It’s been another busy weekend of European football, so here’s a recap of all the results, stories and talking points from La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and beyond.
Copa del Rey Final
Congratulations to Athletic Club Bilbao, who were crowned Copa del Rey winners on Saturday night, so late that, by the time the match had actually finished, it was Sunday morning.
Seville witnessed a Basque invasion over the weekend, but those who’d made the long trip down from Bilbao were stunned into silence when Dani Rodríguez fired underdogs Mallorca in front after just 20 minutes.
However, soon after half time, Nico Williams played it through to Oihan Sancet, who curled home an equaliser, which proved to be the end of the scoring, thus a penalty shootout was required at La Cartuja.
Manu Morlanes had his effort saved by Julen Agirrezabala, while Nemanja Radonjić then skied his effort miles over the crossbar, meaning it was very much advantage Athletic.
Raúl García, Iker Muniain and Mikel Vesga all held the nerve from 12 yards so, by the time Álex Berenguer cooly picked out the bottom corner, the party could start in both Seville and back in Bilbao.
This is the 24th time the Red and Whites have won the Copa del Rey, but first for 40 years so, make no mistake about it, this is the greatest night in this great club’s modern history.
When La Liga returns next weekend, Ernesto Valverde’s will be hoping to battle their way into the Champions League spots, a feat that certainly isn’t beyond them.
Serie A
Elsewhere around Europe, there were full rounds of fixtures, including in Serie A, which witnessed some eye-catching results.
Run-away leaders Internazionale Milano will be in action on Monday night, traveling to Udinese, seeking to reestablish their 14 point gap at the top.
This gap was closed on Saturday night by A.C. Milan, swatting aside Lecce 3-0 at San Siro, Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leão scoring, as I Rossoneri made it seven successive wins in all competitions.
Milan’s next fixture is in the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday, in which Stefano Pioli’s side will take on Roma, who also enjoyed a victory over the weekend, defeating fierce rivals Lazio in Derby della Capitale.
Gianluca Mancini was the only scorer at Stadio Olimpico, a fifth home league win out of six for Daniele De Rossi, leaving I Giallorossi on the cusp of the top four places.
In a further boost to Roma’s Champions League hopes, Bologna could only yield a goalless draw from Sunday’s trip to Frosinone, albeit I Rossoblù do remain fourth, three points clear of the chasing pack.
Juventus had only won one of their previous nine in Serie A prior to the weekend, but it’s been a much-needed good week for Massimiliano Allegri.
First, la Vecchia Signora beat Lazio 2-0 in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday, before Federico Gatti was the match-winner against Fiorentina on Sunday night.
Ahead of next weekend’s Derby della Mole, I Bianconeri remain third, still with work to do to secure a Champions League return.
Just below, Napoli hauled themselves back into the European race by beating Monza 4-2 at Stadio Brianteo, with Victor Osimhen, Matteo Politano, Piotr Zieliński and Giacomo Raspadori all on target.
Meanwhile, Atalanta slumped to a 2-1 defeat against relegation-threatened Cagliari, a third defeat in five for la Dea, with Gian Piero Gasperini’s side looking vulnerable ahead of Thursday’s trip to Anfield.
In the relegation battle, the bottom two could only draw on Friday night, Salernitana coming from 2-0 down to hold Sassuolo, a result that doesn’t really help either team.
Empoli climbed out of the drop zone by beating Torino 3-2, although it remains tight, with only five points separating Sassuolo in 19th and Cagliari in 13th.
Bundesliga
With six games to go in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen require just one more victory to become the 30th different club to be crowned German champions, and the first first-time winners since Wolfsburg in 2009.
On Saturday, die Werkself beat Union Berlin 1-0 at Stadion An der Alten Försterei, Florian Wirtz’s penalty deep into first half stoppage time the difference in the capital.
Xabi Alonso’s side are still unbeaten across all competitions this season, through to the DFB-Pokal Final where they’ll face Kaiserslautern, also preparing to take on West Ham in the Europa League last eight this mid-week.
Back in the Bundesliga, having won nine on the spin, die Schwarzroten are now a whopping 16 points clear, so will be secure a first-ever Meisterschale with victory over Werder Bremen next Sunday.
Bayer’s lead at the top increased on Saturday, because Bayern Munich were on the wrong end of another catastrophic result.
Up against top-flight debutants Heidenheim, Thomas Tuchel’s team were 2-0 up and cruising at half time, with Harry Kane and Serge Gnabry the scorers at Voith-Arena.
However, after the break, the rekordmeister collapsed, conceding twice in the space of 60 seconds, before Frank Schmidt’s team snatched victory, securing the most famous win in Heidenheim’s 178-year history.
