European Round-Up | 14-16 April

Bundesliga

• Biggest win (scoreline): Schalke 04 5-2 Hertha BSC
• Shock result: VfB Stuttgart 3-2 Borussia Dortmund
• Star Performance: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) – two goals & one assist vs FC Augsburg

A weekend of draws highlighted the competitive nature of play in the top flight of German football with only three sides in the Bundesliga finding three points this past weekend.

RB Leipzig and Freiburg posted wins against Augsburg and Werder Bremen respectively while relegating threatened Schalke pulled ahead of fellow bottom three outfit Hertha BSC in a relegation six-pointer after a 5-2 thrashing of the capital side during their away day in Gelsenkirchen.

Bayern 1-1 Hoffenheim
Stuttgart 3-3 Dortmund

This Bundesliga title race though 🍿 pic.twitter.com/m63cuXpINN

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 15, 2023

Both Bayern and Dortmund were left frustrated after draws against Hoffenheim (H) and Stuttgart (A), with Dortmund particularly annoyed after being up a man and still letting a lead slip on two occasions on their way to puttering across the finish line in a 3-3 affair.

With just six matches left on the docket, one of the stories remains the unbelievable reinvigorating of Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso, with the BayArena side now in the top six and seven pints outside of a top-four finish that is still shockingly possible after being put in a position of coming to terms with possible relegation.

• Top Six: Bayern (59), Dortmund (57), Union Berlin (52), RBL (51), Freiburg (50), Leverkusen (44)
• Bottom Three: Stuttgart (24), Schalke (24), Hertha (22)

La Liga

• Biggest win (scoreline): Real Betis 3-1 Espanyol
• Shock result: Getafe 0-0 Barcelona
• Star Performance: Iñake Williams (Athletic Club) – two goals vs Real Sociedad

The title race in La Liga is far from over after table-topping Barcelona labored to a draw for the second week in a row after being blanked by struggling Getafe in a 0-0 affair away from Catalunya, allowing bitter rivals Real Madrid to close the gap at the top of the table to eleven points thanks to their 2-0 win on the south coast against Cadiz.

Diego Simeone’s red-hot Atlético Madrid side also continued to roll after posting their sixth win on the spin after a tight 2-1 win against Almería in the capital, extending their grip on third spot in the table to a nine-point gap that now separates them from Real Sociedad after the Basque side lost to rivals Athletic Club 2-0 on the back of a sublime outing from Iñaki Williams.

😘 Amor a unos colores.
❤ @Williaaams45 #AthleticRealSociedad | #LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/GyppVe5ONp

— LALIGA (@LaLiga) April 17, 2023

• Top Six: Real Madrid (73), Real Madrid (62), Atlético Madrid (60), Real Sociedad (51), Real Betis (48), Villarreal (47)
• Bottom Three: Valencia (27), Espanyol (27), Elche (13)

Ligue 1

• Biggest win (scoreline): Multiple 3-1 wins across the weekend
• Shock result: Stade Brestois 1-0 OGC Nice
• Star Performance: Jérémy Doku (Stade Rennais) – two goals vs Stade de Reims

History was made this weekend in France as the mercurial presence that is Kylian Mbappé has forever cemented his legacy at Paris Saint-Germain when he became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer in Ligue 1 as the Parisians earned a massive 3-1 win over Champions League motivated Lens.

Kylian Mbappe is now PSG’s all-time Ligue 1 top scorer 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/k2UxqoqP1g

— GOAL (@goal) April 15, 2023

Marseille, Monaco, and Strasbourg also found 3-1 wins at the weekend over Troyes, Lorient, and Ajaccio respectively, with Marseille leapfrogging Lens into second and Monaco closing the gap to third to just two points after Lens’ defeat. Strasbourg improved their situation surrounding relegation thanks to their win, and are now just two points from safety.

Not a single draw was found across the top flight of French football either as Lille, Rennes, Lyon, Clermont Foot, Auxerre, and Brest also secured three points, with Brest’s win over out-of-form Nice coming in as the upset result of the weekend.

• Top Five: PSG (72), Marseille (64), Lens (63), Monaco (61), Lille (55)
• Bottom Four: Strasbourg (29), Troyes (21), Ajaccio (21), Angers (14)

Serie A

• Biggest win (scoreline): Roma 3-0 Udinese, Spezia 0-3 Lazio
• Shock result: Napoli 0-0 Verona
• Star Performance: Edoardo Bove (AS Roma) – one goal vs Udinese

Napoli may justifiably remain the odds-on favorite to secure their first Scudetto in decades, but their hot-and-cold form in recent weeks has, for the time being, left the mathematical door open for heavy-hitting Lazio after Napoli’s shock 0-0 draw with Verona in conjunction with Lazio’s 3-0 away win at Spezia.

The Serie A table:

1) Top three not part of Super League plans.

2) When was the last time “the south” had the three best teams? pic.twitter.com/Gz4dJCQYfB

— Thore Haugstad (@Haugstad1006) April 17, 2023

Roma’s 3-0 win against Udinese was the joint highest-scoring result of the weekend during an impressive performance at the Stadio Olimpico that keeps them only five points off Lazio and have now given themselves a points cushion ahead of both Milan and Inter after their respective draw and loss against Bologna and Monza.

Atalanta and Juventus also suffered defeats, allowing mid-table outfits Fiorentina, Sassuolo, Torino, and the aforementioned Bologna to close the gap to the outer echelon of the European places. Relegation-threatened Cremonese’s win over Empoli, just their third of the campaign, has given them hope of remaining in the Italian top flight after Spezia’s heavy defeat, as did Verona’s draw against Inter.

• Top Six: Napoli (75), Lazio (61), Roma (56), Milan (53), Inter (51), Atalanta (48)
• Bottom Three: Verona (23), Cremonese (19), Sampdoria (16)