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Barcelona deny Madrid another trophy, but the gap is closing

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Barcelona deny Madrid another trophy, but the gap is closing


Misa Rodríguez stood, hands on hips, as Alexia Putellas wheeled away in celebration.

The Real Madrid goalkeeper had done everything she possibly could to keep her team in Saturday’s Spanish Supercopa final in Castellón. She had faced 18 shots from Barcelona — 12 of them on target — and dealt with almost all of them.

Still, it wasn’t enough. In added time, Putellas sent Rodriguez the wrong way from the penalty spot, and the game was decided decisively, 2-0 in Barça’s favour.

The two-time Ballon d’Or winner was soon mobbed by teammates, bouncing up and down by the touchline. It was a familiar feeling. Barça were on the way to winning their sixth Supercopa, and their fifth in a row, a clean sweep since 2022.


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Madrid’s wait for a first trophy goes on. The team were only formed in 2020, but they are hungry, starving, for silverware. This time at the Estadio Castalia, Rodriguez and her teammates were left to reflect on just how close they had come.

“It makes us angry, not so much thinking about their two goals — which is something we have to improve and work on — but because those good feelings don’t give us the Supercopa,” Madrid coach Pau Quesada said afterwards.

“In football, good feelings help you build, but in the end, what matters is winning. We didn’t do that today, and we have to go home angry. But we’re aware that the players gave everything.”

Madrid had pushed Barcelona, closer than they had in last year’s Supercopa final, which Barça won 5-0, and perhaps closer than in any of their previous 20 meetings to date. But victory had eluded them.

There is no doubt that the distance between the two sides is closing. Madrid got their first, historic win in the fixture earlier less than 12 months ago, beating Barça 3-1 in front of a stunned 35,000 crowd at Montjuic on March 23, 2025. It was a breakthrough, after 18 straight losses.

It felt like a before-and-after moment, which might have served as a catalyst for Madrid to build on. The feeling of a narrowing gap was aided by Barcelona’s cost-cutting transfer business last summer, trimming and weakening their squad.

The 2025-26 season presented an opportunity for Madrid. And so far, they haven’t taken it. In Liga F, Madrid are 10 points behind Barça, with 17 matches played. They’ve already lost three league games this season — more than in all of 2024-25 — including 4-0 when the teams met in November.

For a club which defines itself by trophies won, the wait to lift the first continues. Madrid have played three finals now: in the 2023 Copa de la Reina, and two Supercopas, in 2025 and now 2026.

The Copa de la Reina final might have been the most painful, losing on penalties to Atlético Madrid. Last season’s Supercopa final was no contest, with Barça comfortable winners.

Saturday’s game was a different story. Esmee Brugts put Barcelona ahead in the 28th minute from a set piece, her near-post header from Mapi Leon‘s corner. But after that, Madrid’s defence — and Misa — stood firm.

In the 58th minute, forward Ewa Pajor was one-on-one with the keeper, who beat away her shot. Caroline Graham Hansen headed her follow-up against the crossbar.

It was only in the 93rd minute when Putellas’ penalty made it 2-0. Barcelona had had much more possession — 67% to Madrid’s 33% — and 12 shots on target to Madrid’s one. But Madrid had competed until the end.

“It was a great game, worthy of a final, from both teams,” Barcelona’s MVP, midfielder Patri Guijarro, said.

Madrid’s attention will now turn to the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Their group stage ended in disappointment, missing out on a top four spot after failing to win three of their last four games, including a 1-1 draw at FC Twente in December on matchday six.

They now face a playoff with Paris FC, who they met in the group stage, drawing 1-1 in Madrid. After next month’s two-legged playoff, the winners will progress to the Champions League quarterfinals: to play Barcelona.

Barça’s European pedigree — three-time Champions League winners, and six-time finalists — is something Madrid can’t yet hope to come close to matching in the women’s game.

But this Supercopa final suggested that if the pair do meet in Europe in March, Madrid are now in a position to compete, whether it’s over 90 minutes or 180.

That’s not the extent of their ambition; but it’s progress.



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Tiger Woods arrested at crash scene on suspicion of DUI, sheriff says

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Tiger Woods arrested at crash scene on suspicion of DUI, sheriff says


Tiger Woods showed signs of impairment and was arrested Friday at the scene of a car crash in which he struck another vehicle and rolled his Land Rover, authorities said.

Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said Woods and the person in the other vehicle were not injured. Woods was able to crawl out of the passenger side of his Land Rover.

