Carlo Ancelotti praised Federico Valverde as "the key" after the midfielder's 93rd-minute goal gave Real Madrid a dramatic 1-0 win over Athletic Club on Sunday to react to their Champions League exit in midweek.

After an underwhelming first half, Madrid improved in the second period at the Santiago Bernabéu, and Vinícius Júnior -- the game's outstanding player -- had a goal disallowed for offside before Valverde's sensational strike in added time.

The result leaves Madrid four points behind leaders Barcelona in the LaLiga table, as Ancelotti's side look to bounce back from being eliminated by Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals.

"Valverde was the key," Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. "The team played well. We were a bit slower in the first half, but in the second half we did well. We wanted to win, to react after our elimination. The team delivered, and Fede was the key player."

Vinícius has faced criticism for his performances in recent weeks -- and has been whistled by some fans at the Bernabéu -- but responded with a committed display against Athletic.

"Vinicius is extraordinary," Ancelotti said. "He has a fantastic attitude. He scored the [disallowed] goal, played some key passes for [Jude] Bellingham, he was decisive as always."

The Brazil international looked to have put Madrid ahead in the 80th minute, but his goal was ruled out by VAR, with substitute Endrick in an offside position.

"They haven't been happy days for [Vini] or for us," Ancelotti said. "I liked his reaction on the pitch a lot. He'll be very important in the coming games, I have no doubts about that."

Madrid visit Getafe on Wednesday in LaLiga, before facing Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final next Saturday.

With Kylian Mbappé missing through suspension -- and a minor ankle injury -- Ancelotti played Bellingham as a false nine, a role which served him well in his first season in Madrid.

"It's the position that gave us a big advantage last season," Ancelotti said. "[Bellingham] did well in the second half. We got on the outside a lot, put crosses in, and he was smart in the box. He deserved to score."

Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold remained tight-lipped on his future at Anfield amid continued links to Real Madrid, although he added that Sunday's winner over Leicester City would always be "special."

Alexander-Arnold started on the bench against Leicester as he looked to make his return from an ankle injury. He was introduced on 71 minutes, and he fired Liverpool to victory just five minutes later, scoring a goal which puts his team just one win away from clinching the Premier League title.

ESPN has previously reported that Madrid are "optimistic" of securing a deal for Alexander-Arnold, whose Liverpool contract is set to expire this summer.

"I have said all season that I am not going to speak on my situation. I am not going to go into the details," he told Sky Sports after the match.

"But days like today are always special. Scoring goals, playing games, winning games, winning titles -- they are special moments for me and I am glad to do my part."

On his celebration in front of the Liverpool supporters, Alexander-Arnold added: "As much as we do it for ourselves and our family, we do it for the fans as well, they are the ones who travel to the games and spend their money, so it is the least they deserve to see us give 100% on the pitch and win games.

"So to see us so close, some of us, to a second league title and for others a first, especially in front of fans, which is what we've been missing is very special.

"Virgil [van Dijk] pushed me to the front to soak it in, get up close and personal. The fans have been amazing again this season, they have pushed us every game to the final minutes and they have done that again today to help us win the game."

With teammates Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah both having signed new contracts in recent weeks, speculation over Alexander-Arnold's future continues to build. However, head coach Arne Slot said after the match that the defender's commitment to Liverpool should never be in doubt.

"The headline today should be the goal he scored and not about his contract, but it would be ridiculous if someone argues his commitment for this club," Slot said. "The workrate he puts in. No one can argue his commitment to this club but the headlines be his great goal and not his contract."

Liverpool can seal the Premier League title as early as Wednesday if Arsenal fail to beat Crystal Palace and can make sure of it on Sunday with a home win over Tottenham should Mikel Arteta's Gunners win midweek.

Leicester City have been condemned to an immediate return to the Championship after their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed with a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.

It marks the second relegation in three years for Leicester, who earned an immediate return to the top flight last season as winners of the Championship.

It has been a struggle from the start this season, though, for the 2015-16 Premier League winners. They failed to win any of their first six games and sacked manager Steve Cooper after 15 games with the team in 16th position.

