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 and Ligue 1.
La Liga
Currently in the middle of their respective Champions League quarter-finals, La Liga’s big three were all in action on Saturday, but all avoided potential banana skins by picking up three points.
Atlético Madrid’s fixture was the most eye-catching, given that they welcomed third-placed Girona to the Metropolitano, and there was much concern from the home supporters when Artem Dovbyk broke the deadlock after just four minutes.
Nevertheless, an Antoine Griezmann brace either-side of half time, with Ángel Correa also on target, saw los Colchoneros secure a crucial 3-1 win.
Later in the day, both Real Madrid and Barcelona claimed hard-fought 1-0 victory on the road.
Aurélien Tchouaméni’s long-range rocket saw los Blancos beat Mallorca at Son Moix, before João Félix’s spectacular bicycle kick was enough as Barça beat Cádiz at Estadio Ramón de Carranza.
With seven games to go, the top two remain eight points apart, meaning next Sunday night’s Clásico at the Bernabéu will determine whether or not we have a title race on our hands; ¿Hay Liga?
Just below, Atleti are now four points clear of Athletic in the race for Champions League qualification.
That’s because the newly-crowned Copa del Rey winners were denied victory on Sunday evening, with Villarreal snatching a draw at San Mamés, courtesy of Dani Parejo’s very controversial 95th minute penalty.
So currently, it’s the two Basque giants who will be heading into the Europa League, with Real Sociedad still sixth, despite being held to a very underwhelming 2-2 draw by bottom side Almería at Anoeta.
Osasuna and Valencia both find themselves just below the Europa Conference League spot, currently occupied by Real Betis, ahead of their Monday night clash at El Sadar.
Quickly turning our attention to the relegation battle, Almería and Granada are both doomed, with Cádiz currently set to join their fellow Andalusian clubs in the Segunda División.
El Submarino Amarillo find themselves three points adrift Celta de Vigo and safety, despite the fact Mauricio Pellegrino’s team had won back-to-back home games prior to Barça’s visit.
Real Madrid to win
1st selection
Both teams to score
2nd selection
Jude Bellingham to score anytime
3rd selection
At 9/2, a £10 bet would return £55
Real Madrid vs Barcelona
Serie A
Over in Serie A, we’re staring our round-up by looking at Udinese’s clash with Roma, despite the fact we do not know the outcome.
With the score 1-1, Roma defender Evan Ndicka collapsed on the pitch in the 72nd minute, leading to the fixture at Stadio Friuli being abandoned by referee Luca Pairetto.
Ndicka is fine and in ‘good spirits’ but ‘will remain under observation for tests in hospital’, so we wish him all the best.
Elsewhere on an eventful Sunday, run-away leaders Inter were held to a 2-2 draw by Cagliari at San Siro, leading twice through Marcus Thuram and Hakan Çalhanoğlu, only for Nicolas Viola to pinch a point late on.
Earlier in the day, AC Milan had fought back from 2-0 and then 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with strugglers Sassuolo; Noah Okafor’s late equaliser salvaging a draw at Mapei Stadium.
So, the gap between the top two remain 14 points meaning, should Inter beat their city-rivals next Monday night, they’d wrap up an historic 20th Scudetto in a Derby della Madonnina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Reigning champions, for another week anyway, Napoli are currently on course to miss out on Europe for the first time since 2009/10, after an underwhelming 2-2 draw with Frosinone leaves them rooted in eighth.
Bologna continue to falter as they seek to cling onto fourth place, enduring a second successive goalless draw, with Thiago Motta’s team this time held by Monza at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.
This has been preceded by another scoreless game on Saturday evening, namely the Derby della Mole, as Juventus’ terrible form continued, this time against fierce rivals Torino.
Back on Friday night, Lazio claimed a rare victory, crushing bottom of the table Salernitana 4-1 at the Olimpico, a result that lifts I Biancocelesti above Napoli and into seventh.
On Monday, Fiorentina welcome Genoa to the Artemio Franchi while, fresh from smashing Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield, Atalanta take on Hellas Verona in Bergamo, with two home wins expected.
Internazionale Milano to win
1st selection
Both teams to score
2nd selection
Lautaro Martínez to score anytime
3rd selection
At 9/1 a £10 bet would return £100!
AC Milan vs Internazionale Milano
Bundesliga
Here’s a sentence no one has ever been able to say or write before this weekend; Bayer Leverkusen are Bundesliga champions.
On Sunday, die Werkself secured a first-ever Meisterschale in some style, smashing Werder Bremen 5-0 at BayArena, making it ten successive Bundesliga victories.
