Juventus grab title, Barcelona hit top gear

Three of the four UEFA Champions League semi-finalists clinched domestic wins this weekend, including a victory for Juventus that brought them a fourth consecutive Serie A crown. Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona both secured notable wins as they continued their own title tussle, while FC Bayern München – already over the finish line – lost with a rejigged lineup.

• UC Sampdoria 0-1 Juventus
Juventus confirmed their fourth successive Scudetto in Genoa, Arturo Vidal's header after 32 minutes from a Stephan Lichtsteiner cross proving to be enough. Massimo Allegri's side thus put an end to the race with four league games remaining in his first season in charge.

There was no time to celebrate, however, with La Vecchia Signora needing to switch focus to their midweek meeting with Madrid. "I'm perfectly calm and I'm already thinking of Tuesday's big game," said midfielder Andrea Pirlo.

The Italy veteran also highlighted Juve's tenacity as the key to their domestic dominance. "We gave our all to get where we are right now. The secret behind our success is that we never give up and we give everything to reach our objectives."

• Sevilla FC 2-3 Real Madrid CF
Lionel Messi's two goals against Córdoba on Saturday moved him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Pichichi trophy; the Portuguese responded with three at Sevilla that evening – his 25th Liga hat-trick. Significantly for Madrid, the third was set up by Gareth Bale, on as a substitute to make his first appearance since sustaining a calf injury in a game against Málaga CF on 18 April.

Luis Suárez hit a hat-trick for Barcelona©Getty Images

Madrid remain second in the Liga, two points adrift of Barcelona, but they are the first side to have beaten fifth-ranked Sevilla in a domestic game at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium since Barcelona's 4-1 triumph on 9 February 2014.

First leg: Juventus v Madrid, 5 May. Second leg: Madrid v Juventus, 13 May.

• Córdoba CF 0-8 FC Barcelona
Luis Suárez scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona as the Catalan giants dismantled Córdoba CF 8-0 to relegate the Andalusian side. Lionel Messi also scored a couple to take his tally on to 40 in the Liga season, with Neymar, Gerard Piqué and Ivan Rakitić getting on the scoresheet as well.

It was the 13th game this season in which Barcelona have scored five or more goals in the Liga, with their front three of Messi, Neymar and Suárez having now scored 108 goals between them this season, breaking a club record set when Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry and Messi got a total of 100 in 2008/09.

Defeat meant Córdoba were relegated back to the Segunda División less than 11 months after being promoted to the top flight for the first time in 42 years.

Bayern lost with an experimental lineup©Getty Images

• Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-0 FC Bayern München 
Goals from Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Julian Brandt spelt defeat for Bayern at Leverkusen, but Josep Guardiola's mind may have been on the Barcelona game when he chose to rest a number of key players. Neither Thomas Müller nor Jérôme Boateng travelled to the BayArena, where Rico Strieder and substitute Lukas Görtler were both given debuts.

Bayern won the title last Sunday, but they were beaten by Borussia Dortmund on penalties in the German Cup semi-finals in midweek – a game which brought a long-term injury for Arjen Robben.

Robert Lewandowski finished that match but was taken to hospital afterwards with suspected concussion and a facial injury. He did not feature against Leverkusen, though Thiago Alcántara came on as a substitute despite being taken off with a bruised foot against Dortmund.

First leg: Barcelona v Bayern, 6 May. Second leg: Bayern v Barcelona, 12 May.