📰 Table Of Contents
Bundesliga
- Biggest win (scoreline): Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 Hertha BSC
- Shock result: Union Berlin 0-0 1.FC Köln
- Star Performance: Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen) – One goal & one assist vs Hertha BSC
The title race in the top flight of German football has begun to take a familiar look after the weekend in the wake of both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund securing wins against VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig respectively, with the giant pair opening up a five-point gap over Union Berlin after their frustrating 0-0 draw at home against 1.FC Köln.
Bayer Leverkusen’s marked improvement under first-year manager Xabi Alonso continued with a dominant 4-1 win at the Bay Arena over relegation-threatened Hertha BSC. 1.FSV Mainz 05′s fantastic run of form in their last six (5-1-0) fixtures sees them continue to charge up the table thanks to 1-0 win against free-falling TSG 1899 Hoffenheim who now shockingly sit in the bottom three. The only other sides to win at the weekend came from the bottom half thanks to FC Augsburg and FC Schalke 04, who saw off VfL Bochum and SV Werder Bremen, with Schalke’s up-tick in form (2-4-0) leaving many feeling as though the domestic giants could pull off a great escape.
La Liga
- Biggest win (scoreline): Atlético Madrd 6-1 Sevilla FC
- Shock result: RCD Mallorca 0-1 Elche CF
- Star Performance: Enes Ünal (Getafe CF) – two goals vs Girona FC
Spanish giants Barcelona extended their lead at the top of the La Liga table after a weekend where rivals Real Madrid slipped up against Rela Betis in a 0-0 draw, with Barça’s 1-0 win over visiting Valencia coming at the right time. It was one of just four wins across the Spanish top flight at the weekend, which also included Elche’s massive win at Mallorca; just their second of the campaign. Though they will likely get relegated, they are still mathematically in the conversation for now.
Elsewhere, Atlético Madrid smashed Sevilla by a 6-1 scoreline in the capital to leapfrog foundering Real Sociedad who have now managed just one win in their last six (1-3-2) after a disappointing 00 affair at home against visiting Cádiz. Getafe and Rela Valladolid found the other two three-point hauls on offer, with Getafe now out of the bottom three on goal difference thanks to a 3-2 win against Girona, while Valladolid drew level on points with Espanyol thanks to their 2-1 win against the Barça-based outfit. As things stand, it is very much Barcelona’s league for the taking.
Ligue 1
- Biggest win (scoreline): Montpellier HSC 5-0 Angers SCO
- Shock result: ES Troyes AC 2-2 AS Monaco
- Star Performance: Téji Savanier (Montpellier HSC) – two goals vs Angers SCO
Paris Saint-German and Olympique de Marseille were the only European-chasing sides to secure wins this weekend in Ligue 1 after PSG secured a comfortable 4-2 result against visiting Nantes while Marseille was made to fight to a 1-0 away win in Brittany against Stade Rennais. AS Monaco, RC Lens, LOSC Lille, and OGC Nice all dropped points to keep the race for the remainder of the European places as tight as possible, with just nine points separating 3rd from 7th.
But one of the biggest stories across Europe continues to play out in northern France in Reims, with Will Still’s young outfit remaining undefeated for what is now an eighteen-match run thanks to a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened AC Ajaccio. Bottom-half outfits Clermont Foot, Montpellier, and Brest also found three points during the weekend, with Montpellier’s 5-0 thrashing of bottom-dwellers Angers coming in as the biggest result in terms of goal difference as the Occitan side added more breathing room between them and the four-team relegation zone.
Serie A
- Biggest win (scoreline): AC Monza 2-1 Empoli FC & AFC Fiorentina 2-1 AC Milan
- Shock result: Napoli 0-1 Lazio
- Star Performance: Jaka Bijol (Udinese) – Four aerials won & 11 clearances vs Atalanta
AS Roma leapfrogged AC Milan into the top four after a 1-0 win over Juventus, with Milan suffering an away defeat against bottom-half side Fiorentina but still remaining comfortably in fifth atter Atalanta’s 0-0 draw with Udinese. Monza and Sassuolo also posted wins at the weekend against Empoli and Cremonese while closing the distance to crossing into the top half of the Serie A table, with just six points separating 7th from 13th.
