MONTREAL, Que — Benjamin Cremaschi scored the go-ahead goal in the 59th minute, and Inter Miami CF erased a two-goal deficit to defeat CF Montreal 3-2 in Lionel Messi’s first professional match in Canada on Saturday. Messi — considered by many as the greatest footballer ever — was held off the scoresheet despite being in scorching hot form in Major League Soccer. The 36-year-old entered the match with 10 goals and 12 assists in eight league games after a record-setting one-goal, five-assist showing in a 6-2 win over New York Red Bulls last week. The Argentine superstar took the American soccer ..read more

MILAN — United States standout Christian Pulisic scored twice as AC Milan beat Cagliari 5-1 in Serie A on Saturday, although he had a very different name on the back of his jersey. In an initiative proposed by Milan — and followed by five other Serie A clubs — the players wore jerseys featuring maternal surnames. Pulisic had ‘Harlow.’ Second-placed Milan remained seven points above Bologna, which moved into third after winning at Napoli 2-0, and eight points above Juventus ahead of the Bianconeri’s match against already-relegated Salernitana on Sunday. Cagliari remained three points above the ..read more

BARCELONA, Spain — Real Madrid’s backups eased to a 4-0 win at the relegated Granada on Saturday as Carlo Ancelotti rested most of his top players to avoid costly injuries before the Champions League final. Defender Antonio Rudiger was the only first-choice player whom Ancelotti started for a Spanish league game that was inconsequential for either side. Madrid clinched its 36th Spanish league title last weekend. It is now fully focused on the European final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1 in London after eliminating Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Granada didn’t have much t ..read more

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr missed out on the Saudi Pro League title for the second consecutive season when Al-Hilal defeated Al-Hazm 4-1 and clinched first place on Saturday. Two goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic, signed from Fulham in the English Premier League in the summer, did the damage. Fellow Serbian Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored and an own goal from Ahmed Al-Juwaid completed the win for Al-Hilal. Al-Hilal collected a record-extending 19th league title. It was 12 points ahead of Riyadh rival Al-Nassr with three games remaining. Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr in De ..read more

BERLIN — Damion Downs scored in injury time to keep alive Cologne’s Bundesliga survival hopes Saturday with a 3-2 home win over Union Berlin, which dropped into the relegation zone with one round remaining. Cologne had to win to have any hope of escaping the drop, and the team came from two goals down to defer its fate until next weekend. It was the first time Union ever lost a Bundesliga game after enjoying a two-goal lead. And it came despite the club firing Nenad Bjelica as coach on Monday and reappointing Marco Grote as interim coach. “The path hasn’t changed. It’s clear that it ..read more

Two more wins. That’s all that separates Manchester City from becoming English champion for an unprecedented fourth straight year. The game is up, though, for Burnley, whose relegation from the Premier League was confirmed on Saturday with a game to spare. On a significant day at both ends of the standings, City racked up another big victory by routing Fulham 4-0 to climb above Arsenal into a two-point lead. The top two each have two games left, and Arsenal faces Manchester United next on Sunday. However Arsenal finishes the season, the title will be City’s if Pep Guardiola’s team beats both T ..read more

FROSINONE, Italy — Serie A champion Inter Milan beat up Frosinone 5-0 and left the lowly home side sweating over possible relegation on Friday. With two weeks of the season remaining, six teams are still hoping to avoid joining Salernitana in the second tier. Frosinone is 16th on the 20-team table, two points above the relegation zone. It has two games left, while teams above and below it have three. The result ended Frosinone’s six-game unbeaten run. Davide Frattesi scored Inter’s first-half opener and Marko Arnautovic made it 2-0 after an hour. Canadian midfielder Tajon Buchanan got the thir ..read more

Just the thought that he may come face to face with Lionel Messi has CF Montreal captain Samuel Piette pinching himself. Piette grew up watching the man many consider the greatest footballer ever dash down the wing and toy with defenders at FC Barcelona. On Saturday, the global icon will make his first professional trip to Canada as Montreal plays host to Messi’s Inter Miami CF in Major League Soccer action at Stade Saputo. The 29-year-old Piette has faced his fair share of top talent in his professional and international career, but Messi “is a different beast.” “He’s from a different planet ..read more

A victory over visiting New York City FC on Saturday and Toronto FC can match its entire points total of last season when it finished last in the league at 4-20-10. And that’s with Toronto (6-4-1) having 22 matches remaining in the regular season after weekend play. There’s more good news with word that Italian star Lorenzo Insigne will return Saturday after missing the last eight games in all competitions with a hamstring issue. “He’ll play (Saturday),” a happy John Herdman said after training Friday. Still to be decided is whether Insigne starts and leaves early, or comes off the bench. “We ..read more

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag offered a defence of their worst season in decades Friday and argued the club owners will be sympathetic at the end of the campaign. United hosts title-chasing Arsenal on Sunday and sits outside the automatic European places after being routed 4-0 at Crystal Palace. Ten Hag’s team faces Manchester City in the FA Cup final but even a victory on May 25 at Wembley Stadium might not save his job. Dutch countryman Louis van Gaal won the 2016 FA Cup and was fired two days later. Ten Hag was asked Friday if he’s concerned about a ..read more