The Euro Roundup
The English Premier League reached an extremely interesting stage as several teams picked up vital wins, but how did their European counterparts fare?
Barcelona now find themselves just a point off Real Madrid at the top after thumping Alaves 6-0, who they play in the Copa Del Ray final in a few weeks’ time. Suarez bagged a brace to stay one goal above Messi in the scoring charts, as the Argentine also found the net. Meanwhile Ronaldo ensured Real’s 3-1 victory over Osasuna, to keep him in the running for the Golden Boot, but more importantly to keep his side top of the table. Wins for Sevilla and Real Sociedad keep the race for the top four very much alive.
Bayern Munich went seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga as they overcame second from bottom Ingolstadt 2-0, with both goals coming in the 90th minute, while second place RB Leipzig suffered a shock 3-0 loss at home to 15th place Hamburg. Dortmund also faded away from any potential title challenge as they lost 2-1 at bottom of the table Darmstadt, while Koln’s goal machine Modeste scored another to take him above Lewandowski in the goals tally.
Roma managed to close the gap on Juventus to just 4 points with their early 2-0 win over Crotone as Dzeko went top of the goals tally on 18, while another Napoli win leaves them two points off Roma in third. Juventus did however claw back the seven point lead they had before the latest round of fixtures, with Higuain managing a brace to sink Cagliari. He now joins Dzeko at the top of the board with 18 goals this season.
Monaco stormed to the summit of Ligue 1 after thrashing Metz 5-0 as Falcao among the goals with a double, but 18-year-old Lottin stole the show with a fantastic hat-trick. PSG breezed past Bordeaux as Cavani scored two more in a 3-0 win, putting him on an incredible 25 goals in 23 games this season. Lacazette added another to keep him in the running in the goal scoring charts, while Nice kept their inspiring title challenge alive with a 2-2 draw at Rennes.
The leaders in Germany and Italy, Bayern and Juventus respectively, took major steps in securing yet another league title; however the weekend results in France and Spain have generated fascinating finales as it became increasingly competitive at the top of both the La Liga and Ligue 1.
Fernando Torres missed a penalty but did manage to score a stunning bicycle kick in the game of the weekend, where Atletico Madrid overturned a 2-1 deficit to beat Celta Vigo 3-2. Carrasco and Griezmann bagged goals in the last five minutes to complete the dramatic turnaround at the Vicente CalderĂłn. Andre Belotti meanwhile took his tally for the season to 17 with a double in a similarly thrilling game, where his Torino side overcame Pescara 5-3.