Leicester turned to former Man United assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy to steer the club to safety, but the appointment did nothing to turn around the team's fortunes.

Leicester went into Sunday's game as the first team in England's top four divisions to lose eight consecutive home games without scoring a goal -- the 1-0 loss taking that total to nine.

"We have to use this time to get better," Van Nistelrooy said after the game. "The club will continue and it is my job to put the club in the best place possible."

Asked when he will know whether he is staying on, Van Nistelrooy said: "I hope soon. The new season starts very soon and preparation needs to start to move forward.

"The sooner, the better."

Leicester's display on Sunday had some positives, but relegation has felt inevitable for months.

"I'm very disappointed that it's a definite now. We kept hoping and fighting, but over the last weeks we saw the gap growing," Van Nistelrooy said. "Then you see it coming, although we never gave up and we shifted the focus towards the future to use these games and finish the season as best as possible.

"Next season the Championship will start and it is my job to do the best things possible for the club. I'm working in the coming weeks, it is my job to do everything in the best interests of Leicester City.

"I'm waiting on the clarity of the club and how they want to continue. It is the goal to lead the club."

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava officially announced his transfer to UCLA via a social media post Sunday.

"My journey at UT has come to an end," he wrote on Instagram. "This decision was incredibly difficult, and truthfully, not something I expected to make this soon. But I trust God's timing, and I believe He's leading me where I need to be.

"Even though this chapter is ending, a new chapter has begun and I am committed to UCLA!"

Iamaleava was a highly regarded local recruit who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season. He was No. 1 in ESPN's transfer portal rankings and immediately gives UCLA one of the best-known players in the sport upon his arrival. The Bruins are coming off a 5-7 debut season by coach DeShaun Foster.

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Iamaleava, a five-star prospect from Long Beach, California, was recruited by UCLA out of high school. His younger brother, Madden Iamaleava, committed to UCLA out of high school but changed his commitment on the morning of signing day and signed with Arkansas.

Those recruitments gave both sides plenty of familiarity and the ability to potentially move quickly.

Iamaleava passed for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in his first season as a starter, but in nine games against SEC opponents and Ohio State in the playoff, he threw for more than 200 yards only twice.

Tennessee's offense finished No. 9 in the league in scoring with 25.0 points per game in SEC play. The Volunteers' offense was No. 1 in rushing and No. 11 in passing in league play.

UCLA is coming off a season in which it finished No. 14 in scoring offense, and No. 12 in total offense, in Big Ten play.

Iamaleava was earning $2.4 million at Tennessee under the contract he signed with Spyre Sports Group, the Tennessee-based collective, when he was still in high school. The deal would have paid him in the $10 million range altogether had he stayed four years at Tennessee.

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel announced last week after the Volunteers' spring game that the program was moving forward without Iamaleava after he missed practice and meetings April 11. He hadn't alerted anyone on the team and was unresponsive afterward.

Heupel thanked Iamaleava and called the situation unfortunate, but added, "There's no one bigger than the Power T, and that includes me."

Iamaleava, a rising redshirt sophomore, officially entered the transfer portal Wednesday with a do-not-contact tag.

ESPN's Pete Thamel contributed to this story.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- After the Memphis Grizzlies were on the wrong side of the most lopsided NBA playoff loss in a decade, Ja Morant kept his message to his teammates short but certainly not sweet.

"We will never play that bad again," Morant said after the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder opened their Western Conference playoff series with a 131-80 rout over the Grizzlies on Sunday.

The 51-point margin is the fifth highest in a playoff game in NBA history, according to ESPN Research. It's the most lopsided playoff game in the league since the Chicago Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks by 54 in a 2015 first-round game.

Oklahoma City, which didn't play any of its starters in the fourth quarter, led by as many as 56 points. The record for largest margin of victory in a playoff game is 58, set by the Minneapolis Lakers over the St. Louis Hawks in 1956 and matched by the Denver Nuggets over the New Orleans Hornets in 2009.

