European Leagues round-up: Barcelona ends Madrid’s El Clasico domination

Barcelona ended its five-match losing streak against Real Madrid in style as the Blaugranas thumped their arch-rival 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu

Head hunt: Ronald Araújo and Gerard Pique of Barcelona compete with Federico Valverde and Mariano of Real Madrid during their LaLiga match at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain.

Premier League

After a 2-0 loss against Liverpool, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal fought hard to edge a 1-0 win over Aston Villa and remained on course to grab that all-important fourth spot in the Premier League table, which would ensure Champions League football next season for the Gunners.

Arsenal’s London rival Tottenham Hotspur also had a good matchweek as it secured a comfortable 3-1 victory against West Ham United in a match where Son Heung-Min scored a brace.

The Molineux Stadium saw late drama as Leeds United beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in a stunning five-goal match. With the match level at 2-2 till the 90th minute, Luke Ayling rose to the occasion to score a 91st-minute winner and guide his team to a 3-2 win.

In the nick of time: Leeds United's Luke Ayling celebrates scoring the team’s third goal with Robin Koch and Rodrigo during the Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux in Wolverhampton.

 

After matchday 30, Manchester City tops the table with 70 points. Liverpool, in second, is breathing down heavily on the back of the defending champion with 69 points. Chelsea and Arsenal are third and fourth with 59 and 54 points respectively. Outside the top 4, Tottenham Hotspur is fifth with 51 points and Manchester United is sixth with 50 points.

LaLiga

Barcelona ended its five-match losing streak against Real Madrid in style as the Blaugranas thumped their arch-rival 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. January-signing Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang continued to shine for his new team with a brace, while Ronald Araujo and Ferran Torres scored a goal each to complete the humiliation.

Defending champion Atletico Madrid, fresh after knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League, had to toil hard for a 1-0 win against Rayo Vallecano.

Sevilla, which has been performing beyond expectations this season, could not get three points after it was held to a goalless draw against Real Sociedad.

After matchday 29, Real Madrid still enjoys a comfortable nine-point lead at the top of the table with 66 points despite the heavy defeat. Sevilla is second with 57 points followed by Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in third and fourth with 54 points each, with the Catalan team having played a match less than Atletico.

Bundesliga

It was business as usual for defending champion Bayern Munich as it defeated Union Berlin 4-0 with talismanic striker Robert Lewandowksi scoring a first-half brace.

FC Cologne dished out a resolute performance against Borussia Dortmund and snatched a point from the match with a 1-1 draw. After Marius Wolf’s eighth-minute strike, Cologne came back into the match courtesy of Sebastian Andersson’s 36th-minute goal.

RB Leipzig, which has recovered well after a horrible start to the season, was held to a goalless draw by Eintracht Frankfurt.

After matchday 27, Bayern Munich is leading the standings with 63 points. Dortmund is second with 57 points, followed by Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig in third and fourth with 48 and 45 points respectively.

Serie A

AC Milan fought well to snatch a 1-0 win against Cagliari and remained on course to win its first league title since 2011.

Defending champion Inter Milan dropped precious points as it was held to a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina.

Napoli, which is also in close contention for the title, earned the precious three points with a 2-1 win against 10-man Udinese.

Juventus, which was recently knocked out from the Champions League round of 16 by Villarreal, defeated minnow Salertitana 2-0.

Jose Mourinho, who has been having a season of ups and downs with AS Roma, saw his team clinch a 3-0 win against Lazio.

After matchday 30, Milan leads the table with 66 points. Napoli is in second with 63 points followed by Inter and Juventus in third and fourth with 60 and 59 points respectively.

Ligue 1

It was a humiliating outing for nine-time French champion Paris Saint-Germain as it succumbed to a 3-0 loss against Monaco. With Lionel Messi missing the match with a bout of flu, Mauricio Pochettino’s men had no answer as Monaco made good use of the ball and took its chances to clinch the win. Wissam Ben Yedder scored a brace, with Kevin Volland also getting a goal.

In other matches, Lyon played a 0-0 draw with Reims, while Marseille won 2-1 against Nice.

After matchday 29, PSG still enjoys a 13-point lead at the top with 65 points followed by Marseille, Rennes and Nice with 53, 52 and 50 points respectively.