MADRID (AP) — Barcelona and Atletico Madrid square off in La Liga this weekend in a preview of their series in the Champions League quarterfinals.
It will be the first of three games between Barcelona and Atletico in 10 days. The Spanish rivals will face each other five times in less than two months. They also met in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey in February and March when Atletico advanced to the final 4-3 on aggregate.
Click to Gallery
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's first goal the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Atletico Madrid's Giuliano Simeone controls the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Atletico Madrid's Marcos Llorente, left, controls the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Barcelona's Marcus Rashford in action in front of Rayo's Isi Palazon during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
The Champions League games will be on Wednesday in Barcelona and on April 14 in Madrid. Barcelona is looking to make it to the Champions League semifinals for the second season in a row and Atletico is seeking to get back to the last four for the first time since 2017.
Saturday's league matchup will see Barcelona trying to remain at least four points ahead of Real Madrid at the top, while Atletico — which trails Barcelona by 16 points — will seek to get back into third place past Villarreal. Atletico sits one point behind Villarreal.
Real Madrid visits relegation-threatened Mallorca earlier on Saturday. Real beat Atletico 3-2 at home in the teams' last game before the international break.
Real Betis on Saturday hosts Espanyol, which has yet to win in 12 games this year.
Sevilla fired coach Matías Almeyda before the international break and visits last-placed Oviedo on Sunday. Sevilla has won only one of its last eight matches.
Barcelona will face Atletico without forward Raphinha, who will be out for about five weeks after injuring his right hamstring while playing for Brazil in a friendly against France.
Raphinha scored twice in Barcelona’s 7-2 rout of Newcastle in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 and is set to miss both matches against Atletico in the last eight.
Real Madrid forwards Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior faced each other in the Brazil-France friendly during the break. Mbappé, La Liga's scoring leader, netted once in France's 2-1 win over Brazil, a result that helped send the French squad back to first place in the FIFA rankings.
Vinícius couldn't find the net and was criticized by many for his lackluster performance for Brazil. He scored twice for Madrid against Atletico in the derby before the break.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal is coming off a tough match for Spain after Spanish fans repeatedly chanted anti-Muslim chants during the friendly against Egypt on Tuesday in Barcelona.
Yamal, who is Muslim, came out with a statement on Wednesday saying the fan chants at RCDE Stadium were disrespectful and intolerable. He said it didn’t matter that the chants were not directed at him personally.
“I understand that not all fans are like that, but to those who chant these things: Using a religion as a taunt on the field makes you look ignorant and racist,” he wrote on Instagram. “Football is for enjoying and cheering, not for disrespecting people for who they are or what they believe.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's first goal the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Atletico Madrid's Giuliano Simeone controls the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Atletico Madrid's Marcos Llorente, left, controls the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Barcelona's Marcus Rashford in action in front of Rayo's Isi Palazon during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.
The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.
But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.
“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”
U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.
The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.
Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.
Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.
Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”
About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.
The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.
But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.
Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.
Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”
Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