"Luckily for us, there's only one way from this, and that's up," said Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo, who took the reins when Taylor Jenkins was fired the day after a 125-104 loss to the Thunder on March 27. "We will analyze it, we'll learn from it, and then we will fix those things that hurt us. But there were a lot of things."

A blowout win for the Thunder comes as no surprise, especially considering the circumstances. Oklahoma City broke the NBA record for point differential during the regular season (plus-12.9 per game) while going a league-best 68-14.

The Thunder swept the season series against the Grizzlies, winning each of the four games by double figures. The average margin of Oklahoma City's regular-season wins over Memphis was 18.75 points.

The Grizzlies were also dealing with a difficult schedule against the rested Thunder. Memphis earned the Western Conference's eighth seed by beating the Dallas Mavericks in the final play-in game, which was a 9:30 p.m. ET start on Friday. Game 1 tipped off at noon Sunday at the Paycom Center.

"We kind of have to take this win, like, they're going to be way better in Game 2," said Thunder forward Jalen Williams, who had 20 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals in 26 minutes. "We're trying to not give them a lot of life in regards to that. That's a really good team over there, so Game 2 is going to be completely different. We're kind of competing with ourselves in a way to make sure we're sharp for Game 2."

Oklahoma City's top-ranked defense smothered Memphis, forcing 24 turnovers, including 14 in the first half. The Grizzlies shot only 34.4% from the floor, including 6-of-34 from 3-point range, although Iisalo noted that Memphis' expected field goal percentage -- a statistic based on the quality of shot attempts -- was significantly higher.

"You got to turn the page fast," said Grizzlies shooting guard Desmond Bane, who was held to nine points on 3-of-12 shooting and had a plus-minus of minus-51 in 27 minutes. "Definitely take the rest of this afternoon and kind of see what we could have done better, but at the end of the day, it's one game. If we lose by 50 or lose on a buzzer-beater, the series is still 1-0. Not the result that we wanted for sure, but still got a good opportunity to get along the road here in two days."

Morant, who finished with 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting, downplayed any effect his sprained right ankle had during the Game 1 rout. He suffered the injury during Tuesday's play-in loss to the Golden State Warriors and needed pain-killing injections to play Friday against the Mavericks.

"It felt good," Morant said, declining to say whether he needed another pain-killing injection before the playoff opener. "I was available."

Oklahoma City coasted to the win despite an off shooting night for MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He was 4-of-13 from the floor while scoring only 15 points, three fewer than his lowest total from the regular season, when Gilgeous-Alexander won his first scoring title with 32.7 points per game.

"I have a great group of guys around me," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I know that, and I've known that for a long time. Tonight is no surprise. They obviously played amazing. A bunch of me's out there tonight might not have won this. That's what you have a team for."

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies 131-80 in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series Sunday, the fifth-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason history.

The 51-point margin was seven points shy of the record and was the largest Game 1 win in NBA playoff history.

Jalen Williams scored 20 points and Chet Holmgren had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league's scoring champion with nearly 33 points per game, scored just 15. The Thunder still shot 50.5% from the field.

"We played to our identity," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Nothing more, nothing less than that. We were who we were all year ... and it's going to be the key to our success, just staying true to who we are."

Gilgeous-Alexander had said several times since Oklahoma City's loss to Dallas in last season's Western Conference semifinals that he would be intentional about getting his teammates better prepared for this postseason.

So far, so good.

"I have a great group of guys around me, and I know that," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "And I've known that for a long time. ... They obviously played amazing."

There have been two 58-point playoff margins in NBA history: Denver beating New Orleans 121-63 on April 27, 2009, and the Minneapolis Lakers beating the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 on March 19, 1956.

The Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State by 56 (126-70) on April 21, 1973, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks by 54 (120-66) on April 30, 2015.

And now, a 51-point game -- where the Thunder had it well in hand by early in the second quarter. It was the sixth playoff victory of at least 50 points.

Sunday's blowout comes just four years after the Grizzlies handed the Thunder a historic beatdown of their own. They beat Oklahoma City by 73 points in a regular-season game on Dec. 2, 2021, setting the record for the largest margin of victory in NBA history.

