Domestic Leagues

After domestic football weekend wrapped up in Europe, this is what we picked up …

By Futbol Staff

Posted on April 29, 2024

THE SAVES WE MADE OVER THE WEEKEND

Football highlights we gathered from …

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🇪🇸 Real Madrid are closing in on the Spanish title.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leicester City have been promoted to the Premier League.
🇮🇹 Salernitana have been relegated from Serie A.
🇹🇷 Galatasaray are closing in on the Turkish title.
🇩🇪 Darmstadt’s relegation has been confirmed.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal won the North London derby.
🇪🇸 The Seville derby ended in a draw.
🇩🇪 Leverkusen recovered from a two-goal deficit with a late goal to remain unbeaten.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Liverpool fell further out of the Premier League title race.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Sheffield United have been relegated.
🇫🇷 Lyon confirmed the Ligue 1 title winner; Paris Saint-Germain are Ligue 1 champions (again).
🇵🇹 Sporting CP slipped but didn’t lose; giving hope to Benfica in the title race.
🇪🇸 Almeria is relegated.

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THE TITLE RACE IN THE TOP 7 LEAGUES AFTER THE WEEKEND MATCHES:

🇮🇹 Serie A: Inter Milan is 19 points clear (title decided)
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen is 12 points clear (title decided)
🇫🇷 Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain is 12 points clear (title decided)
🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid is 11 points clear in the lead.
🇳🇱 Eredivisie: PSV Eindhoven has a 9-point lead, and on the brink of becoming champions.
🇵🇹 Primeira Liga: Sporting CP has a 5-point lead, with three more rounds left of the season.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League: Arsenal is top of the table leading by a point, with Manchester City sitting second with a game in hand.

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Friday, April 26, 2024

🇲🇽 Jonathan dos Santos turns 34.

🇪🇸 Real Sociedad ( 0 ) – ( 1 ) Real Madrid (spanish la liga)
On the balance of play, Real Sociedad did not deserve to come out as losers, but unfortunately, they did against the title favorites, Real Madrid. Arda Guler scored the game’s only goal in the 29th minute to grant Real Madrid three points to follow their El Clasico win and also gear them up for their midweek Champions League semifinal fixture.

🇮🇹 Frosinone ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) Salernitana (italian serie a)
Frosinone secured three points with a 3-0 victory over Salernitana, effectively relegating Salernitana from the competition.

🇩🇪 Bochum ( 3 ) – ( 2 ) Hoffenheim (german bundesliga)
In a thrilling match, Andrej Kramaric scored twice for Hoffenheim, matched by Kevin Stoger’s brace for Bochum. However, Bochum secured a 3-2 home victory over Hoffenheim with an additional goal from Felix Passlack. Kramaric’s goals came after Hoffenheim was already down by three goals.

🇵🇹 Gil Vicente ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Arouca (portuguese primeira liga)
Gil Vicente managed to avoid a home defeat by scoring two goals in quick succession during the final added minutes (90+4’ and 90+5’), securing a 2-2 draw against Arouca.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leicester City has been promoted back to the English Premier League after spending a season in the Championship.

🇹🇷 Demispor 0-3 Galatasaray: Galatasaray clinched another victory with a 3-0 win over Demispor, edging closer to the Turkish title.

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Saturday, April 27, 2024

🇮🇹 Paolo Pulici turns 74, 🇦🇷 Cristian Romero turns 26

🇪🇸 Atlético Madrid ( 3 ) – ( 1 ) Athletic Club (spanish la liga)
Athletic Club would have claimed 4th place from Atlético Madrid with a victory, but instead, Atlético Madrid widened the gap between the two teams to 6 points. Angel Correa scored the game-winning goal in the 52nd minute after the first half ended in a 1-1 draw.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 West Ham United ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Liverpool (english premier league)
Liverpool’s league title aspirations took a hit following a Merseyside derby loss to a struggling Everton side, and they couldn’t afford to drop points this weekend. However, that’s exactly what happened against a West Ham United team they had previously defeated twice this season, both in the league (3-1) and in the EFL Cup (5-1).

