European Leagues roundup: Bayern and PSG clinch league titles

Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in the Der Klassiker to seal its 10th successive Bundesliga title. For Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), a 1-1 draw against Lens was enough to win its 10th French league title and equal the record of St-Etienne.

Taste of victory: Bayern Munich's German head coach Julian Nagelsmann is soaked in beer after the team was crowned the Bundesliga champion for the 10th consecutive season after a 3-1 home win over Borussia Dortmund in the top-of-the-table showdown.

Premier League

Manchester City and Liverpool are involved in one of the closely contested title races in Europe’s top five leagues and both teams won their respective matches to keep title hopes alive. For Pep Guardiola’s Man City, it was an easy outing as it inflicted a 5-1 defeat on Watford, while Liverpool beat local-rival Everton 2-0 in the Merseyside Derby to increase the latter’s chances of getting relegated at the end of the season.

Manchester United, which is in a race with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to clinch the fourth spot, all but ended its hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season after suffering a 3-1 defeat to the Gunners at the Emirates, which came after a 4-0 humiliation against bitter-rival Liverpool. Interim manager Ralf Rangnick said it is virtually impossible for the club to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition next season. It has been confirmed that Ajax boss Erik ten Hag will take over as the Manchester United manager on a three-year deal.

Chelsea left it late against West Ham United as Christian Pulisic’s 90th-minute winner was enough to seal the deal for the defending European champion.

After matchday 34, Man City tops the table with 80 points, closely followed by Liverpool on 79. Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Man United are second, third, fourth and fifth with 65, 60, 58 and 54 points respectively.

LaLiga

Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid continued its march towards the title with a convincing 3-1 win against Osasuna with David Alaba, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez on the scoresheet. The Los Blancos need just four points from their remaining matches to clinch the LaLiga crown.

Barcelona, under Xavi, has been inconsistent and its 1-0 defeat against 11th-placed Rayo Vallecano is another testament to the fact as the Blaugranas looked to be out of ideas.

It was another frustrating gameweek for defending champion Atletico Madrid as it was stuck with a goalless draw against Granada after a lacklustre performance at home.

Sevilla continued to impress and kept its Champions League spot intact with a well contested 3-2 win against Levante.

After matchday 33, Real Madrid leads the standings with 78 points. Barcelona and Sevilla are second and third with 63 points each but the former enjoys a better goal difference. Atletico Madrid is fourth with 61 points.

Bundesliga

Total domination: Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller and teammates celebrate with a replica trophy after winning the Bundesliga title.

 

Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in Der Klassiker to win its 10th successive Bundesliga title and maintain its dominance in the league. Serge Gnabry, Robert Lewandowski and Jamal Musiala all found the net to guide their team to victory.

READ: Ten Bundesliga titles in a row a huge achievement, says Bayern's Lewandowski

It was heartbreak for RB Leipzig as two late goals by Sven Michel and Kevin Behrens of Union Berlin snatched three points from last season’s runner-up.

Bayer Leverkusen continued to impress with a 4-1 win against lowly Furth while SC Freiburg played a 3-3 win against Borussia Monchengladbach.

With Bayern already clinching the title by matchday 31, Dortmund, Leverkusen and RB Leipzig follow in second, third and fourth with 63, 55 and 54 points respectively. It will be an interesting race to the top-four as Freiburg is fifth with 52 points and can play spoilsport to Leipzig’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season.

Serie A

Wild win: Empoli’s Italian forward Andrea Pinamonti (3L) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the Serie A football match between Empoli and Naoli at Castellani stadium in Empoli.

 

The title race in Serie A is heating up with AC Milan and Inter Milan leading the charge.

Milan left it late against Lazio to notch a 2-1 victory as Sandro Tonali’s 92nd-minute strike earned the Rossoneri all three points and kept them at the top.

For Inter, it was a confident 3-1 win against Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma with Denzel Dumfries, Marcelo Brozovic and Lautaro Martinez on the scoresheet.

It was a horror weekend for Napoli as it could not keep a 2-0 lead intact against Empoli and lost the match 3-2. Leading 2-0 till the 79th minute, Napoli conceded three goals in the last 10 minutes.

A brace from Andrea Pinamonti after Liam Henderson opened the scoring for his team helped Empoli register a come-from-behind victory. With this loss, Napoli is virtually out of the title race.

After matchday 34, Milan is on top with 74 points followed by Inter with 72. However, Inter has played a match less than its local rival. Napoli and Juventus are third and fourth with 67 and 63 points respectively.

Ligue 1

PSG supporters throw flares outside the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris after their club's 10th French Ligue 1 title. The celebrations were rather muted as frustrated fans headed for the exit immediately after the match against Lens. For the fans, the league title was no consolation for its Champions League failure.

 

Bayern Munich was not the only top-flight team to win the title in the past week. For Mauricio Pochettino’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), a 1-1 draw against Lens was enough to win its 10th French league title and equal the record of St-Etienne. Lionel Messi gave PSG the lead with a wonderful long-distance strike in the 68th minute but it could not hold on to the slender advantage as Corentin Jean equalized in the 88th minute.

READ: Messi leads PSG to record-tying 10th Ligue 1 title

Rennes continued to impress with a 5-0 win against Lorient while Lyon beat Montpellier with a massive 5-2 scoreline.

With PSG winning the title, the race for the top four will be of primary importance now. Marseille is second with 65 points followed by Rennes and Monaco in third and fourth with 59 points each.