Barcelona huff and puff on their way to win

Madrid, December 21

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It was yet another lacklustre performance by Barcelona, drawing jeers from the home fans upset with the team’s struggles against the only winless team in the La Liga so far.

Some of the jeers came even after Barcelona found a way to beat last-place Almeria 3-2 on Wednesday, a much-needed hard-fought victory that ended a three-game winless streak and moved the Catalan club back to third place.

“We understand why the fans aren’t too happy, we aren’t either,” Barcelona midfielder Sergi Roberto said. “But we have to be more united than ever now.”

Roberto scored twice and Raphinha once for Barcelona, who moved three points ahead of fourth-placed Atletico Madrid. The Catalan club trail Real Madrid by four points and leaders Girona by six points.

Liverpool rout West Ham

Liverpool: After finishing last season empty-handed, Liverpool kept their four-pronged trophy pursuit alive by advancing to the League Cup semifinals with a 5-1 win over West Ham. Curtis Jones scored twice, with Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah also getting goals in the largely one-sided game at Anfield.

Jarrod Bowen struck a consolation goal for West Ham.

Another Mbappe on block

Paris: After watching his brother Kylian Mbappe score for Paris Saint-Germain, 16-year-old midfielder Ethan Mbappe made his debut for the French champions.

The League 1 leaders finished the game with the two brothers on the field after the teenaged Mbappe came on for Manuel Ugarte during stoppage time in a 3-1 home win against Metz on Wednesday. Kylian scored twice on his 25th birthday. — AP