The Weekend in Review
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| CopyHardNews / Reprodução |
Welcome to FIFA.com’s round-up of the weekend’s club action, where all eyes were on El Clasico as Real Madrid kept their title hopes alive, while there’s a highly-charged derby across in Italy, plus the table-toppers in England stretched their lead.
Want to find out more from the globe’s top divisions? Check out the World Match Centre for results, scorers and tables from right across the planet.
The Big Matches
Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid
Gerard Pique (56); Karim Benzema (62), Cristiano Ronaldo (85)
Real Madrid ended Barcelona's 39-match unbeaten run in an emotional night at the Camp Nou to close the gap in the Spanish La Liga title race to seven points between the two sides — Atletico Madrid sit in second place and trail Barça by six points with seven games to go. Barcelona paid tribute to the great Johan Cruyff before the match with a special mosaic in the stands. Cruyff sadly passed away on 24 March. Barcelona took the lead through a bulldozing Pique header from a corner, but Real Madrid showed great character and came all the way back thanks to goals from Benzema, who scored an acrobatic bicycle kick, and Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar scored late despite his side being a man down after Sergio Ramos had been sent off minutes earlier and his goal gives Zinedine Zidane's team a glimmer of hope heading into the final stages of the league season.
Lazio 1-4 Roma
Marco Parolo (74); Stephan El Shaarawy (14), Edin Dzeko (63), Alessandro Florenzi (82), Diego Perotti (86)
It turned out to be a very profitable Derby Della Capitale for Roma, with results elsewhere seeing them edge to within four points of Napoli, while Lazio’s season continues to peter out - with the result cost coach Stefano Pioli his job, being replaced by Simone Inzaghi. An impressive leap and glancing header from El Shaarawy saw i Giallorossi enter the break ahead, with Dzeko following up Perotti’s effort - which cannoned back off the post - to double the lead. Parolo briefly halved the deficit before Florenzi’s well-struck volley and Perotti’s run and finish settled the game ahead of a Wesley Hoedt red card. However, arguably the biggest talking point from the game was that Francesco Totti did not get a chance to come off the bench to compete in potentially his final Rome derby.
The talking points
Bayern Munich edged Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 at home thanks to a superb aerial strike from Franck Ribery to remain favourites for the league title, however, title-chasers Borussia Dortmund edged Werder Bremen 3-2 at Signal Iduna Park to remain in the hunt. Borussia Monchengladbach shook up the race for UEFA Champions League football as they swept aside Hertha Berlin 5-0, seeing them leap up to fourth - within three points of the defeated side from the capital, level with Bayer Leverkusen who beat Wolfsburg 3-0.
In Spain, Atletico Madrid put pressure on Barcelona a little with a 5-1 win over Real Betis at the Vicente Calderon. Villarreal widened the gap between themselves and the chasing pach for the fourth and final Champions League spot after coming from behind to beat Eibar 2-1, while Celta Vigo drew 1-1 with Deportivo La Coruna and Sevilla lost 2-1 to Real Sociedad. Rayo Vallecano won a 'six-pointer' in a 2-0 victory over Getafe, helping their effort to avoid relegation this season.
Italy's title-race swung further in favour of Juventus as they edged Empoli 1-0 to extend their lead at the top of the league to six points as chasing ten-man Napoli slipped to a shock 3-1 defeat against Udinese. It was a sombre weekend around the country on Sunday, though, as former national team manager Cesare Maldini sadly passed away.
Leicester City extended their lead at the top in England to seven points after picking up their fourth-successive 1-0 win - beating Southampton, while Tottenham Hotspur lost ground after an energetic 1-1 draw at Anfield against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. It was a sunny afternoon in North London and Arsenal shone brightly in a 4-0 home win against Watford to remain on the fringes of the Premier League title race, while West Ham United dropped points at home in a 2-2 draw with fellow Londoners Crystal Palace.
Paris Saint-Germain, who have already clinched the league title, cruised to a 4-1 victory over Nice, who were hoping to move just two points behind Monaco, who lost 2-1 at home to Bordeaux on Friday evening, but failed to in a difficult night in Paris for the side. In Belgium, regular season champions Club Brugge won their first game of the championship round at KV Oostende 1-0.
In Russia, Rostov beat Spartak Moscow 2-0 to continue their impressive season, making for an intriguing title race in the Premier League. The big game saw 2015’s top two, Zenit St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow, meet - with the side from the capital losing their top spot to Rostov after a Hulk double did the damage. The top twos in Switzerland and Denmark, Basel-Young Boys and Copenhagen-SonderjyskE, both clashed, with the hosts - and leaders - picking up 2-0 and 1-0 wins respectively.
Away from Europe, the weekend kicked off with a big clash in China PR, seeing reigning champions Guangzhou Evergrande take on local rivals Guangzhou R&F. It was the title-holders who came out on top too, with Brazilian Paulinho scoring the first and making the second for Jackson Martinez in a 2-0 win.
Second-placed Kawasaki Frontale – the only unbeaten side in Japan – came from a goal down to record a 1-1 draw against Kashima Antlers. They remain one point behind table-toppers Urawa Red Diamonds. Meanwhile, in Korea Republic, Seongam moved top of the pile after seeing off Pohang Steelers 1-0. In Australia, Brisbane Roar sit top of the A-League, pipping second-placed Adelaide United by a single point, after they defeated Newcastle Jets while Melbourne City slipped to a defeat at Perth Glory.
Mexican leaders Monterrey recorded a victory at Leon despite being reduced to nine men. Rogelio Funes Mori and Jesus Zavala were both given their marching orders, but the visitors held firm to pull off a 2-1 win. Finally, Palmeiras earned a big win during their inconsistent state season so far, beating Sao Paulo rivals Corinthians in the Derby Paulista, with Dudu's header settling the rivalry.
What they said
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 2, 2016“We did enough damage on the counterattack with one less man. If I knew that we’d win with one less man, I’d have got sent off sooner!”
Sergio Ramos, who saw red for Real Madrid, after seeing his side go on to get the three points
We believe in what we are doing. We believe it's a magical season. We believe next season it will not be the same and so we try to do our best."@ToniRuediger @OfficialASRoma bravo Tony sempre meglio— M&P (@M_P_8) April 3, 2016
Claudio Ranieri reflects on going seven points clear in the English Premier League