Madrid comes down from Valverde's Champions League hat trick to return to La Liga slog

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — After Federico Valverde single-handedly got Real Madrid back in Champions League domination mode with his hat trick against Manchester City, the 15-time European Cup winner must take a brief dip back into La Liga this weekend.

Valverde’s memorable three-goal first-half explosion on Wednesday fueled a 3-0 win over City and coach Pep Guardiola, a nemesis of Madrid from his years in charge of the best Barcelona squads.

The treble by Valverde came after his last-gasp goal snatched Madrid a 2-1 win at Celta Vigo in the Spanish league’s previous round.

Now Madrid must refocus, albeit it just for a game, on the domestic competition where it has struggled of late and trails leader Barcelona by four points after 27 of 38 rounds.

Álvaro Arbeloa’s side hosts Elche on Saturday, then three days later heads to England to try and finish off City and advance to the Champions League quarterfinals.

Barcelona hosts Sevilla on Sunday.

While Elche looks like easy pickings for Madrid, the small southern club did hold the powerhouse to 2-2 at home in November.

Elche was in eighth place just two months ago but has plummeted to 17th and the edge of the relegation zone.

Prior to that Valverde-inspired win at Celta, Madrid lost twice in the league to Getafe at home and away at Osasuna.

Barcelona will also be looking to avenge a 4-1 loss at Sevilla in October, its worst defeat in the league this campaign. In that loss, Barcelona was without injured attackers Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.

Valverde has emerged as the leader of an injury-hit Madrid. All six of his goals this season have come since January with Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham both injured.

Yamal is also in fine form for Barcelona. The 18-year-old has seven goals over his last seven La Liga appearances, and he converted a pressure-filled penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw at Newcastle in the Champions League round-of-16 on Tuesday.

Mbappé hasn’t played since Feb. 21 because of a knee problem and remains a doubt for Madrid, which is also missing Bellingham and Éder Militão, out with a long-term injury.

Barcelona’s injured list includes starting full backs Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde.

Barcelona will hold an election for club president on Sunday, when incumbent Joan Laporta seeks another five-year term.

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

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal scores during the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Newcastle United and Barcelona in Newcastle, England, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Real Madrid's Federico Valverde, center, celebrates after scoring his third goal during a first leg round of 16 Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — René Redzepi, founder and celebrity chef at the iconic Danish restaurant Noma that won three Michelin stars and other international accolades for its innovative “New Nordic” cuisine, has stepped down from his post following allegations of abuse and assault at the Copenhagen landmark.

Redzepi has been dogged for years by reports of mistreatment of his staff as well as his yearslong use of unpaid interns to staff the pricy restaurant, which was ranked first on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List five times. But the criticism recently came to a head on social media, and an article in the New York Times detailed former employees' accounts of abuse just days ahead of the opening of a Noma pop-up in Los Angeles.

Sponsors have since pulled their funding for the Southern California residency, which opened Wednesday to a small gathering of protesters and where a meal will cost diners $1,500. Redzepi announced his resignation on Instagram with a tearful video soon after.

“I have worked to be a better leader and Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years,” he wrote in the post's caption Thursday. “I recognize these changes do not repair the past. An apology is not enough; I take responsibility for my own actions.”

Jason Ignacio White, a former head of Noma’s fermentation lab, collected anonymous testimonies of alleged abuse at the restaurant and posted them to his Instagram page. The accounts, which range from verbal abuse to physical assault at the hands of Redzepi and his deputies, have gone viral.

“I got punched in the face during service there,” one unnamed person wrote to White.

Another said: “Noma destroyed my passion for the industry. I struggled with intense anxiety, bad enough to give me panic attacks in the middle of the night. The trauma, abuse and idea that nothing would ever change all led me to walk away from the career.”

Redzepi was knighted in 2016 to Denmark's Order of Dannebrog by then-Queen Margrethe II.

Noma, Redzepi and the Danish royal family's press department did not immediately return requests for comment Thursday. __

Dazio reported from Berlin.

A staff member polishes the glass doors outside a Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, Tuesday, May 1, 2012. (Keld Navntoft/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Noma's chef René Redzepi smells a citrus fruit in Copenhagen, Nov. 24, 2024. (Soeren Bidstrup/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Noma's chef René Redzepi prepares a vegetarian burger in a restaurant, in Copenhagen, Nov. 24, 2024. (Soeren Bidstrup/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)