Arsenal tried until the end, but it wasn’t meant to be. The cannons of the Gunners could not break down the resilient blue walls of Manchester City as the latter clinched the Premier League title for the fifth time in six seasons. It was also Pep Guardiola’s third consecutive title win, equalling Sir Alex Ferguson’s record with Manchester United (1999-2022 & 2007-09).
Man City’s 1-0 win against Chelsea was a mere formality, as Arsenal’s 0-1 loss against Nottingham Forest meant Guardiola and his men were crowned champions a day before they emerged out of the Etihad Tunnel, receiving a Guard of Honour from the Chelsea players.
On the other side of Manchester, Erik Ten Hag almost secured Champions League football for the Red Devils as Manchester United eked out a 1-0 win against Bournemouth courtesy of an acrobatic finish from Casemiro. It needs just a point from its remaining two matches against Chelsea and Fulham to book a UCL berth for next season.
Man United could have booked a berth in matchday 37 if Liverpool had lost to Aston Villa. It was all going well for United as the Reds were trailing 0-1, but Roberto Firmino signed off his last match at Anfield in style after grabbing a late equaliser to keep his side mathematically in the top-four race.
Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-3 loss at home to Brentford summed up its lacklustre season, as Harry Kane’s early goal proved futile.
It was a monumental week for Brighton and Hove Albion as it beat already-relegated Southampton 3-1 and secured European football for the first time in its history.
In the lower half of the table, Everton stayed in the race for Premier League survival after Yerry Mina scored the equaliser in the 10th minute of second-half added time to earn a point in the 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Leeds United, which remains in the 18 th place, did not make things easier for itself with a 1-3 loss against West Ham United.
La Liga
It was a week of contrasting emotions in the Catalan region. Barcelona clinched its first La Liga title since the 2018-19 season, and the fact that it did so by beating rival Espanyol at its home ground made it sweeter. It was also a bittersweet moment for club veteran Sergio Busquets, who celebrated his last La Liga crown with his childhood club after confirming his exit in the summer.
Champions again: Barcelona clinched its first La Liga title since 2019 with a victory at local rival Espanyol. This is Barcelona’s first league title without Messi this century. | Photo Credit: AFP
Xavi and his men would have wanted to celebrate the title at Camp Nou with a win, but that was not to be as Barca succumbed to a 1-2 loss against Real Sociedad in the last gameweek.
Valencia’s 1-0 win over Real Madrid was marred by racial allegations. As if the Champions League drubbing by Manchester City weren’t enough, Carlo Ancelotti saw Vinicius Junior, who was subjected to racial abuse from the crowd, receive a red card. A VAR check showed that Vinicius pushed Valencia’s Duro in the face, but the latter escaped punishment despite putting the winger in a headlock. After the match, the Brazilian tweeted about the incident, a part of which said, “I’m sorry for the Spaniards who don’t agree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists.”
Atletico Madrid continued its red-hot form with a 3-0 win against Osasuna in Diego Simeone’s last season in charge of the club.
Bundesliga
It is not often that the Bundesliga title race goes down to the wire because of Bayern Munich’s undisputed dominance in the league. But that has not been the case in German top-flight football this season. After the sacking of Julian Nageslmann, things at Bayern have been tumultuous, to say the least, and the club that stands to benefit is its arch-rival Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern Munich suffered a 1-3 defeat at home to RB Leipzig, which seriously dented its hopes of retaining the title. Dortmund still had work to do against Augsburg, and the Ruhr side did it in prime fashion. A Sebastian Haller double and a Julian Brandt goal guided Dortmund to a 3-0 win against 10-man Augsburg.
As things stand, the title race will go down to the last matchday, and all Dortmund needs to do to win the title is beat Mainz in its last outing of the season.
Bayern plays Cologne in its last final match of the season, and the only way it can seal the title is by winning and hoping Dortmund drops points.
After matchday 33, Dortmund stays top with 70 points, followed by Bayern in second with 68 points and Leipzig in third with 63 points. Fourth-placed Union Berlin and fifth-placed SC Freiburg have the same points (59), but Berlin stays in a Champions League spot because of a better goal difference.
Serie A
Life is good for Napoli, having already won the Scudetto. But Luciano Spalletti’s men have no interest in taking their foot off the pedal, which was evident in their 3-1 win against Inter.
Milan missed out on a UCL final spot after losing to city rival Inter, but it is still in the hunt for a berth in Europe’s premier club competition next season. It clinched a 5-1 win against Sampdoria, which included a hat-trick by Olivier Giroud.
Lazio beat Udinese 1-0 to solidify its position in the Champions League race. After matchday 36, Juventus, Lazio, and Inter occupy the table’s second, third, and fourth positions with 69, 68, and 66 points, respectively. Milan is fifth with 64 points.
Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain inched closer to a record 11th Ligue 1 title after a first-half brace from Kylian Mbappe guided it to a 2-1 win against Auxerre. PSG could have won the trophy if not for Lens’ 3-1 win against Lorient. As things stand, PSG needs to avoid defeat against Strasbourg in its next match to retain its crown.
Even if PSG loses its last two matches and Lens wins its last two, PSG is likely to win due to its superior goal difference.
After matchday 36, PSG leads with 84 points, followed by Lens with 78. Marseille and Monaco occupy third and fourth place with 73 and 65 points, respectively.
Aneesh Dey
Comments
SHARE