Liverpool's players overcame an unexpected test of their Premier League title credentials against last-place Sheffield United on Thursday. Manchester United, meanwhile, went into meltdown at Chelsea.

This was a latest reminder of the gulf that separates English football's fiercest rivals ahead of their clash at Old Trafford on Sunday.

If there is one club whose history runs hand-in-hand with the Copa del Rey it is Athletic Bilbao.

The team that only fields players from or near Spain's northern Basque Country has always put a priority on the knockout competition. That commitment has led to 23 cup titles in the club's history — but the last one came in 1984. Since then it has been a series of near misses with six finals that all ended in defeat.

Kylian Mbappé could find himself on the bench again when runaway French league leader Paris Saint-Germain faces rock-bottom Clermont on Saturday.

Mbappé is the league top scorer with 24 goals and Clermont has the second-worst defense of the 18 top-flight teams with 46 conceded. It is a golden opportunity for Mbappé, PSG's all-time leading scorer with 251 goals, to add to his tally.

Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday because of a lingering injury, delaying the start of his clay-court tournament preparation ahead of the French Open and extending his absence that began in January.

The 37-year-old Nadal had hip surgery last summer and has played only three competitive matches — in Brisbane before skipping the Australian Open — this year.

The Boston Celtics clinched the NBA's best record this season and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with a 135-100 blowout over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Jayson Tatum added 24 points and Jaylen Brown contributed 23 points for the Celtics, who improved to an Eastern Conference-best 60-16.

Kylian Mbappé saw his first-half penalty saved but then scored with a deflected shot moments later as Paris Saint-Germain beat Rennes 1-0 to reach the French Cup final on Wednesday.

PSG goes for a record-extending 15th French Cup trophy when it faces first-division rival Lyon on May 25 in Lille.

The three-way race for the Premier League title looks likely to go down to the wire after wins for Arsenal and Manchester City made it even tighter at the top.

Arsenal moved back to the summit by beating Luton 2-0, while City routed Aston Villa 4-1 to go level on points with second-place Liverpool.

Erling Haaland was left out of Manchester City's starting lineup for its Premier League match against Aston Villa on Wednesday.

But it didn't hinder the defending champion as Phil Foden scored a hat trick in a 4-1 rout at Etihad Stadium.

Tottenham missed the chance to overtake Aston Villa in the race for Champions League qualification after settling for a 1-1 draw at West Ham on Tuesday in the Premier League.

Brennan Johnson had given fifth-place Spurs an ideal start at London Stadium, but that was canceled out by Kurt Zouma's leveler in the 19th.

Cristiano Ronaldo notched his second hat trick in the space of 72 hours as Al-Nassr routed Abha 8-0 in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday.

The five-time Ballon D'Or winner scored three goals and recorded two assists in the first half for the nine-time Saudi Arabian champions.