The crash occurred just after 2 p.m. not far from where Woods lives on Jupiter Island. Budensiek said Woods attempted to pass a pressure cleaner truck while driving on a two-land road. He swerved to avoid a collision as he was passing the truck, but clipped the back end of the truck’s trailer. Woods’ vehicle then rolled onto its driver’s side.

Budensiek said investigators at the scene found Woods to be showing signs of impairment. He did a breathalyzer test, which came out negative, but he refused to take a urine test. Authorities charged him with driving under the influence with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test, Budensiek said. Both charges are misdemeanors.

Woods’ manager at Excel Sports did not immediately respond to a text message seeking information.

Woods, 50, had spent the past several months recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon and another back surgery in October. The 15-time major champion competed for the first time in more than a year during Tuesday’s TGL finals, where his Jupiter Links GC team lost to the Los Angeles Golf Club.

He had been weighing whether to return to the PGA Tour at the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, the first major of the season, which begins April 9.

Woods last competed on the PGA Tour in July 2024 when he missed the cut at the Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. He last played four rounds in a PGA Tour event at the 2024 Masters.

In February 2021, Woods suffered significant leg injuries in a one-car crash outside of Los Angeles, in which his SUV rolled several times and left him trapped in the car. He later had surgery to deal with “open fractures” to his lower right leg, had a rod placed in a tibia and had screws and pins inserted in his foot and ankle during emergency surgery. Woods was hospitalized for three weeks following the surgery.

At the 2021 Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Woods said, “I’m lucky to be alive and also have a limb.” He said it was 50-50 as to whether part of his right leg could have been amputated.

He had at least one more surgery related to injuries from the crash in April 2023.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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FIFA clears Fulham’s Diop, Ajax’s Bounida to play for Morocco

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FIFA clears Fulham’s Diop, Ajax’s Bounida to play for Morocco


Morocco got FIFA permission to select Fulham defender Issa Diop and Ajax midfielder Rayane Bounida among seven players recruited this month by the 2022 World Cup semifinalist ahead of the next edition in North America, and 16 in total since last March.

The 29-year-old Diop was a France youth and under-21 international and Bounida is among six players aged 20 or under changing eligibility this month to represent Morocco after playing youth games for Belgium or the Netherlands.

All have direct family ties to Morocco that allow them within FIFA rules to change national eligibility, typically when players have not played a senior competitive game for the first country they represented.

Diop and Bounida are in new coach Mohamed Ouahbi’s squad for World Cup warmup games against Ecuador on Friday in Madrid, and Paraguay on Tuesday in Lens, France.

At the 2026 World Cup Morocco is in a group with Brazil, Scotland and Haiti playing games, respectively, near New York, Boston and in Atlanta.

Morocco gets direct entry to the 2030 tournament as a co-host with Spain and Portugal, plus single games to be played in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The Morocco federation, under the leadership of Fouzi Lekjaa, an increasingly influential figure in soccer politics, has actively recruited players from a diaspora in Europe.

The squad which made World Cup history in Qatar as the first semifinalist from Africa included stars such as Hakim Ziyech and Sofyan Amrabat who had been Netherlands youth internationals.

The eligibility changes FIFA approved in March include Bounida and Genk midfielder Saif Eddien Lazar who had represented Belgium.

Players switching to Morocco from the Netherlands were Benjamin Khaderi and Sami Bouhoudane, both aged 18 from PSV Eindhoven, 20-year-old Utrecht defender Oualid Agougil and 18-year-old Ayoud Ouarghi from Feyenoord.

FIFA also approved nine more players changing eligibility from March to December last year, from France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway.



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Tiger Woods involved in rollover crash in Florida less than 2 weeks before Masters: reports

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Tiger Woods involved in rollover crash in Florida less than 2 weeks before Masters: reports


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Tiger Woods was involved in a car crash in Florida on Friday, according to multiple reports. 

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office told ESPN that the crash happened on Jupiter Island on Friday afternoon. Woods’ condition was not immediately known. 

Woods competed in the TGL championship earlier this week with his girlfriend, Vanessa Trump, and her daughter, Kai, in the stands. It was his return to competitive golf after rupturing his Achilles last year, just ahead of the Masters.

Tiger Woods of Jupiter Links Golf Club looks on before the match against the Los Angeles Golf Club at SoFi Center on March 23, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  (Adam Glanzman/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images)

The 15-time major winner, five of which have come at Augusta, was noncommittal about playing at this year’s Masters. President Donald Trump said on “The Five” on Thursday that he would be at Augusta but not play.

Woods has had trouble behind the wheel in the past. In 2021, he got into a wreck that resulted in serious leg injuries that kept him off the golf course for months.

This is a breaking story. Check back for more updates.

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