Real Madrid can clinch Spanish league title as it seeks another Champions League crown

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Chasing another Champions League crown, Real Madrid already has its fingertips on the Spanish league title.

The 14-time European Cup winner could clinch the Spanish league on Saturday when Madrid hosts Cadiz and Barcelona visits Girona if everything goes its way.

Madrid can lock up title No. 36 with four games left in two scenarios: If Madrid beats Cadiz and Barcelona fails to beat Girona, or if Madrid draws with Cadiz and Barcelona loses at Girona.

Madrid leads Barcelona by 11 points and has the tiebreaker with Barcelona in its favor entering the round. Madrid has been the runaway favorite since it beat Girona, then its top challenger, in February and quashed a half-hearted rally by Barcelona in a clasico victory last month.

With the domestic title apparently a question of time, Madrid’s priority is its Champions League semifinal with Bayern Munich. Madrid earned a 2-2 draw in Germany thanks to Vinícius Júnior’s brace on Tuesday. Bayern comes to Madrid next Wednesday to decide who will face Paris Saint-Germain or Borussia Dortmund in the June 1 final.

Led by Jude Bellingham, Vinícius and veteran midfielder Toni Kroos, Carlo Ancelotti’s side has lost only once in 33 league games in this campaign.

Ancelotti rotated his starting lineup for the last round where Madrid won at Real Sociedad, so it is likely that he will also rest some key players against a Cadiz side that is in danger of relegation. The team from southern Spain is in 18th place, inside the drop zone, and five points behind Celta Vigo, the last team clinging to safety.

FOR SECOND

Xavi Hernández has acknowledged this season will finish without a title, even if he changed his mind and decided to stick around as Barcelona coach.

Barcelona is fighting Girona for the runner-up honors. The Catalan derby will decide who will be in pole position to finish second and earn a spot in the lucrative Spanish Super Cup.

Barcelona leads third-placed Girona by two points. Girona, the sensation of the league, beat Barcelona on the road 4-2 in December.

Girona's Artem Dovbyk is leading the chase to be the league top scorer. The Ukraine striker has 19 goals, two more than Bellingham.

LAST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPOT

Atletico Madrid is at Mallorca as it tries to tie up fourth place and the final Champions League spot. Fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao trails Atletico by six points before playing at Getafe on Friday.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's third goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, on April 21, 2024. Real Madrid has its fingertips on the Spanish league title as it also seeks another Champions League crown. (AP Photo/Jose Breton, File)

HOUSTON (AP) — Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled southeastern Texas on Thursday for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 850,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area.

Officials urged residents to keep off roads, as many were impassable and traffic lights were expected to be out for much of the night.

“Stay at home tonight, do not go to work tomorrow, unless you’re an essential worker. Stay home, take care of your children,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in an evening briefing. “Our first responders will be working around the clock.”

The mayor said four people died. At least two of the deaths were caused by falling trees, and another happened when a crane blew over in strong winds, officials said.

Streets were flooded, and trees and power lines were down across the region. Whitmire said wind speeds reached 100 mph (160 kph), “with some twisters.”

Hundreds of windows were shattered at downtown hotels and office buildings, with glass littering the streets below, and the state was sending Department of Public Safety officers to secure the area.

“Downtown is a mess,” Whitmire said.

There was a backlog of 911 calls that first responders were working through, he added.

The storm system moved through swiftly, but flood watches and warnings remained for Houston and areas to the east.

Flights were briefly grounded at Houston's two major airports. Sustained winds topping 60 mph (96 kph) were recorded at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

About 855,000 customers were without electricity in and around Harris County, which contains Houston, according to poweroutage.us. The county is home to more than 4.7 million people.

The problems extended to the city's suburbs, with emergency officials in neighboring Montgomery County describing the damage to transmission lines as “catastrophic” and warning that power could be impacted for several days.

The Houston Independent School District canceled classes Friday for all its 274 campuses.

Heavy storms slammed the region during the first week of May, leading to numerous high-water rescues, including some from the rooftops of flooded homes.

A boy walks past a large tree that fell on a home after heavy wind and rain ripped through the region Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Houston. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Transmission power lines are down near the Grand Parkway and West Road after a storm Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Cypress, Texas. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Transmission power lines are down near the Grand Parkway and West Road after a storm Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Cypress, Texas. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP)