The title races in England and Germany are going down to the wire while Italy’s and France’s champions were finally confirmed.
La Liga
Getafe were the big winners in Spain this weekend, defeating Sevilla 3-0. Jamie Mata’s opener was added by a Jorge Molina brace, putting their side back in fourth spot. With just five games to go, Getafe have a real chance at Champions League qualification for the first time in the club’s history.
Valencia ensured that they’re not going down without a fight, as they took all three points at Real Betis. Gonçalo Guedes scored a goal on either side of the interval, making the task too difficult for the home side. Betis did manage to break through Valencia’s defence via a Giovani Lo Celso goal, however it proved to be a consolation prize only.
After a shaky start to his return Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane was able conjure up 3-0 win against Athletic Bilbao. Most of Zidane’s praise however will go towards Frenchman Karim Benzema, who scored a second-half hat-trick to lead his side to the three points.
Other results:
Alavés 2-2 Real Valladolid
Celta Vigo 2-1 Girona
Eibar 0-1 Atlético Madrid
Rayo Vallecano 0-0 Huesca
Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad
Levante 2-2 Espanyol
Villarreal 2-1 Leganés
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich did what they needed to do – win and hold top spot in Germany. The Bavarians left it late as Niklas Süle’s strike took a deflection to find the back of the net in the 75th minute. Niko Kovac’s side lead the Bundesliga by a single point.
Borussia Dortmund ensured they kept their title hopes alive with a 4-0 drubbing of Freiburg. BVB were clinical, scoring three wonderful team goals and a penalty to remind the rest of the competition just how dangerous they can be.
RB Leipzig are on fire! An eighth win in their past 11 games has third spot all but secured. The Red Bull club went to Borussia Mönchengladbach and recorded an impressive 2-1 away win thanks to a brace from left-back Marcel Halstenberg. Champions League football will be confirmed with a win next week against Freiburg.
Other results:
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Nürnberg
Augsburg 6-0 Stuttgart
Mainz 3-1 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Schalke 2-5 Hoffenheim
Hertha 0-0 Hannover
Wolfsburg 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Premier League
Manchester City got their revenge over Tottenham with a 1-0 win at Etihad Stadium. Still feeling the pain of their Champions League elimination, City responded well by scoring five minutes into the match. A defensively sound performance ensured all three points for Pep Guardiola’s men and a temporary return to the top of the table.
Liverpool showed no signs of slipping up in their trip to Cardiff, recording a clinical 2-0 win. Georginio Wijnaldum opened the scoring before James Milner added a second to send the Reds top of the league.
Manchester United put up their worst performance of the season in a 4-0 demolition at the hands of Everton. The Red Devils were ripped apart by an incredible Toffees side who have now defeated three of the top six teams in the space of five weeks. United remain in sixth while Everton have jumped to seventh.
Other results:
Bournemouth 0-1 Fulham
Huddersfield 1-2 Watford
West Ham 2-2 Leicester
Wolves 0-0 Brighton
Newcastle 3-1 Southampton
Arsenal 2-3 Crystal Palace
Serie A
Juventus clinched their eighth straight Serie A title with a come-from-behind win over Fiorentina. The Bianconeri had a minor scare when Nikola Milenković fired the visitors ahead, before Alex Sandro put the game on level terms with a classy header. A Germán Pezzella own goal in the second-half ensured Juve’s status as champions of Italy once again.
Atalanta recorded arguably the biggest result on the weekend with a 2-1 win at Napoli. Trailing 1-0, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men fought back to score two late goals and send their side fifth on the table, right in contention for Champions League football.
Lazio suffered a shock home loss to relegation certainties Chievo, going down 2-1. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was sent off in the first half, allowing the visitors to strike twice in the space of a few minutes. Felipe Caicedo pulled one back, however it was not enough. Lazio sit in eighth place and four points outside the top four.
Other results
Parma 1-1 Milan
Cagliari 1-0 Frosinone
Bologna 3-0 Sampdoria
Udinese 1-1 Sassuolo
Empoli 2-4 SPAL
Genoa 0-1 Torino
Inter 1-1 Roma
Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain secured the Ligue 1 title at the fourth time of asking with a compressive 3-1 win over Monaco. Kylian Mbappe continued his incredible season with a hat-trick, giving his former side no chance of an upset. Aleksandr Golovin pulled one back, but it was too little, too late.
Lyon responded to back-to-back losses with a narrow win against Angers. With the threat of losing third spot imminent, Lyon were able to overcome the pressure thanks to goals from Memphis Depay and Martin Terrier. Angers found the net with a few minutes remaining to make the home fans nervous, however Lyon were able to hold on.
St Etienne’s aim of Champions League football is alive and well after they defeated Reims 2-0 on the road. Rémy Cabella’s opener was added to when Björn Engels put the ball into his own net. St Etienne trail Lyon by three points for that final European spot.
