Barça, Juve and PSG all but secured their respective titles while Bayern took a giant leap towards theirs. Meanwhile, the Premier League top four race is heating up with just a few matches remaining.
La Liga
Barcelona have all but secured the La Liga title with a 2-0 win over second placed Atlético Madrid. As if Atléti’s task was not hard enough, striker Diego Costa was sent off in the 28th minute for verbal abuse towards referee Jesus Gli Manzano. They were able to hang on for the majority of the match, however eventually Barça found their way through, scoring two late goals in the space of 100 seconds. It was the dynamic duo again finding the scoresheet – Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scoring their 20th and 33rd goals of the season respectively. Barça sit 11 points clear in first with just seven games remaining.
Real Madrid have survived a scare against the mid-table Eibar at the Santiago Bernabeu. Marc Cardona broke the deadlock for the away side just prior to the interval, sending reminders to Los Blancos’ about Eibar’s 3-0 win in the reverse fixture. Real Madrid’s number nine Karim Benzema was the man of the moment, scoring two second-half goals to snatch the three points and close the gap on second to two points.
Valencia’s season has taken a hit with a shock loss to Rayo Vallecano. On paper this should have been a comfortable win for Valencia, however relegation battlers Vallecano showed tremendous spirit to come away with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Raúl de Tomás and Mario Suárez. Valencia are now four points outside the top four, while Vallecano are three points from safety.
Other results:
Girona 1-2 Espanyol
Alavés 1-1 Leganés
Getafe 1-0 Athletic Bilbao
Real Valladolid 0-2 Sevilla
Celta Vigo 3-1 Real Sociedad
Levante 2-2 Huesca
Real Betis 2-1 Villarreal
Bundesliga
It shaped as the biggest Der Klassiker in years but there was one clear winner in this edition. Borussia Dortmund started the round one point clear of their rivals Bayern Munich, however ultimately crumbled at the hands of the Bavarians. Bayern led 4-0 at half-time before adding a fifth minutes from the end. They sit atop the standings once more – two points ahead of Dortmund.
RB Leipzig’s red-hot form has continued with an impressive 4-2 win away to Bayer Leverkusen. Leipzig trailed 2-1 after the first-half, however, came out all guns blazing in the second, scoring three goals in a 19-minute interval to seal the points on the road.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s top four have been given a boost with a last-minute winner at Schalke. Ante Rebic opened the scoring on 13 minutes but Schalke responded well – Suat Serdar equalising minutes later. A draw was looking likely until Schalke’s Daniel Caligiuri conceded a penalty in the 99th minute. The in-form Luka Jovic stepped up and converted, sending Frankfurt four points clear in fourth.
Other results:
Mainz 5-0 Freiburg
Stuttgart 1-1 Nürnburg
Hertha 1-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Wolfsburg 3-1 Hannover
Augsburg 0-4 Hoffenheim
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 Werder Bremen
Premier League
Liverpool have gone top of the Premier League with a convincing 3-1 win away to Southampton. The Reds found themselves 1-0 down thanks to an early Shane Long finish, but Jürgen Klopp’s men were clinical from there on. Naby Keita headed home the equaliser, before Mo Salah and Jordan Henderson found the net to round out the win.
Arsenal blew the chance to assert themselves inside the top four with a disappointing 1-0 loss to Everton. A Phil Jagielka tap-in was the difference between the sides as Arsenal failed to create enough chances to get themselves back in the game. The Gunners sit in equal-fourth and face a difficult test next week away to Watford.
Tottenham got things off to the perfect start at their new stadium with a win and clean sheet against Crystal Palace. Son Heung-Min scored the first ever goal at the stadium before Christian Eriksen added a second, ensuring Spurs remain in third.
Other results:
Watford 4-1 Fulham
Wolves 2-1 Manchester United
Manchester City 2-0 Cardiff
Chelsea 3-0 Brighton
Bournemouth 1-3 Burnley
Huddersfield 1-4 Leicester
Newcastle 0-1 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 2-0 West Ham
Serie A
Juventus are one point away from clinching an eighth straight Scudetto after a come-from-behind win over Milan. The Rossoneri’s star man Krzysztof Piątek opened the scoring in the first-half with a sublime finish to silence the home fans. Juve were awarded a second-half penalty which Paulo Dybala converted, before in-form teenager Moise Kean scored his fourth goal in five games to secure the victory for his side. The Bianconeri can win the title with a point at SPAL.
Roma’s top four chances are still alive with a crucial win at Sampdoria. Claudio Ranieri’s men have been under immense pressure of late due to risk of missing the Champions League, however the Romans stood tall as Daniele De Rossi found a late winner. The club sit in sixth, just one point off Milan who are in fourth.
Lazio and Sassuolo played out a four-goal thriller at the Stadio Olimpico. Ciro Immobile’s spot kick broke the deadlock on 53 minutes, however Lazio’s lead was short-lived when Rogerio tapped home the equaliser moments later. Domenico Berardi was then able to finish a 1-on-1 to put Sassuolo ahead in the last minue of normal time, before a 95th minute Senad Lulic tap-in saved Lazio’s blushes. The Biancocelesti sit four points outside the top four with one game in hand.
Other results:
Parma 0-0 Torino
Fiorentina 0-1 Frosinone
Udinese 3-2 Empoli
Cagliari 2-1 SPAL
Inter 0-0 Atalanta
Napoli 1-1 Genoa
Bologna 3-0 Chievo
Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain squandered the chance to lift the Ligue 1 title with eight games remaining, drawing 2-2 with Strasbourg at the Parc des Princes. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting finished superbly to put PSG ahead early in the match, however the scores were deadlocked once more when Nuno da Costa equalised 12 minutes later. Choupo-Moting then had a moment to forget with what is being labelled as the ‘miss of the century’. PSG were then punished via a long-range Anthony Gonçalves strike, remarkably putting the away side ahead. Substitute Thilo Kehrer was able to rescue a point for PSG with just eight minutes remaining in normal time, however the title celebrations were put on hold.
Lyon suffered a shock home loss at the hands of a struggling Dijon side. Martin Terrier put Lyon ahead after just 38 seconds, suggesting that maybe a rout was on the cards. It wasn’t to be though as Wesley Said equalised less than 90 seconds later with a calm finish inside the box. A Marcelo own goal shortly followed to put the away side ahead, before another own goal – this time from Rafael – made it 3-1 to Dijon. Lyon remain in third spot and should hold on for Champions League qualification.
Monaco were at serious risk of being pulled back into the relegation scrap after trailing Guingamp 1-0 for the majority of their clash. Eboa Eboa put his side ahead after 23 minutes, giving the home fans hope of survival this season. It wasn’t until the 94th minute when Stevan Jovetic found a way through to equalise for Monaco and put a dagger in the hearts of Guingamp.
Other results:
Bordeaux 2-0 Marseille
Amiens 2-2 St Etienne
Angers 3-3 Rennes
Nîmes 2-0 Caen
Reims 1-1 Lille
Toulouse 1-0 Nantes
Nice 1-0 Montpellier
