Rakitic goal wins El Clasico for Barca
Rakitic kept his composure to beat Thibaut Courtois after a one-two with Sergi Roberto split Real's defence.
Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane were denied towards the end but Real rarely looked like equalising at the Bernabeu.
They are third in the table, 12 points behind Barcelona with 12 games left.
Atletico Madrid, who are second, will cut Barca's lead at the top to seven points if they win at Real Sociedad on Sunday (17:30 GMT).
Barca closing in on fourth title in five seasons
Barcelona's players formed a huddle as they celebrated on the pitch after the final whistle.
This was their 18th victory in 26 games in the league and, barring a disastrous set of results, they will retain the title they won by 14 points last season.
Having beaten Real in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, Ernesto Valverde's side inflicted further misery on their bitter rivals.
Barca showed their class all over the pitch. Croatia midfielder Rakitic raced clear of Sergio Ramos to score before Courtois produced a double save to keep out Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.
At the back, Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet were solid as Barca clocked up a fifth clean sheet in six games.
This will not go down as a classic but Barcelona emerged with their treble hopes intact.
Barca boss Valverde was not getting carried away though.
"We still have a whole world in front of us. We know Madrid can win a lot of consecutive games, Atletico Madrid are still there too," he said.
"Until it is mathematically secure, we will keep battling. You have to keep fighting, if you think about it, you start losing."
Handball rules changed for next season
The changes mean that a free-kick will be awarded when a goal or clear chance occurs from a handball.
Ifab technical director David Elleray explained the changes at their AGM in Aberdeen.
"Deliberate handball remains an offence," Elleray stressed.
"In the past we've managed to improve the laws by focusing on outcome rather than intent.
"What we are looking at particularly in attacking situations is where the player gets a clear unfair advantage by gaining possession or control of the ball, as a result of it making contact with their hand or arm."The changes mean gaining control or possession and then scoring as a consequence of handling the ball will not be allowed - neither will a goal scored directly from handling the ball, regardless of intent.
Another change to the laws of the game means that if the player's arms extend beyond a "natural silhouette", handball will be given, even if it is perceived as accidental.
Elleray says this is an effort to put an end to defenders placing their arms behind their backs in fear of giving away a free-kick.
"We've changed it to say the body has a certain silhouette," said Elleray. "If the arms are extended beyond that silhouette then the body is being made unnaturally bigger, with the purpose of it being a bigger barrier to the opponent or the ball.
"Players should be allowed to have their arms by their side because it's their natural silhouette."In other changes approved by Ifab, substitutes will have to leave the pitch at the nearest goalline or touchline instead of walking to their technical area in a bid to stop time wasting.
Federer wins landmark 100th ATP title
Federer, 37, showed his best form of the tournament in easing to a 6-2 6-2 win over the 22-year-old Croat.
He now faces Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Federer in the Australian Open last 16 in January.
A win will make Federer the second male player to win 100 singles titles after American Jimmy Connors, who won 109.
"Tsitsipas is tough to play, tough to beat," said Federer. "He showed me that at the Australian Open, how hard he is. Maybe the final is a little bit of a revenge match.
"Reaching 100 titles - we're still far from it. I'm just going to try to focus and play good tennis,"Tsitsipas recovered from a set and 3-1 down to get past Frenchman Gael Monfils 4-6 7-6(4) 7-6(4), a win which will propel the 20-year-old into the world's top 10 for the first time in his career.
"The whole match changed out of nowhere," Tsitsipas said.
"I've improved since last year. Beating the big guys, big players, players that have been in the top 10, it means a lot."
Bulls beat Hawks in third-highest scoring game in NBA history
Chicago's Zach LaVine and Atlanta's Trae Young scored career-highs of 47 and 49 respectively in the marathon game, which went to a fourth overtime.
Both teams also set club records for points scored in a game.
"I've never been part of a game that long," LaVine said. "I airballed one [missed the backboard completely] because I was so damn tired."Power forward Lauri Markkanen made three free throws in fourth overtime to secure the win for the Bulls.
The Finn finished with 31 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls, who topped their 156-155 quadruple-overtime win at Portland in March 1984.
Despite the victory, Chicago remain 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 18-45 win-loss record, while Atlanta sit one place above on 21-42.
The highest scoring game in NBA history was the Detroit Pistons' 186-184 win over Denver Nuggets in December 1983.
from Bola Esho's Blog
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