Barcelona and Ajax both moved closer to winning their domestic league titles as they picked up morale-boosting victories before their Champions League semi-finals against English opposition.
Ajax moved three points clear at the top of the Eredivisie with a 4-2 win against Vitesse Arnhem, warming up for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Tottenham next week with a seventh straight home league victory.
Second-placed PSV Eindhoven, who have a game in hand, had moved level on points with Erik ten Hag’s side on Sunday. But Ajax maintained the pressure with their 10th win in 11 league games.
Hakim Ziyech opened the scoring just before half-time, Dusan Tadic converted a 54th-minute penalty and Matthijs de Ligt added Ajax’s third four minutes later.
Vitesse pulled one back through Navarone Foor and after Tadic scored Ajax’s fourth with another spot-kick, Oussama Darfalou headed in the visiting side’s second.
In Spain, Barcelona can win La Liga if Atlético Madrid slip up on Wednesday against Valencia but in the meantime they produced a straightforward win against Alavés, even if they had to wait until the second half to open the scoring.
Carles Aleña scored after 54 minutes and six minutes later Luis Suárez doubled the lead from the penalty spot. Lionel Messi came on as a substitute with 30 minutes left.
Tottenham host Ajax on 30 April in the first leg while Liverpool and Barcelona play their first leg at the Camp Nou the following day.
In the German Cup, RB Leipzig won 3-1 at Hamburg to reach the final. Werder Bremen take on Bayern Munich in the second semi-final on Wednesday.