Victor Boniface got the party started from the penalty spot and Granit Xhaka scored a screamer, before star man Florian Wirtz bagged a late hat-trick; cue unbridled joy and jubilation.
This is the first time since 2012 that someone other than Bayern has captured the Salatschüssel, ending their 11-year strangle hold over the title.
Now, Bayer are seeking to become only the third top-flight German side to go a season unbeaten, after Dresdner SC (18 matches in 1943) and Berliner FC Dynamo (26 Matches in East Germany in 1982/83).
No side has done so in the modern Bundesliga era, post-reunification, while Xabi Alonso’s side could still win the treble, through to the DFB-Pokal Final and still involved in the Europa League, yet to taste defeat in any match in any competition, that’s 43 and counting.
Turning our attention away from die Schwarzroten, dethroned Bayern Munich warmed up for Wednesday’s clash with Arsenal by beating Köln 2-0, with both Raphaël Guerreiro and Thomas Müller on target late on.
In fact, the top five all won this weekend, with Stuttgart now just seven points away from rubber stamping their Champions League return, following a thumping 3-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, RB Leipzig smashed Ralph Hasenhüttl’s Wolfsburg 3-0, while Dortmund won the battle of the Borussias, with Marcel Sabitzer’s brace downing Mönchengladbach 2-1.
As a result, Leipzig and Dortmund remain level on 56 points in fourth and fifth, with their clash at Red Bull Arena on 27 April looking more and more likely to be a straight-shootout for Champions League qualification.
With Frankfurt smashed at Neckarstadion, Augsburg and Freiburg were able to close the gap on sixth by beating Union Berlin 2-0 and Darmstadt 1-0 respectively.
Torsten Lieberknecht’s team thereby remain rooted to the foot of the table, 12 points adrift the relegation play-off spot, meaning Darmstadt’s relegation could be confirmed next weekend.
Mainz’s shock 4-1 win over Hoffenheim leaves them in the relegationsspiele, four points better off than Köln, with die Nullfünfer now eyeing guaranteed safety, given that they’re just a point below Bochum.
At 5/4, a £10 bet would return £22.50
Bayer Leverkusen to win the UEFA Europa League
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 fans had to settle for a reduced six-match fixture list this weekend, with Lorient vs Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco vs LOSC Lille and Olympique Marseille vs Nice all pushed back to the 24th, due to PSG, Lille and Marseille’s involved in UEFA quarter-finals, giving them more preparation time.
In their absence, 20 goals were still scored, with 11 of the 12 team in action finding the net at least once.
The best game was saved for last, coming on Sunday night, as Olympique Lyonnais beat Brest 4-3 in a truly crazy game in Décines-Charpieu.
Both sides ended the night with ten-man, after Nicolás Tagliafico and Pierre Lees-Melou were sent off for a fight between one-another.
With the score at 3-3, destine for a draw, goalkeeper Marco Bizot whipped out Alexandre Lacazette with referee Mathieu Vernice, following VAR review, awarding Lyon a penalty.
The stricken Lacazette was unable to take it, so the responsibility landed on the shoulders of Ainsley Maitland-Niles who, as cool as you like, fired home the winner in the 16th minute of additional time.
Timed at 105 minutes and 17 seconds, this is the latest goal in Ligue 1 history, since records began.
Pierre Sage’s side, who will also face PSG in the Coupe de France Final next month, have now climbed up to seventh, desperate to secure a return to UEFA competition.
Given that none of the other top five were in action, Brest remain second, with only their second defeat in 19 matches hopefully for them a mere blip, as they seek to remain in the Champions League places.
Elsewhere, Lens suffered a shock Friday night defeat to Metz, while Rennes were surprisingly beaten by Toulouse on Saturday, both 2-1, denting the European aspirations of both Northern teams.
Metz’s victory breathes new life into their survival bid, joining Lorient on 26 points, both just two adrift Le Havre, who were beaten 1-0 by Nantes at Stade Océane, a vital victory for Antoine Kombouaré's team.
Reims slipped down to eighth, beaten 3-1 by Strasbourg, while the only game we haven’t mentioned saw Clermont Foot and Montpellier draw 1-1 at Stade Gabriel-Montpied.
Given that Clermont remain bottom, four points adrift anyone else, les Lanciers’ three-year stay in the top division, the first time they’ve ever been up, could be coming to an end.
At 12/1, a £10 bet would return £130
Olympique Lyonnais to finish top 6 in Ligue 1
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