Reuters Sports News Summary

Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan were all on target in the second half as Brighton moved into sixth place while also virtually ending Arsenal's title hopes. Soccer-Xavi relies on flawless defence mechanism to lead Barcelona back to glory Barcelona won their 27th LaLiga title and first for four years after a 4-2 win at city rivals Espanyol on Sunday crowned a remarkable domestic campaign built around a rock-solid defence, a huge change from the club's traditional style of play.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Winning LaLiga vital for Barca's long-term project - Xavi

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said it was a "magnificent feeling" as he clinched his first LaLiga title as manager of the club where he won eight as a player, ending a four-year drought for the Catalan giants. Xavi's side wrapped up the title after two first-half goals from Robert Lewandowski spurred them to a 4-2 win against city rivals Espanyol on Sunday.

Soccer-Brighton on cusp of Europe, but job not done, says De Zerbi

Brighton and Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi has warned his players the job is not yet done despite a stunning 3-0 victory at Arsenal that put the south coast club on the cusp of qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history. Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan were all on target in the second half as Brighton moved into sixth place while also virtually ending Arsenal's title hopes.

Soccer-Xavi relies on flawless defence mechanism to lead Barcelona back to glory

Barcelona won their 27th LaLiga title and first for four years after a 4-2 win at city rivals Espanyol on Sunday crowned a remarkable domestic campaign built around a rock-solid defence, a huge change from the club's traditional style of play. Barca have a history of success with teams playing an attractive brand of attacking football but this season they have had to adapt to a different reality and manager Xavi Hernandez has cast aside tradition to focus on relentless defence.

Soccer-Arsenal hopes crushed by Brighton as Man City on the brink of title

The flickering embers of Arsenal's Premier League title dream were all but extinguished as they suffered a 3-0 home drubbing by Europe-chasing Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday. With relentless Manchester City winning at Everton in the earlier kickoff to move four points clear, long-time league leaders Arsenal knew only a victory would suffice.

Tennis-Djokovic battles past Dimitrov in Rome, Swiatek cruises

Novak Djokovic continued his Italian Open title defence with a 6-3 4-6 6-1 victory over Bulgarian 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday while women's champion Iga Swiatek dished out another "bagel" as she defeated Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko. Djokovic, who will lose his world number one ranking at the end of the Masters 1000 tournament to Carlos Alcaraz, overcame a sluggish start and a late comeback attempt by familiar opponent Dimitrov to get over the line in their third-round meeting.

Soccer-Juventus lose Pogba again in 2-0 win over Cremonese

Second-half goals by Nicolo Fagioli and Gleison Bremer earned Juventus a comfortable 2-0 win against second-bottom Cremonese in Serie A on Sunday, but the result was soured by another injury to midfielder Paul Pogba. Pogba, who returned to Juventus last summer but has struggled with injury since, began the game well as he started a match for the first time since last April when he played for Manchester United at Liverpool.

Soccer-LaLiga in the bag, but Barcelona still face huge problems

Barcelona may have won the LaLiga title on Sunday, but their outstanding domestic campaign has been somewhat overshadowed by turmoil off the pitch including deepening financial problems and a refereeing scandal that could drag on for years. Spanish prosecutors in March filed a complaint over alleged payments Barcelona made from 2001 to 2018 totalling 7.3 million euros ($8 million) to firms owned by former refereeing official Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. A Barcelona court has agreed to take on the case.

Soccer-Arteta apologises as Arsenal's title hopes crumble

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta began the day still hopeful that his side could yet wrestle the Premier League title away from Manchester City but ended it apologising to the club's fans. A 3-0 home drubbing at the hands of an excellent Brighton and Hove Albion, shortly after City dispatched Everton by the same score, all but extinguished Arsenal's dream.

Cycling-Overall leader Evenepoel out of Giro d'Italia with COVID-19

Overall leader Remco Evenepoel abandoned the Giro d'Italia on Sunday after testing positive for COVID-19, the Belgian rider said on Sunday. "It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce that I will be leaving the Giro d'Italia due to COVID-19 after taking a routine test, which unfortunately was positive," Evenepoel, who had regained the Maglia Rosa by winning Sunday's individual time trial, said in a statement.

NBA-Morant suspended from team activities after alleged gun video

The Memphis Grizzlies suspended guard Ja Morant from all team activities on Sunday after a social media video emerged showing the two-time All-Star holding what appeared to be a gun.

The announcement comes roughly two months after a similar incident that saw Morant suspended for eight games when he appeared in a live-streaming video on Instagram holding a firearm at a nightclub.