Chelsea players congratulate Eden Hazard on a Premier League goal against Bournemouth
In England, the top-four sides all were victorious, with Liverpool the only side having to come from behind to win. Italian leaders Juventus hosted Chievo Verona in Turin, while Atalanta fought back for a point at home. French leaders Monaco defeated Angers on Saturday, while Nice were victorious at Lille on Friday.
Here is a rundown of all of Friday and Saturday’s European action:
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
League-leaders Chelsea remained seven points clear at the top of the table after a 3-1 road win at Bournemouth. An Adam Smith own-goal gave Chelsea a 1-0 lead after 17 minutes, before Eden Hazard netted this third goal in his last two matches just three minutes later. Josh King’s deflected effort pulled a goal back for the Cherries just before halftime, Marcos Alonso’s 68th-minute free-kick re-extended Chelsea’s two-goal advantage which stamped the final score at 3-1. Bournemouth only saw one effort on goal, while Chelsea looked comfortable for most of the match. Antonio Conte’s side travel to Manchester United next Sunday, while Bournemouth drop to 15th after the home defeat.
Second-place Tottenham Hotspur rolled to a 4-0 home win over Watford in Saturday’s early fixture. Dele Alli’s 33rd-minute curler opened the scoring for Mauricio Pochettino’s side before Eric Dier doubled the hosts lead just six minutes later. Son Heung-Min’s 44th-minute effort made it 3-0 after the South Korea international struck home from long-range. Son’s second goal of the match stamped the final score at 4-0 in the 54th-minute which kept Spurs well alive in the title race. Watford only recorded two shots on goal, after seeing their two match winning run snapped.
Third-place Liverpool fought back for a 2-1 road victory at Stoke City to remain ahead of Manchester City. Jonathan Walters’ 44th-minute header gave Mark Hughes’ side a 1-0 lead just before halftime.
However, the lead only lasted until the 70th-minute as Philippe Coutinho’s right-footed finish leveled the score at 1-1. Fellow Liverpool substitute Roberto Firmino made it 2-1 just two minutes later as the Brazilian rifled home with a right-footed volley. Simon Mignolet made three saves in the win, which now makes it six consecutive matches unbeaten for Jurgen Klopp’s men. Stoke drop their fourth in a row, which see the Potters fall to 13th.
Here are all of Saturday’s Premier League results:
Tottenham Hotspur 4 – Watford 0
Manchester City 3 – Hull City 1
Middlesbrough 0 – Burnley 0
Stoke City 1 – Liverpool 2
West Bromwich Albion 0 – Southampton 1
West Ham United 1 – Swansea City 0
A.F.C. Bournemouth 1 – Chelsea 3
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich rolled over fourth-place Borussia Dortmund 4-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. Carlo Ancelotti’s side received a brace from Robert Lewandowski which helped the Bavarians roll to a victory over their top-four opponents.
Franck Ribery’s right-footed effort after four minutes saw Bayern up 1-0 before Lewandowski’s curling free-kick doubled the leaders advantage just six minutes later. Raphael Guerreiro’s long-range effort cut the lead to 2-1 for Dortmund in the 20th-minute. Arjen Robben’s fast-break finish in the 49th-minute made it 3-1 to Bayern as the Dutch winger finished off Ribery’s assist. Lewandowski capped the perfect afternoon as his 68th-minute penalty kick goal capped the final score at 4-1. The victory kept Bayern Munich 10 points clear of second-place RB Leipzig, while Dortmund remain in fourth.
Second-place RB Leipzig made it three straight wins after a late 1-0 home victory against Bayer Leverkusen. Despite seeing Willi Orban sent off after a second yellow card in the 88th-minute, Leipzig received a 93rd-minute winner from Yussuf Poulsen to earn all three points. The Danish forward finished off Emil Forsberg’s assist into the bottom-left corner.Leverkusen dropped to 12th place with the defeat, while RB Leipzig remain seven points clear of third-place Hoffenheim.
Third-place Hoffenheim dropped its first league match since Feb. 12th, losing on Saturday 2-1 at Hamburg. Aaron Hunt’s 75th-minute finish proved to be the match-winner as the midfielder netted his second of the match, after an assist from Bobby Wood. Hunt opened the scoring from a free-kick in the 25th-minute, before Hoffenheim’s Andrei Kramaric tied the score at 1-1 from the penalty spot 10 minutes later. The hosts have now won four of their last league matches, which pushes them up to 13th. Hoffenheim remain in third.
