concern when he reported a 'cut' while leading Saturday's Formula One sprint race in Baku but the Ferrari driver later clarified he was referring to a cat. Asked whether there had been any recurrence of what had sounded like an engine cutout, Leclerc told reporters: "Absolutely not. I said a cat -- which is different.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)