Soccer around the world

Real Madrid presses for Barcelona slip-up
MADRID — With the Spanish league season nearing its end, Real Madrid can only wait for Barcelona to falter.
Barcelona leads the league by two points, and is also in the Copa del Rey final. Both Madrid and Barcelona are in the Champions League semifinals.
“Our strategy is clear,” Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said after Madrid’s 4-2 win at Celta Vigo on Sunday. “If we win all our matches, we force them to have to win all of theirs.”
However, Madrid has tough matches at Sevilla and Valencia to come, while Barcelona’s toughest challenge will be at Atletico Madrid.
Here are some things to know about this week’s matches:
CHICHARITO’S CHANCE
Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez replaced injured Madrid striker Karim Benzema and has rapidly won over fans by scoring the lone goal that knocked Atletico out of the Champions League. He then scored twice against Celta.
Ancelotti said Hernandez has “suffered” by not being selected often, and praised his persistence.
“If Chicharito continues to play like this, he’ll be non-negotiable, like Cristiano (Ronaldo),” Ancelotti said. “But only 11 can play and the rest have to remain on the bench.”
Hernandez said he had “gone through a bad time” while on the bench, but was determined to make the most of his chance in the squad.
“I’m focused on playing the maximum amount of minutes for the best team in the world,” the Mexico forward said.
If Benzema is fit for Wednesday’s match against 17th-place Almeria — a team fighting to remain above the relegation zone — Ancelotti must chose which striker to deploy.
SIMEONE’S 200
Diego Simeone will celebrate his 200th match as coach of Atletico in Wednesday’s match at Villarreal.
Simeone, who has so far steered Atletico to 126 wins and five titles, has been getting help from the in-form attacking partnership of Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic.
“I am enjoying myself right now,” Griezmann said after scoring two goals during Atletico’s 3-0 win over Elche on Saturday.
ALBA OUT
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique’s main concern ahead of Tuesday’s home match against 13th-place Getafe is the absence of suspended defender Jordi Alba.
“It (Getafe) is a dangerous side that defends with intensity and has great quality in attack,” Enrique said. “I couldn’t say how many points we’re going to need to become champions, but the three available against Getafe are important. Madrid is very close behind us.”
Barcelona drew 0-0 in its last league outing against Getafe.
The squad is bolstered by the return of midfielder Rafinha from injury, and Enrique will likely retain his three-pronged attack of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.
BALE IS BACK
Star forward Gareth Bale, who had been sidelined since he tore a calf muscle in his left leg during Madrid’s 3-1 win over Malaga on April 18, says he is recovering well.
“Feeling stronger every day,” said the Wales forward. “Can’t wait to get back and join the lads.”
If Bale is declared fit, Ancelotti is likely to use him on the right flank, with Ronaldo patrolling the left and either Benzema or Hernandez in front as the lone striker.

Chelsea midfielder Oscar out of hospital
LONDON — Chelsea midfielder Oscar is out of the hospital following a heavy collision with an opponent during a Premier League game that left the Brazil international with a swollen face.
Oscar was injured about 15 minutes into the 0-0 draw at Arsenal on Sunday when goalkeeper David Ospina collided with him. The midfielder continued playing after treatment, but was substituted at halftime and taken to the hospital to have some scans.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said Monday that Oscar “went immediately to his house yesterday night” from the hospital and slept at home. Oscar is expected at the club’s training ground on Monday.
Asked if Oscar had sustained a concussion during the collision, Mourinho said: “I’m not sure of that. We saw his face was swelling at halftime, we don’t want to go for any risks. We made that decision.”
Mourinho said Oscar will be traveling with the rest of the Chelsea squad for Wednesday’s match at Leicester, but didn’t confirm whether he was available to play.

Bayern could face long-term challenge
FRANKFURT, Germany — When their 25th Bundesliga title came, Bayern Munich’s players and coaches were most likely on their sofas, watching television.
The team’s director, Matthias Sammer, was at a basketball game.
There was no celebration of the club’s record German championship on Sunday, no car parades through the Bavarian capital, no euphoria on the city’s main square. The low-key acknowledgement of the title reflected the suspense-lacking season in which Bayern had opened a massive lead early on and the title was just a matter of time despite a series of injuries to key players.
It came with four matches to spare when third-place Borussia Moenchengladbach beat Wolfsburg 1-0 on a last-minute goal, which meant that second-place Wolfsburg remained 15 points behind and lost the mathematical chance of catching Bayern. Moenchengladbach is 19 points behind but the gap may be narrower than it looks.
That match pitted Bayern’s most likely challengers for the future.
Although Bayern’s dominance of the Bundesliga is unlikely to end in the short term, Wolfsburg has the money and Moenchengladbach has the talent to become Bayern’s long-term rivals.
They are the only two Bundesliga teams to beat Bayern this season and Bayern was badly outplayed in both losses. Wolfsburg thrashed Bayern 4-1 at home and Moenchengladbach won 2-0 in Munich.
Backed by the financial clout of sponsor Volkswagen, Wolfsburg already surprisingly won the Bundesliga title in 2009 and is all but sure to play in the Champions League next season. It has a competent, low-key coach in Dieter Hecking and an experienced director in Klaus Allofs, who has a good record of signing talented players.

After successful week, violence mars Serie A
ROME — It was just a few days ago when Italian football officials were hailing the return of Serie A clubs to the final phases of Europe’s top club competitions.
Now it’s back to the more familiar problems of fan violence.
Before Sunday’s Turin derby, Torino fans attacked the bus carrying Juventus’ players as it approached the stadium, breaking a window. Juventus supporters retaliated by throwing fireworks at Torino counterparts inside the stadium, injuring several when pieces of seats started splintering in the air.
At least five people were arrested.
“Complements to the police who identified and arrested those responsible for the assault on Juve’s pullman and the explosion that occurred inside the stadium,” Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said. “There will be no clemency toward the enemies of sport. These are hooligans.”
Relatedly, Roma’s American president, James Pallotta, has been waging a verbal battle with his club’s hardcore “ultra” fans, who have been disorderly all season.