The teenager latched on to a brilliant ball over the top from Jude Bellingham and slotted home to open the scoring. Towards the end of the first half, the match was paused for a few minutes after discussions between the referee and Real Madrid captain Vinicius Jr. The screen at the Reale Arena displayed the message: "No to racist, xenophobic and intolerant chants, encourage and support the team while respecting the rival," in both Spanish and Basque. After the break, Endrick had a fierce effort crash off the crossbar as Carlo Ancelotti's side went in search of a second. Bellingham also had a strike from the edge of the area tipped over by Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro as Madrid had to settle for a one-goal lead in the tie. Kylian Mbappe missed the match after discomfort caused by a tooth extraction while Thibaut Courtois and Federico Valverde were rested. Real Madrid have won the Copa del Rey 20 times and will hope to reach another final with the second leg taking place on 1 April at the Bernabeu stadium.

The leaders had already seen their position strengthened when Arsenal lost at home to West Ham on Saturday before moving into what looks like an unassailable position with a superb display against the fallen reigning champions. City opened brightly but were caught cold by a clever Liverpool corner routine after 14 minutes, Mohamed Salah scoring his 30th goal of the season after Dominik Szoboszlai played Alex Mac Allister's delivery into his path. Salah repaid the compliment eight minutes before the break, playing in a perfectly weighted delivery for Szoboszlai to calmly finish low past City keeper Ederson. Liverpool were able to close out a hugely significant win without any alarms in the second half, content to protect the advantage they had established in the first 45 minutes. Liverpool are in the form and mood to wrap up a 20th English title after a commanding, ruthless performance to sink the side who have been their closest Premier League rivals for so long. City find themselves in reduced circumstances with an ageing squad and injuries to key players such as Rodri, John Stones and Erling Haaland, but Liverpool's dominance was a powerful statement that they have no intention of squandering their position. Etihad Stadium has not been a happy place for them in recent seasons, Liverpool winning only one of their previous 15 league games there, but the destiny of the points was never in serious doubt once Salah gave them that early lead. It was inevitable that Salah would spearhead Liverpool in this crucial game as he racked up more incredible numbers. The first goal meant Salah has scored 30 or more goals in five separate seasons for Liverpool, a record he shares with Roger Hunt and Ian Rush. Szoboszlai was his partner in goals here, the Hungarian giving a powerful display of running from midfield, with captain Virgil van Dijk imperious as he held it all together at the back. Liverpool were efficiency personified, demonstrating how they have flourished under Slot this season while his City counterpart Pep Guardiola faces a huge rebuilding job. Slot is too composed to call it, but with Liverpool holding an 11-point lead and having only lost one league game so far this season, he can surely sense the finishing line, even with 11 games left.

Forest took an early lead through Callum Hudson-Odoi before Newcastle grabbed control of the game with four goals in 11 frantic first-half minutes to go in 4-1 up at half-time. Lewis Miley and Jacob Murphy scored in quick succession to stun Forest, before Isak struck twice in the space of two minutes. Isak's second - his 19th goal of the season - saw him reach the 50-goal mark in just 76 Premier League appearances, quicker than all-but six players in the competition's history. Nikola Milenkovic took advantage of a defensive lapse to pull a goal back for Forest, before substitute Ryan Yates set up a nervy finish with a close-range goal following a corner in the 90th minute. But Newcastle held on for a victory that moves them up to fifth in the table, which will likely be enough to qualify for the Champions League, and puts them within three points of Forest in third.

Defending champions Bayer Leverkusen had reduced the gap to five points with a 2-0 win at Holstein Kiel on Saturday but Vincent Kompany's side responded in fine fashion. After a frustrating 45 minutes Bayern took the lead in the third minute of first-half injury time after excellent link-up play in midfield allowed Leroy Sane to square for Michael Olise - the former Crystal Palace midfielder making no mistake for his seventh league goal of the season. Sixteen minutes after the break, Bayern doubled their lead as Frankfurt failed to clear a corner and Hiroki Ito reacted fastest to side-foot home from close range. Jamal Musiala added the third, receiving the ball from Alphonso Davies before dancing his way through the Frankfurt backline and powering a shot past Kevin Trapp. Substitute Serge Gnabry added a fourth goal in stoppage time, sliding the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Trapp. Bayern have the chance to move 11 points clear at the top when they make the trip to seventh-placed Stuttgart on Friday night.

Rivals Barcelona occupy top spot with Real second on goal difference, and Atletico Madrid a point adrift in third. With England midfielder Jude Bellingham watching on from the stands after receiving a red card in the draw with Osasuna, Modric opened the scoring by controlling the ball on his chest and smashing a half-volley past Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga from 25 yards. Vinicius Junior wrapped up the three points with a composed finish after being played through on goal by Kylian Mbappe in the 83rd minute. Before Modric's wonderful strike, former Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek forced Real keeper Thibaut Courtois into a fine one-handed save after he latched on to Arnaut Danjuma's flick. In the second half, Lucas Vazquez had Gazzaniga desperately diving across his goal but his powerful strike drifted inches wide of the post. Danjuma missed a huge opportunity to level for the visitors when he was played through in the 56th minute but he curled the ball wide of Courtois' near post. Two minutes later, Vinicius collected the ball on the left, drifted into the centre and thundered a shot off the bar, before he sealed victory with his late strike. The Real faithful were happy to welcome back defender David Alaba - the Austrian started his first game in 434 days after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Up next for the European champions is a trip to San Sebastian on Wednesday when they take on Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.