The league leaders in major European football Leagues registered crushing wins on the weekend. Meanwhile, the English Premier League postponed six matches due to the coronavirus surge. We recap results from the weekend’s action in major European football leagues.
English Premier League
Manchester City made light work of relegation-threatened Newcastle United on Sunday. Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo put the visitors ahead by two goals before the half-hour mark. A fine volley from Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling's late strike sealed a thumping four-goal win for the Manchester outfit.
Second-placed Liverpool played out a thrilling 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in London. Jurgen Klopp's men, who grabbed the lead in the second half after trailing to a Harry Kane goal early in the match, were undone by Son Heung-min's equalizer in the 74th minute. Andy Robertson set up Liverpool's opening goal and scored their second. However, a rash challenge on Emerson Royal resulted in the left-back receiving a red card in the 78th minute.
Covid-hit Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by Wolves. Both sides failed to create enough clear-cut chances in the match. In the 78th minute, Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa made an excellent save to deny Christian Pulisic. The Blues, who picked up just five points from their last four league outings, had a request to postpone the game rejected by the Premier League. They are without a few key first-team players due to injuries and coronavirus.
Spanish La Liga
Real Madrid saw their ten-game winning streak across all competitions coming to an end after a 0-0 draw against Cadiz CF at Santiago Bernabeu. Despite dominating the game, the home side, who had 36 attempts on goal, couldn't find the elusive goal. Cadiz, who find themselves in the relegation zone, became the third side to grab a clean sheet against Real this season.
FC Barcelona had to rely on its youngsters to see-off Elche CF at home. Goals from Ferran Jutlga Blanc and 17-year-old Gavi gave Barcelona a 2-0 lead within the opening 20 minutes. Elche stunned the Catalan club in the second half, scoring twice in the space of a minute. With five minutes remaining on the clock, Nico Gonzalez slotted home a cut back from Gavi to grab all three points for his side.
Sevilla FC inflicted Atletico Madrid a third successive defeat in Spanish La Liga. Lucas Ocampos netted the winner for second-placed Sevilla in the 88th minute. They had taken the lead early in the match courtesy of a stunning strike from Ivan Rakitic. Felipe scored the lone goal for Atletico, who are now 14 points adrift of Real Madrid.
Italian Serie A
Inter Milan hit five past US Salernitana and extended the lead at the top of the Italian Serie A table to four points. Hakan Calhanoglu starred in the thrashing, setting up two goals. Ivan Perisic and Denzel Dumfries scored in the opening 45 minutes, while Alexis Sanchez, Lautaro Martinez, and Roberto Gagliardini piled misery on the bottom-placed side in the second half.
Napoli ended a three-game winless run with a solitary goal victory over AC Milan. Elif Elmas headed Piotr Zielinski's corner past the Milan goalkeeper into the goal in the fifth minute. Milan had a goal ruled out by VAR for a handball in the dying minutes. The win has taken Napoli, who conceded just 13 goals in the league so far, to second in the table.
Goals from Alvaro Morata and Juan Cuadrado helped Juventus beat Bologna FC. Morata drew the first blood as early as in the sixth minute. A lovely strike from Cuadrado after the hour-mark sealed the win for Juventus, who are now six points behind fourth-placed Atalanta BC.
German Bundesliga
Thomas Muller scored a goal and assisted another in Bayern Munich's 4-0 win over Wolfsburg on Saturday. The German international netted the opener in the seventh minute. Dayot Upamecano, Leroy Sane, and Robert Lewandowski added their names on the scoresheet in the second half. Lewandowski has taken his tally to a record 43 goals in the German Bundesliga in 2021.
Borussia Dortmund suffered their fifth league defeat this season after conceding three goals in the space of 18 minutes against Hertha BSC. A Julian Brandt goal had given them the advantage at half-time. But Hertha scored three goals in quick succession. Steffen Tigges pulled a goal back for Dortmund in the 83rd minute. However, Hertha held on to their lead until the final whistle.
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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