Game 2 is Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow left Sunday's start against the Texas Rangers in the fifth inning of a scoreless game with lower leg cramps.

Glasnow was visited by manager Dave Roberts and head athletic trainer Thomas Albert after striking out Dustin Harris for the second out of the fourth inning.

Glasgow remained in the game and fanned Josh Jung for his sixth strikeout. He started the fifth with a four-seam fastball for a called strike to Jake Burger, and Roberts and Albert returned to the mound. Glasnow was replaced by Luis Garcia.

Glasnow threw 52 pitches, allowing three singles and walking one.

He didn't pitch after Aug. 11 last year because of right elbow tendinitis.

Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell hasn't pitched since April 2 because of left shoulder inflammation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Brewers broke a 33-year-old franchise record for stolen bases in a game Sunday, and they needed only four innings.

Milwaukee stole all nine bases through the first four innings against the Athletics in Sunday's 14-1 win. The Brewers had stolen eight bases in a 7-2 victory over the Toronto on Aug. 29, 1992.

Six of Sunday's steals occurred in the first inning. The Elias Sports Bureau said those were the most stolen bases by a team in an inning since the expansion era started in 1961.

A team has stolen five bases in an inning 13 times since 1961, most recently Cincinnati against Colorado on April 19, 2016.

Sportradar said the Brewers were the first team to steal six bases in an inning since Aug. 26, 1919, when the New York Giants had six in the third inning of the first game of a doubleheader against Pittsburgh.

The Brewers broke their franchise game record in the fourth inning when Caleb Durbin got his first career stolen base, two days after his major league debut.

Durbin was initially called out at second, but a video review determined he was safe. Durbin scored to extend Milwaukee's lead to 8-0.

No Brewer got caught stealing until the fifth, when Shea Langeliers threw Sal Frelick out at second.

Brice Turang stole three bases through the first four innings. Frelick had two steals. Christian Yelich, William Contreras, Rhys Hoskins and Durbin stole one base each.

Milwaukee's six first-inning steals included a pair of double steals. The Brewers scored four runs in that first inning by capitalizing on 2 hits, the 6 steals, a balk from Jeffrey Springs and 2 throwing errors by Langeliers to score four runs.

On the first double steal, Langeliers' throw to third went into left field, enabling Turang to score and Yelich to reach third. Contreras and Hoskins executed the second double steal of the inning. Frelick walked later in the first inning and took off for second as Langeliers' throw went into center. That error allowed Hoskins to score from third, though Frelick tried advancing to third on the play and got thrown out by center fielder JJ Bleday.

In the second inning, Turang drew a two-out walk and swiped second for his third steal of the day. Turang took off for third again, but Jackson Chourio swung on the pitch and hit an RBI double to right.

Frelick stole second in the third inning.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

ATLANTA -- Ronald Acuna Jr. watched with interest when Jarred Kelenic was thrown out at second base after failing to hustle out of the batter's box on a long drive in the Atlanta Braves' 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.

Acuna went to social media to criticize the way manager Brian Snitker handled the situation.

Acuna, recovering from surgery after tearing his left ACL last May, replied to a post on X by MLB.com reporter Mark Bowman on Sunday when Bowman was asked whether Snitker had commented on Kelenic. Bowman posted that Snitker "protected Kelenic by replying: 'Was I supposed to' when asked if he had said anything to Kelenic."

Acuna replied to Bowman's post, "If it were me, they would take me out of the game." The response by Acuna was removed about one hour later.

Asked about Acuna's tweet, Snitker said Sunday he hadn't seen it, nor has he talked with the All-Star outfielder. He also admitted he didn't see the Kelenic play until Sunday morning.

"I don't do social media, No. 1 and I heard about it as I was walking to the dugout," Snitker said after the Braves' 6-2 victory over the Twins on Sunday. "I heard something was up and then I came in and they said it was down. I haven't talked with him, so I don't know."

Acuna was removed from a game by Snitker six years ago under similar circumstances. When asked what the difference was between the Kelenic and Acuna situations, Snitker said, "it's just timing."