Borussia Monchengladbach earned an 80th-minute winner from Lars Stindl to defeat FC Cologne 3-2 at the RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday. Despite being pegged back twice by the hosts, Dieter Hecking’s side earned a huge three points on the road. Jannik Vestergaard’s 13th-minute header opened the scoring for Gladbach before Christian Clemens’ left-footed finish leveled the score at 1-1. Ibrahima Traore’s first league goal of the season made it 2-1 to Gladbach in the 55th. However, Anthony Modeste’s 23rd league strike brought Koln level for the second time, just three minutes later. Stindl’s eighth goal of the season proved to be the winner as the German slotted home with a left-footed effort. Koln drops to sixth, while Gladbach move up to eighth.
Here are all of Friday and Saturday’s Bundesliga results:
Eintracht Frankfurt 2 – Werder Bremen 2
Schalke 04 4 – VfL Wolfsburg 1
FC Cologne 2 – Borussia Monchengladbach 3
Hamburg SV 2 – 1899 Hoffenheim 1
SC Freiburg 1 – FSV Mainz 0
RB Leipzig 1 – Bayer Leverkusen 0
Bayern Munich 4 – Borussia Dortmund 1
ITALIAN SERIE A
Juventus capped off a perfect week after defeating Chievo Verona 2-0 on Saturday afternoon. A brace from striker Gonzalo Higuain earned the hosts an important three points in their push for the Scudetto. Higuain opened the scoring after 23 minutes, finishing off Paulo Dybala’s assist. The Argentine striker doubled the hosts advantage in the 84th-minute as his right-footed effort found the bottom-right corner. Chievo were held to three efforts on goal, while Gianluigi Buffon saved them all for the clean sheet. Following booking their spot into the Coppa Italia Final earlier this week, Juventus now sit nine points clear of Roma who play on Sunday. Chievo remain in 11th place after losing their third in a row.
Atalanta fought back for an important point at home against visiting Sassuolo on Saturday. Lorenzo Pellegrini’s 36th-minute finish had the visitors up 1-0, which was the scoreline at halftime. Bryan Crisante’s 73rd-minute header leveled the score at 1-1, which would be the final from the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia Saturday afternoon. Sassuolo keeper Andrea Consigli made six saves for the visitors, which snapped a three-match losing streak. Atalanta sits in fifth place, while Sassuolo remains in 15th.
Here are all of Saturday’s Serie A results:
Empoli 1 – Pescara 1
Atalanta 1 – Sassuolo 1
Juventus 1 – Chievo Verona 0
FRENCH LIGUE 1
French leaders AS Monaco held on for a 1-0 road victory at Angers in Saturday’s early contest. A 61st-minute winner from Radamel Falcao proved to be the difference as the striker slotted home his 17th league goal of the season. Angers best effort to rescue a late point came in the 84th-minute as Ismael Traore’s right-footed effort struck the right post. Monaco keeper Danijel Subasic made four saves in the clean sheet, which keeps Leonardo Jardim’s side atop the Ligue 1 summit. Angers drop their second consecutive match, and face a tough home match against PSG next Friday.
A brace from leading scorer Mario Balotelli sparked second-place Nice to a 2-1 road win at Lille on Friday. However, it was the hosts who opened the scoring after Ibrahim Amadou’s 14th-minute finish made it 1-0 to Lille. Balotelli’s first goal came just three minutes later as the striker finished off Valentin Eysseric’s assist. Nice took a 2-1 lead in the 44th-minute as Balotelli’s left-footed shot found the center of the goal. Defensively, Nice were able to hang on in the second-half to make it nine straight unbeaten. Lille remain in 13th, while Nice jump ahead of Paris Saint-Germain for at least a day.
Last-place Lorient earned a huge three points on Saturday, defeating Lyon 4-1 at the Parc OL. Despite going down 1-0 thanks to a Corentin Tolisso finish, Lorient fought back as Majeed Waris leveled the score at 1-1 in the 42nd-minute. Sylvain Marveaux’s left-footed finish proved to be the winner in the 49th-minute as Lorient didn’t look back.
Striker Benjamin Moukanjo made it 3-1 in the 74th-minute before netting his second of the afternoon just six minutes later. Lorient’s Benjamin Lecomte made four saves in the victory, which sees Lorient up to 18th. Lyon now see their lead over fifth-place Bordeaux down to five points after losing at home.
Here are all of Friday and Saturday’s Ligue 1 results:
Lille 1 – Nice 2
Angers 0 – Monaco 1
Nancy 3 – Rennes 0
Bordeaux 3 – Metz 0
Lyon 1 – Lorient 4
Dijon 1 – Bastia 2
Caen 0 – Montpellier 2
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