European Leagues roundup: Bielsa sacked after Tottenham thrashing; Man City restores six-point lead
The image of Ukraine international Oleksandr Zinchenko bursting into tears after being visibly moved by the support from Manchester City and Everton fans at Goodison Park is the most powerful takeaway from this gameweek.
Published : Mar 02, 2022 14:20 IST
Premier League
Marcelo Bielsa’s inspiring journey with 16th placed Leeds United ended after his team was thrashed 4-0 by Tottenham Hotspur, which led to his sacking. Struggling for results this season, the possibility of Bielsa getting shown the door was always on the cards. Having lost 4-2 against Manchester United and 6-0 against Liverpool, the Tottenham result put the final nail in the coffin for Bielsa. Matt Doherty, Dejan Kulusevski, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min were the scorers for Spurs.
An outing against 19th-placed Watford at Old Trafford should have been a cakewalk for Manchester United, given its star-studded attacking line-up. However, the Red Devils dropped precious two points after playing out a frustrating goalless draw. Ralf Rangnick had Cristiano Ronaldo, Anthony Elanga, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes, and Paul Pogba on the pitch till the final whistle. However, they could not find the match-winner.
Manchester City restored its six-point lead at the top of the table with a 1-0 win against Everton. Phil Foden scored the only goal of the match in the 82nd minute. Everton had a penalty shout in the 84th minute as VAR reviewed an incident when the ball seemed to have struck Rodri’s arm but decided not to award a penalty to the Toffees.
After matchday 27, Man City is top with 66 points followed by Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United in second, third and fourth with 60, 50 and 47 points, respectively.
La Liga
It was not a walk in the park for Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid as it had to toil for a 1-0 win against 12th-placed Rayo Vallecano. Karim Benzema scored the only goal of the game in the 83rd minute.
Barcelona registered a convincing 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao. Ousmane Dembele was the star with one goal and two assists. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Luuk De Jong and Memphis Depay were the other players on Barca’s scoresheet.
Renan Lodi’s brace gave Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win against Celta Vigo.
After matchday 26, Real Madrid tops the standings with 60 points. Sevilla, Real Betis and Barcelona follow with 54, 46 and 45 points, respectively.
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich substitute Leroy Sane scored the only goal in its 1-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt.
It was a tough day at the office for Borussia Dortmund as it played a 1-1 draw against a determined Augsburg side. RB Leipzig left it late against VfL Bochum as Christopher Nkunku scored the match’s only goal in the 82nd minute to win the game for Leipzig.
After matchday 24, table-topper Bayern enjoys an eight-point lead over the second-placed Borussia Dortmund with 60 points. Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Leipzig are second, third and fourth with 50, 44 and 40 points.
Serie A
League leader Napoli clinched a 2-1 victory against Lazio courtesy of a Fabian Ruiz winner in the 94th minute.
Italian champion Inter Milan dropped more points as Simone Inzaghi’s men could not find a way in the goalless draw against 19th-placed Genoa.
It was a frustrating match for AC Milan as it was left wanting more in the 1-1 draw against Udinese.
Dusan Vlahovic continued his stellar form for Juventus after grabbing a brace in Juventus’ 3-2 win against Empoli.
Jose Mourinho, who is serving a two-match touchline ban, saw his team AS Roma clinch a 1-0 win over Spezia, thanks to a 99th minute penalty from Tammy Abraham.
After matchday 27, Napoli leads the table with 57 points. Second-placed Milan also has 57 points but has an inferior goal difference to Napoli. Inter and Juventus are third and fourth with 55 and 50.
Ligue 1
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe weaved their collective magic as Paris Saint-Germain beat St-Etienne 3-1. Messi bagged two assists while Mbappe scored a brace and got an assist.
In other matches, LOSC Lille beat Lyon 1-0, Nice drew 0-0 with Strasbourg, Rennes beat Montpellier 4-0, and Marseille and Troyes played a 1-1 draw.
After matchday 26, PSG leads the table with 62 points. Marseille, Nice and Rennes follow with 47, 46 and 43 points.