MADRID (AP) — Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid's stumble and regained the Spanish league lead with a comfortable 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Levante on Sunday.
Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín López scored a goal each as Barcelona ended a two-game losing streak to get back in front of rival Madrid, which lost 2-1 at Osasuna on Saturday.
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Barcelona's Lamine Yamal runs during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Fermin Lopez celebrates after scoring during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Raphinha hugs Fermin Lopez after a goal during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong scores during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, left, and Marc Bernal celebrate after a goal during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna.
“We know it isn’t easy to start winning again after two defeats, but the team gave a very good response” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said.
Barcelona was coming off a 2-1 loss to Girona in the league and a 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
“It was important to win and earn three points again,” Barcelona defender João Cancelo said. “Soccer gives you these opportunities to rebound and that's what we did today, playing well again after two bad games.”
Barcelona had earned a clean sheet only once in its previous six games in all competitions.
Bernal scored from close range four minutes into the match at the Camp Nou Stadium. The 18-year-old Bernal had scored his first goal with the first team two rounds ago in a win over Mallorca.
“They had an early chance but my goal helped us settle and gain some confidence,” Bernal said.
De Jong added to the lead from inside the area in the 32nd and López sealed the victory with a beautiful long-range shot in the 81st, with the ball ricocheting off the post before going into the net.
Levante's Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan kept Barcelona from adding the fourth with a pair of outstanding saves in a row in the final minutes, first off a header by Raphinha and then off a point-blank strike from López on the rebound.
It was the fourth straight defeat for Levante, which is in 19th place. It is one point ahead of last-place Oviedo, which has a game in hand.
Levante has only one victory in its last eight matches.
Pedri entered the match in the 66th to make his return to action nearly a month after an injury layoff.
Lamine Yamal celebrated his 100th win with Barcelona, becoming the youngest player to reach that mark in official matches for the club.
The 18-year-old Yamal's 139 games include 16 draws and 23 defeats.
Flick downplayed Yamal's apparent disappointment at being replaced in the final minutes.
Third-place Villarreal, Barcelona’s next league opponent, restored a three-point gap to fourth-place Atletico Madrid by coming from behind to beat Valencia 2-1 at home. Atletico beat seventh-place Espanyol 4-2 at home on Saturday.
Sixth-place Celta Vigo defeated relegation-threatened Mallorca 2-0 at home with veteran forward Iago Aspas scoring in the 85th and 90th minutes. Celta had been winless in four straight league matches. Mallorca has lost six of its last eight games.
Sevilla won 1-0 at 10-man Getafe for its second win in its last 10 matches in all competitions.
Djibril Sow scored a 64th-minute winner for the visitors. Getafe played a man down from the 26th after a straight red card for Djene Dakonam.
The result left Sevilla in 11th place, immediately above Getafe.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal runs during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Fermin Lopez celebrates after scoring during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Raphinha hugs Fermin Lopez after a goal during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong scores during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, left, and Marc Bernal celebrate after a goal during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
DALLAS (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security said Sunday that the Global Entry program would be shut down as long as the partial government shutdown remains in effect.
The announcement comes after the department said Saturday night that it planned to shut down both Global Entry and the Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck program as well, but DHS cancelled the PreCheck closure.
“ As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations accordingly,” the agency said.
The turmoil at security and customs lanes is tied to a partial government shutdown that began Feb. 14 after Democrats and the White House were unable to reach a deal on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats have been demanding changes to immigration operations that are core to President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign.
The security disruptions come at a time where a major winter storm will hit the East Coast from Sunday into Monday. Nine out of 10 flights going out of John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Boston Logan Airport have been canceled for Monday.
Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to use expedited kiosks when entering the United States from abroad. There's no specific government data that shows how much time passengers save at airports or other ports of entry from Global Entry but travel industry experts estimate that Global Entry cuts the amount of time passengers getting through customs from an average of 30 to 90 mins for regular customs lines to 5 to 10 minutes in Global Entry lines.
Those who have Global Entry also receive TSA PreCheck. The Department of Homeland Security said in 2024 that more than 20 million Americans had TSA PreCheck, and millions of those Americans have overlapping Global Entry memberships.
Airport lines seemed largely unaffected through midday Sunday, with security check line wait times listed as under 15 minutes for most international airports, according to TSA’s mobile app.
Amy Wainscott, 42, flew from the Destin-Fort Walton Beach airport in Florida to Dallas Love Field on Sunday and said she didn’t hear about the shutdown until she had already gone through TSA’s PreCheck.
“When we got to the airport this morning everything was working like usual,” she said. “It didn’t seem like anything had changed.”
Jean Fay, 54, said she had no issues going through TSA PreCheck at the Baltimore airport for her 6 a.m. Sunday flight back home to Texas. She didn’t hear about the shutdown until she was changing planes in Austin, Texas, on her way to Dallas Love Field.
“When I landed in Austin I started getting the alerts,” she said.
Homeland Security previously said it was taking “emergency measures to preserve limited funds.” Among the steps listed were “ending Transportation Security Administration (TSA) PreCheck lanes and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Global Entry service, to refocus Department personnel on the majority of travelers.”
“We are glad that DHS has decided to keep PreCheck operational and avoid a crisis of its own making,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.
Before announcing the PreCheck shutdown, Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement Saturday night that “shutdowns have serious real world consequences." Noem said she would take away courtesy escorts from members of Congress at airports during the partial government shutdown as well.
Airlines for America, a trade group representing major carriers, said Saturday night that “it’s past time for Congress to get to the table and get a deal done.” It also criticized the announcement by saying it was “issued with extremely short notice to travelers, giving them little time to plan accordingly.”
“A4A is deeply concerned that TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs are being suspended and that the traveling public will be, once again, used as a political football amid another government shutdown,” the organization said.
Democrats on the House Committee on Homeland Security criticized Homeland Security handling of airport security after the initial announcement on Saturday night. They accused the administration of “kneecapping the programs that make travel smoother and secure."
Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, said Noem’s actions are part of an administration strategy to distract from other issues and shift responsibility.
“This administration is trying to weaponize our government, trying to make things intentionally more difficult for the American people as a political leverage," he told CNN on Sunday. "And the American people see that.”
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AP writers Ali Swenson and Ken Sweet, in New York, and Margery A. Beck, in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.
FILE - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, right, shakes hands with Transportation Security Administration Officer Monica Degro at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)
People stand by a board giving information on wait times at security checkpoints at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jamie Stengle)
People walk through TSA PreCheck at Dallas Love Field on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jamie Stengle)
