European Round-Up | 31 March – 2 April

Bundesliga

• Biggest win (scoreline): Bayern Munich 4-2 Borussia Dortmund
• Shock result: SC Freiburg 1-1 Hertha BSC
• Star Performance: Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich) – 2 goals vs Borussia Dortmund

An all-too-familiar storyline played out at the weekend across the top flight of German football as Bayern Munich restored rule of law over the Bundesliga after a 4-2 drubbing of Borussia Dortmund to send a not-so-friendly reminder that the league title is rightfully theirs across a fixture where the scoreline flattered to deceive. Bayern now sits two points clear of their biggest domestic rival under new boss Thomas Tuchel and look to march to their eleventh successive league title.

Dortmund swept aside as Bayern take 🔝 spot in the Bundesliga 🔴 pic.twitter.com/DthaHMmmWB

— 433 (@433) April 1, 2023

Union Berlin’s return to form in conjunction with Dortmund’s loss in Bavaria sees the top-four dark horse close within two points of the Ruhr valley outfit and climb to a four-point cushion over Freiburg, with that cushion extended to six points over RB Leipzig thanks to a draw and loss by those two sides respectively.

Bayer Leverkusen continues to explode under Xabi Alonso after winning four straight and is now in striking distance of the top six, and are joined on 40-points by Mainz after their win over RBL. To close out the weekend in Germany, Hoffenheim were the only side in the bottom half to bank three points thanks to a win over Werder Bremen, while domestic giants Stuttgart now prop up the table after sinking to 18th across a poor run of form that could see them fall out of the Bundesliga come the end of the season.

• Top Six: Bayern (55), Dortmund (53), Union Berlin (51), Freiburg (47), RB Leipzig (45), Frankfurt (41)
• Bottom Three: Hertha (22), Schalke (21), Stuttgart (20)

La Liga

• Biggest win (scoreline): Real Madrid 6-0 Real Valladolid
• Shock result: Celta Vigo 0-0 UD Almería
• Star Performance: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) – 3 goals vs Real Valladolid

Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid read the riot act over their opponents this past weekend on their way to thumping wins against Elche (4-0) and Real Valladolid (6-0) respectively, with Xavi Hernández’s Catalans taking one step closer to bringing the La Liga title back to Spain’s east coast as Barça remain 12-points clear of their bitter rivals.

🔝 of the table
🧤 Most clean sheets
⛔️ Least goals conceded
⚽️ League top scorer@FCBarcelona, undisputed kings of LaLiga this season 👑 pic.twitter.com/EmLjvpohzp

— 433 (@433) April 3, 2023

Elsewhere, Diego Simeone’s Atlétio Madrid remains the form side in La Liga after their 1-0 win in the capital against high-flying Real Betis to take their recent run of results to 5-1-0 across the last six league outings, with Villarreal the other top-six side to find a win at the weekend at home against fellow European chasers Real Sociedad in a 2-0 affair.

Only two other sides – Girona, and Sevilla – managed to take away three points across the weekend’s fixture program, with six sides in the middle third of the table only managing to bag draws in the continuing mid-table dogfight. Finally, Elche remains rooted at the bottom after another loss which sees them stay on 13 points and a whopping 14 from safety, while Valencia could endure the unthinkable should they not find consistency in the run-in to the end of the 2022-23 season.

• Top Six: Barcelona (71), Real Madrid (59), Atlético Madrid (54), Real Sociedad (48), Real Betis (45), Villarreal (44)
• Bottom Three: Almería (27), Valencia (26), Elche (13)

Ligue 1

• Biggest win (scoreline): AS Monaco 4-3 RC Strasbourg
• Shock result: SCO Angers 1-1 OGC Nice
• Star Performance: Alexis Flips (Stade de Reims) – 2 goals vs Nantes

Messi lost the ball 26 times in PSG’s loss to Lyon yesterday, the most by any player on the pitch.

He’s lost 498 possessions in Ligue 1 this season, tied for 4th most 😮 pic.twitter.com/iDXEBKjb0f

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 3, 2023

OM will lament their 0-0 home draw against visiting Montpellier as a missed chance to climb within four points of PSG, but Lens now sit second thanks to their 1-0 away win against Rennes as the northern France outfit continues to dream of a return to the Champions League. An entertaining 4-3 brawl involving Monaco and Strasbourg was one of the highlight results at the weekend as the Monagasque’s closed the gap to OM for the final Champions League place, with Lille and Reims the other two top-half sides to bank wins across the latest fixtures, which sees Will Still’s side now just six points from a possible place in the Europa League.

Clermont Foot, Brest, and Auxerre all improved their situations in the bottom half thanks to wins over Ajaccio (2-1), Toulouse (3-1), and Troyes (1-0), though Auxerre remains in the relegation places on the back of inferior goal difference irrespective of Strasbourg’s loss. Bottom-dwelling Angers did manage a 1-1 draw against Nice, but with just two wins and eleven points, relegation is all but guaranteed.

• Top Six: PSG (66), Lens (60), Marseille (60), Monaco (57), Lille (52), Rennes (50)
• Bottom Four: Auxerre (26), Troyes (21), Ajaccio (21), Angers (11)

Serie A

• Biggest win (scoreline): SSC Napoli 0-4 AC Milan
• Shock result: SSC Napoli 0-4 AC Milan
• Star Performance: Nikola Moro (Bologna) – 1 goal & 1 assist vs Udinese

Run away Serie A leaders SSC Napoli were reminded this weekend that, despite their clear lead at the top of the table while they remain on the march to their first Scudetto since the days of Diego Maradona, there was plenty of fight left in the top echelon of Italian football as current league holders AC Milan earned a thumping 4-0 win in Naples. A brace from star man Rafael Leão highlighted the huge away win for the European giants which saw them leapfrog bitter rivals Inter Milan after a 1-0 home loss against Fiorentina.

𝗙𝗧

Four goals for, no goals against: a perfect night for @acmilan 🔴⚫#NapoliMilan pic.twitter.com/N8IA3VrMUt

— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) April 2, 2023

AS Roma, Atalanta, Juventus, Bologna, and Fiorentina all found three-point hauls at the weekend as well, rounding out a fixture program that saw seven of the league’s top-half sides secure vital wins, with Fiorentina’s impressive five-match winning run seeing them charge up the table and into 9th.

The bottom half saw contrasting fortunes unfold, however, with seven sides tasting defeat and only in-form Sassuolo possibly putting an end to a difficult weekend for all involved in their clash with Torino taking place at the time of writing. As for the bottom three, though not mathematically out of the fight yet, Verona, former league winners Sampdoria, and Cremonese will view each match as a must-win affair if they are to remain in the Italian top flight in 2023-23/

• Top Six: Napoli (71), Lazio (55), AC Milan (51), Inter Milan (50), Roma (50), Atalanta (48)
• Bottom Three: Verona (19), Sampdoria (15), Cremonese (13)