A club record run of victories for Manchester City

The merry-go-round atop the Premier League continues as Manchester United dropped three points in two games to allow Manchester City to sneak ahead. City, which has been plagued by Covid-19 cases and injuries, has hit form at the right time and could pull six points clear if it gets past Burnley.

Pep Guardiola’s City earned a 1-0 win over Sheffield United for its eighth successive league win and is unbeaten in 12 games across competitions — a club record run of victories. City’s closest competitor, Manchester United, lost to Sheffield United before playing out a goalless draw at Arsenal. The only takeaway for United was the fact that it set a club record by remaining unbeaten in 18 away games in the league.

Liverpool covered crucial ground and returned to winning ways by defeating West Ham United. Roberto Firmino scored the opening goal to end Liverpool’s 483-minute goal drought in the Premier League, while Mohamed Salah struck a brace to lift the defending champion to third position. Leicester City’s loss to Leeds United saw it slip to fourth, while Tottenham Hotspur fell to its first loss of the year. Harry Kane suffered injuries to both his ankles as Spurs lost to Brighton and Hove Albion.

Thomas Tuchel got his Chelsea managerial career off to a strong start by guiding the Blues to a 2-0 victory against Burnley. Seventh-placed Chelsea remains 11 points adrift of City and will face a stiff challenge against Spurs next.

Bundesliga

Revenge is a dish best served cold...or best served with four goals. Bayern Munich’s only defeat in 2020 came when it lost to Hoffenheim, and the Bundesliga giant avenged that loss with a resounding 4-1 win. Robert Lewandowski extended his season’s tally to a whopping 24 goals to steer Bayern to a seven-point lead.

RB Leipzig rode on Christopher Nkunku’s strike to defeat Bayer Leverkusen and hold on to second place, while Wolfsburg jumped three places to occupy the third spot. Wolfsburg’s 3-0 blanking of Freiburg extended its unbeaten run to five games and puts it in prime position for a Champions League qualification spot. Eintracht Frankfurt got past Hertha Berlin to move to fifth spot, while Borussia Dortmund snapped its three-game winless run with a victory over Augsburg. Dortmund is currently in sixth position.

La Liga

Lionel Messi’s leaked contract details hogged the Spanish headlines during the week, but Real Madrid’s loss to Levante did not go unnoticed. Los Blancos have failed to win three of their last five league games and are placed third, 10 points shy of table-topper Atlético Madrid. Barcelona, ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference, got the better of Athletic Bilbao to win its fifth La Liga game on the trot. Sevilla’s third successive win, this time a 2-0 victory over Eibar, helped it retain fourth spot.

Atlético continued its domination at the top as it stormed past Cádiz in a 4-2 triumph. Diego Simeone’s side, 10 points clear at the top with a game in hand, is well-poised to win its 11th Spanish top-division title.

Romelu Lukaku nets Inter Milan’s third goal against Benevento. Inter remained within two points of AC Milan at the top of Serie A as it rode on the Belgian striker’s brace to beat Benevento 4-0.   -  Reuters

Serie A

AC Milan’s 2-1 victory at Bologna consolidated its position at the summit of the Serie A table with 46 points. Milan’s win meant it has scored in 20 away league games in a row for the first time in its Serie A history, overtaking a 19-game goalscoring run between 1992 and 1993.

Inter Milan remained within two points of AC Milan as it rode on Romelu Lukaku’s brace to beat Benevento. AS Roma occupies the third spot with 40 points but could be displaced by Juventus, which trails it by a point but has a game in hand.