Soccer-Talking points from European soccer

"I'm here, I'm very happy and for the moment I'm not thinking of anything else but making PSG happy." BARCA TAKE FOOTHOLD IN LALIGA TITLE RACE Barcelona completed a sweet week with a 1-0 win over struggling Valencia to extend their lead atop the LaLiga standings to nine points after title holders Real Madrid were held 0-0 at Betis later on Sunday for a second straight draw. After going unbeaten for 18 matches in all competitions, Barca were knocked out of the Europa League in the playoffs by Manchester United and then lost at lowly Almeria.

Talking points from the weekend in European soccer leagues: RECORD BREAKER MBAPPE MAKES PSG HISTORY

When Kylian Mbappe extended his Paris St Germain contract in the close season he said he wanted to make history with the club and he duly delivered with a record 201st goal on Saturday. The France forward bettered the mark he shared with Edinson Cavani in a 4-2 victory against Nantes in Ligue 1, where PSG lead second-placed Olympique de Marseille by eight points.

It was a strong signal sent ahead of Wednesday's return leg in the Champions League last 16 against Bayern Munich after a 1-0 defeat at home in the first game. But Mbappe is not obsessing about the Champions League.

"Will this match affect my future? I don't think so. If I linked my future to the Champions League, all due respect to the club, I would have gone very far!," he said joking when asked about the Bayern game. "I'm here, I'm very happy and for the moment I'm not thinking of anything else but making PSG happy."

BARCA TAKE FOOTHOLD IN LALIGA TITLE RACE Barcelona completed a sweet week with a 1-0 win over struggling Valencia to extend their lead atop the LaLiga standings to nine points after title holders Real Madrid were held 0-0 at Betis later on Sunday for a second straight draw.

After going unbeaten for 18 matches in all competitions, Barca were knocked out of the Europa League in the playoffs by Manchester United and then lost at lowly Almeria. The two defeats raised questions about their form and whether they could hold onto their comfortable lead atop LaLiga.

But they answered the doubters with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Real Madrid in their Copa del Rey semi final without key players like Robert Lewandowski, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele. After beating Valencia, Barcelona have a nine-point lead over second-placed Real and they have never lost a title race when leading by eight points or more.

With 14 rounds of games still to play, only a major slump in form will deny Xavi Hernandez's side the title. Real Madrid will now have to change their focus to the Champions League and also try to rescue their Copa del Rey tie at Camp Nou against a Barca team who look to be recovering their confidence after several seasons of struggle.

ATLETICO FIRING WITH GRIEZMANN BACK TO HIS BEST After Atletico Madrid's difficult first half of the season in which they finished bottom of their Champions League group and were struggling to navigate the top six in LaLiga, Diego Simeone's team are starting to find their mojo.

In the last few weeks Atleti have played their best football of the campaign, mainly due to a brilliant Antoine Griezmann. The French forward is arguably at his best in years, having excelled for France at last year's World Cup, and is close to the form that earned him third place in the 2018 Ballon d'Or.

He leads LaLiga in assists (8), goal attempts created (13) and goals from outside the box (4) and is second in goals and assists combined (16) as well as fourth in shots (61) and shots on target (24). On Saturday, he scored his 150th goal for Atletico in their 6-1 win over Sevilla and they are now are unbeaten in their last eight league matches, climbing to third place on 45 points.

Having helped France reach the World Cup final, the 31-year-old Griezmann is revelling in his form and enjoying the moment. "When I'm happy it shows inside the pitch. I'm trying to make this club and my team mates happy. We are going through a nice moment and we should enjoy it," he said on Saturday.

ROMA GET OVER CREMONESE SETBACK FAST AS Roma quickly put their disappointing 2-1 midweek loss at Cremonese behind them as on Sunday they enjoyed their first win over Juventus in Serie A since August 2020.

The 1-0 home victory has taken Roma back into the top four as they chase Champions League football and they are now above AC Milan, with both sides on 47 points after 25 games. Jose Mourinho's side are in high spirits before hosting Real Sociedad in their Europa League last 16 first leg on Thursday, having ended a run of five winless games against Juve.

Roma also extended their streak of Serie A home victories to five in a row for the first time since December 2017 and have not conceded a goal in any of them. The fact they have not lost in their two Serie A meetings with Juventus this season for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign under Fabio Capello will also cheer their fans.

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