"... there's no blanket thing doing that. Quite honestly, you want to know the truth? I wasn't watching that [Kelenic] play. I know he got thrown out at second and I didn't see it until this morning, and I talked to him about it," Snitker said.

Kelenic was in the Braves' lineup Sunday and went 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Kelenic's drive on Saturday night bounced off the wall in right field and he was thrown out at second base by Trevor Larnach.

Acuna was removed from the Braves' 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 19, 2019. Then only 21 but already an All-Star, Acuna was slow to leave the batter's box on a long drive that bounced off the right-field wall for a long single.

Snitker waited one inning and then took out Acuna.

"He didn't run. You've got to run," Snitker said of Acuna after the 2019 game. "It's not going to be acceptable here. As a teammate, you're responsible for 24 other guys. That name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back of that jersey. You can't do that. We're trying to accomplish something and do something special here, and personal things have got to be put on the back burner. You just can't let your team down like that."

Acuna had his knee evaluated last week, and he has been cleared to begin cutting as he continues his rehabilitation. He could return to the Braves' lineup next month.

Acuna was hurt after 49 games last season and hit only .250 with four home runs, one year after winning the National League MVP with 41 home runs, 73 steals and a .337 batting average.

Kelenic, hitting only .180, could lose his starting job when Acuna returns. The Braves entered Sunday's game with back-to-back wins for the first time this season as new leadoff hitter and left fielder Alex Verdugo got off to a quick start. Verdugo had four hits and drove in the go-ahead run on Saturday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees left-hander Max Fried lost a no-hit bid in Sunday's 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays just as the bottom of the eighth inning was about to start when the official scorer changed a sixth-inning call to a hit after originally calling it an error.

Rookie Chandler Simpson hit a grounder into the hole between first and second with one out in the sixth and reached when the ball bounced off the glove of first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Official scorer Bill Mathews at first called the play an error.

Fried was hitless through seven innings and was about to throw his first pitch of the eighth when Mathews announced he changed the decision to an error. Mathews said he looked at several video replays and determined Simpson would have beaten any throw to first.

Jake Mangum then led off the eighth with a clean single to center on Fried's fifth pitch of the inning. Fried allowed two hits over 7 innings, throwing 102 pitches.

New York had made three defensive gems to keep Tampa Bay hitless and led 3-0. In the third, Fried hustled to first base to beat the speedy Simpson by half a step on a grounder to Goldschmidt.

Then to end the fifth, Trent Grisham robbed Mangum with a diving catch in deep right-center before throwing out Danny Jansen attempting to tag up and go to second.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. sprinted 74 feet from his position at second base to make a falling, backhanded catch on Christopher Morel's popup to shallow left-center.

Fried, 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA, signed a $218 million, eight-year contract with the Yankees during the offseason.

Tampa Bay's Triple-A Durham Bulls no-hit the Yankees' Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Saturday.

Grisham lined Ryan Pepiot's third pitch of the game into the right-center bleachers for his fifth career leadoff homer. Grisham, who also homered Saturday off Shane Baz, hit leadoff Sunday for the first time since June 4, 2023.

Cody Bellinger also homered off Pepiot to lead off the sixth inning and Austin Wells homered against Garrett Cleavinger in the ninth. In the third, Bellinger hit into a run-scoring forceout.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected in the eighth inning for the 40th time in his managerial career and first time this season.

Aaron Judge hit a drive to deep left that was ruled foul, a decision upheld in a video review, then took a called third strike. Judge started to have words with plate umpire Adam Beck, and Boone came out of the dugout and immediately was tossed.

"The audacity of the call standing is remarkable," Boone said. "It's a home run."

Fried pitched seven hitless innings for Atlanta at the New York Mets' Citi Field and was removed after 109 pitches in a 4-1 win on May 11, 2024. Joe Jimenez worked around a pair of walks in the eighth before Raisel Iglesias retired the first two batters of the ninth. J.D. Martinez homered just over the wall in right field on the next pitch off Iglesias.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.