BAYERN MUNICH thrashed St. Pauli 5-0 at the Millerntor-stadion and edged towards the Bundesliga title, but the visitors’ resounding victory also pushed one of Germany’s cult clubs a little closer to relegation. St. Pauli are third from bottom and are four points clear of 17th-placed Wolfsburg, but with two points from their last five games, they are slipping. Wolfsburg were also beaten at home, 2-1 by Frankfurt. As it stands, St. Pauli are in the play-off position which would see them meet the Bundesliga 2 side that finishes in third place – at the moment, that team is likely to be Hannover. Bayern are within touching distance of the title now and Harry Kane didn’t even get on the scoresheet! Dortmund were beaten at home by Bayer Leverkusen, Leipzig won 1-0 against Gladbach and Stuttgart beat Hamburg 4-0. Bayern are at home to Real Madrid in midweek in the Champions League and host Stuttgart next weekend.
Embed from Getty Images
Serie A: Como stretch Inter
MILAN have all but given up on the Serie A title after losing 3-0 at home to Udinese which almost hands Inter the Scudetto this season. Inter seem to be the only team consistent enough to win the title. They are nine points clear of Napoli, who drew 1-1 at Parma, thanks to a goal from Scott McTominay. Inter were involved in a seven-goal thriller at Como, who gave the Nerazzuri a really hard time. They were 2-0 ahead but two goals apiece from Marcus Thuram and Denzel Dumfries put the leaders back in control. Como made the ending a little tense with an 89th minute penalty, but Inter hung on to win 4-3. Roma’s Donyell Malen scored a hat-trick as his side beat Pisa 3-0 in the Italian capital. Juventus, in fourth place, won 1-0 in Bergamo against Atalanta, with a goal from Jeremie Boga. At the bottom end of the table, it’s not looking good for Verona and Pisa, both of whom need a miracle to stay up.
La Liga: Barcelona’s to lose now
ANOTHER disappointing performance by Real Madrid has swung the pendulum very much in Barcelona’s favour. Real drew 1-1 with Girona at the Bernabéu, a result that did not go down well with the locals who jeered and whistled and called for president Florentino Peréz to step down. There is talk of discontent around the club, with boardroom disagreements and apparent discord in the dressing room. To make matters worse, there is a possibility that Real may have to give Barca a “guard of honour” if they clinch the title ahead of the next meeting between the two clubs. Barca strengthened their position with a 4-1 win in the derby with Espanyol at Camp Nou. Ferran Torres scored twice and the other goals came from Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford.
Embed from Getty Images
Premier League: Can North London keep its nerve forever?
WHILE everyone seems to be full of praise for Bournemouth this season, nobody expected them to win at the Emirates against title-chasing Arsenal. The 2-1 victory was, as Mikkel Arteta suggested, “a slap in the face”, but it also set the nerves jangling again among the fans. Manchester City, 24 hours later, won 3-0 at Chelsea, who are struggling to stay in contention for a Champions League place. Interestingly, Erling Haaland had another slightly indifferent game and has, temporarily, lost his touch in the Premier League. Arsenal still have six points on City, but they meet next weekend and City have a game in hand. If the Gunners avoid defeat at the Etihad, the nerves will surely calm, but it does look as though the Premier title will go to the last couple of games. At the other end of the table, the other North London club, Tottenham Hotspur, are very anxious, for very different reasons. Their much-changed side lost at Sunderland 1-0 in Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge, and are in the bottom three and facing a fight against relegation in the coming weeks.
Embed from Getty Images
Czech Republic: Slavia leading the way
WITH two games to go of the first stage of the Czech First League, Slavia Prague are eight points ahead of rivals Sparta and 17 clear of Jablonec. Czech football is currently embroiled in a match-fixing scandal involving 47 suspected cases of bribery. Furthermore, there is a sexual abuse controversy in which a coach secretly filmed players in the dressing room. While this has been ongoing, the Czech Republic qualified for the 2026 World Cup. Meanwhile, reigning champions Slavia and Viktoria Plzen drew 0-0 in Prague with the home side losing Tomáš Chory to a red card following a spitting incident.
Turkey: Gala lead cut
IT’S tight at the top in the Turkish Super Lig with Galatasaray and Fenerbahce going neck and neck for the title and Tranzonspor just behind the Istanbul duo. Gala, who are currently without Victor Osimhen, were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Kocaelispor. Leroy Sané scored for the league leaders, who are also interested in Bernado Silva of Manchester City. This allowed Fenerbahçe to gain two points on Gala after beating Kayserispor 4-0 on their travels. Former Leicester City and Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kanté scored one of the goals.
Hungary: Fradi may lose Keane to “bigger club”
THE top two in Hungary’s Nemzeti Bajnokság I, ETO Györ and Ferencváros, meet on April 19 with three points separating them. ETO made it a very bad weekend for Viktor Orbán, whose favourite team, Puskás Akademie, were beaten 4-1 in Felcsút just before the Hungarian PM was ushered out of office in the general election. Fradi beat Diósgyõr 3-1 after being a goal down. They may lose their coach, Robbie Keane, if the rumours are to be believed; Celtic are said to be interested in the former Ireland striker, who has said he would leave the Hungarian side if a bigger club was offering him a job.
Attendances
1: Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen – 81,365
2: AC Milan v Udinese – 74,675
3: Real Madrid v Girona – 70,885
4: Marseille v Metz – 63,923
5: West Ham United v Wolves – 62,457
6: Barcelona v Espanyol – 60,736.