This is the first time ever a newly-promoted side have beaten Bayern after finding themselves two-goals down.
For die Roten, they’ve now suffered back-to-back Bundesliga defeats twice within the same season for the first time since 2010/11, and look very beatable ahead of Tuesday night’s trip to Arsenal.
Elsewhere, Stuttgart took a gigantic step towards Champions League qualification, with Serhou Guirassy the only scorer as they beat top four rivals Borussia Dortmund 1-0 at Westfalenstadion.
Die Schwaben are unbeaten in ten Bundesliga matches, winning eight of them, including claiming victory in five successive top-flight away gams for the first time in the club’s entire history.
Dortmund, the side defeated in that Saturday night clash, have thereby slipped down to fifth, below RB Leipzig on goal difference, after die Roten Bullen smashed Freiburg 4-1 earlier in the day.
Edin Terzić's team may still be competing in this season’s competition, but die Schwarzgelben have work to do to get into next season’s Champions League, with their trip to Leipzig on 27 April set to be pivotal.
In the relegation battle, the Bundesliga’s bottom-six all went head-to-head, doing so this late into a season for the first time in 39 years.
On Sunday, Borussia Mönchengladbach eased their concerns by smashing Wolfsburg 3-1, meaning it’s one win and one defeat in charge of die Weißgrünen for Ralph Hasenhüttl.
In the drop zone itself, Mainz hammered Darmstadt 4-0, a result that all but mathematically condemns Torsten Lieberknecht’s team to an immediate return to the Zweite Bundesliga.
For Mainz, this saw them cling onto the relegation play-off spot, one point above Köln, even after die Geißböcke defeated Bochum 2-1, a result that drags die Unabsteigbaren back into the battle at the bottom.
Ligue 1
In Ligue 1 this weekend, Paris Saint-Germain did extend their unbeaten league streak to 23 games, but in very unconvincing fashion, with Gonçalo Ramos’ goal right at the end salvaging a draw with Clermont Foot.
Luis Enrique’s side have won only two of their last six league games, but did reach the Coupe de France Final on Wednesday, while les Rouges-et-Bleus’ main focus remain this mid-week’s clash with Barcelona.
With PSG ten points clear at the top, the intrigue can be found in the race for European places, with Brest taking a huge step towards an historic Champions League qualification.
Les Pirates, who’ve never finished higher than eighth before, beat Metz 4-3 on Sunday, meaning Eric Roy’s side have won 11 of their last 17 fixtures, so remain second, something no one could’ve predicted.
Meanwhile, on Friday night, Lille beat Marseille 3-1, while Monaco defeated Rennes 1-0 at Stade Louis II, Maghnes Akliouche the match-winner, as both teams ended that game down to ten-men.
Les Dogues are in good form ahead of their visit to Villa Park on Thursday, while the same cannot be said of OM, suffering four defeats on the spin, which is far from ideal with Benfica in Lisbon next up for them.
Back in Ligue 1, the top four have all therefore reaffirmed their positions, especially after all of the chasing pack failed to win, with Nice held to a goalless draw by Reims, while Lens failed to beat Le Havre, drawing 1-1.
Olympique Lyonnais remain tenth, but are just two points adrift a European spot, after their comeback 3-1 win over Nantes on Friday night, scoring thrice in the final 15 minutes at Stade de la Beaujoire.
None of the bottom five managed to win this weekend, meaning Montpellier’s 2-0 win over fellow-strugglers Lorient at Stade de la Mosson was a vital victory for Michel Der Zakarian’s team in their survival bid.
Anything else?
Derby de Lisboa delight for Sporting
Safe to say, it’s been a very good week to be a Sporting Clube de Portugal supporter.
On Tuesday night, the Leões reached the Taça de Portugal Final, drawing 2-2 at Estádio da Luz, a result that saw the advance, having won the semi-final first leg 2-1 five weeks earlier.
Then, on Saturday night, it was time for yet another Derby de Lisboa, this time a top of the table clash at Estádio José Alvalade.
Once again, it was a night to celebrate for Sporting, beating their fiercest rivals 2-1, with Geny Catamo both on target in the first minute and the last, snatching victory in stoppage time.
This result means Sporting are now four points clear of Benfica at the top of the Primeira Liga, with a game in hand, leaving Rúben Amorim in pole position to deliver a second title in four seasons, despite the fact the Green and Whites had won only two titles in the previous 38 campaigns.
For Benfica, the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira aside, their sole hope of silverware now is the Europa League, up against Olympique de Marseille in their quarter-final first leg on Thursday.
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