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester United ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) Burnley (english premier league)
Manchester United have only managed one win in their last six league matches, which came against Sheffield United, a team that has since been relegated.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Newcastle United ( 5 ) – ( 1 ) Sheffield United (english premier league)
Alexander Isak netted twice as Newcastle United overturned the deficit and bounced back from their previous loss to Crystal Palace with a resounding 5-1 victory against Sheffield United, effectively relegating them from the Premier League.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Everton ( 1 ) – ( 0 ) Brentford (english premier league)
Everton continued their momentum from the Merseyside derby win with a narrow 1-0 victory over Brentford, with Idrissa Gueye finding the back of the net in the 60th minute.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Aston Villa ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Chelsea (english premier league)
The best Chelsea could muster after being thrashed 5-0 by Arsenal midweek was a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.

🇮🇹 Juventus ( 0 ) – ( 0 ) AC Milan (italian serie a)
AC Milan maintained a 5-point gap ahead of Juventus after the two sides played out a goalless draw in Turin.

🇮🇹 Lazio ( 1 ) – ( 0 ) Hellas Verona (italian serie a)
Mattia Zaccagni scored the only goal of the game for Lazio, securing their third consecutive league victory since their defeat in the Rome derby against Roma.

🇩🇪 Augsburg ( 0 ) – ( 3 ) Werder Bremen (german bundesliga)
After enduring a winless stretch spanning seven games, including five losses, Werder Bremen has finally snapped their losing streak with consecutive victories. They followed a home win against Stuttgart with a ‘3-0’ win away at Augsburg.

🇩🇪 Bayern Munich ( 2 ) – ( 1 ) Eintracht Frankfurt (german bundesliga)
Despite conceding the league title, these matches offer Bayern Munich a chance to stay sharp ahead of their upcoming Champions League fixture, as well as to secure the best possible position to end their season (2nd). Harry Kane scored twice, including the decisive goal from a penalty kick.

🇩🇪 Freiburg ( 1 ) – ( 2 ) Wolfsburg (german bundesliga)
After Maximilian Arnold scored to level the game for Wolfsburg in the 82nd minute, Roland Sallai missed the chance to restore Freiburg’s lead when he failed to convert from the penalty spot in the 87th minute. This missed opportunity proved costly for the hosts when the visitors scored the winning goal in the 90th minute.

🇩🇪 RB Leipzig ( 4 ) – ( 1 ) Borussia Dortmund (german bundesliga)
Borussia Dortmund took the lead with a brilliant goal from Jadon Sancho in the 20th minute, but that didn’t prevent them from trailing 2-1 at halftime and conceding two more goals in the second half.

🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Stuttgart (german bundesliga)
Leverkusen demonstrated their comeback ability once more this weekend to deny Stuttgart. While avoiding defeat may not be crucial for Leverkusen, as they have already clinched the league title, it holds significance to their pursuit of an invincible season in the Bundesliga, and in the entire season.

🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain ( 3 ) – ( 3 ) Le Havre (french ligue 1)
A victory would have sealed the league title for PSG on the day, but it turned out to be a more challenging encounter than expected. PSG never held the lead and had to secure a late goal to salvage a 3-3 draw at home and avoid defeat.

🇵🇹 Benfica ( 3 ) – ( 1 ) Braga (portuguese primeira liga)
Benfica netted three goals after the 70th minute to overturn a deficit and secure a comeback victory against Braga.

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Sunday, April 28, 2024

🇮🇹 Walter Zenga turns 64, 🇦🇷 Diego Simeone turns 54, 🇵🇹 Pauleta turns 51, 🇪🇸 Juan Mata turns 36.

🇪🇸 Granada ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) Osasuna (spanish la liga)
Despite being relegation favorites, Granada picked up a convincing 3-0 win against Osasuna. Meanwhile, Osasuna suffered their third consecutive defeat in a six-game run, which consists of five defeats and a win against Almeria.

🇪🇸 Real Betis ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) Sevilla (spanish la liga)
Just like the reverse fixture, the Seville derby ended in a 1-1 draw, maintaining Real Betis’ 11-point lead over Sevilla.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Tottenham Hotspur ( 2 ) – ( 3 ) Arsenal (english premier league)
NORTH LONDON IS RED!
Tottenham was driven by their desire to secure a top-four spot and potentially derail Arsenal’s title aspirations in the North London derby. Arsenal, fresh off a 5-0 victory over Chelsea, maintained their momentum in the derby, leading 3-0 at halftime to an eventual 3-2 win.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Nottingham Forest ( 0 ) – ( 2 ) Manchester City (english premier league)
Manchester City followed their 4-0 midweek away win against Brighton with another away victory, this time securing a 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest.

🇮🇹 Inter Milan ( 2 ) – ( 0 ) Torino (italian serie a)
Inter Milan’s first match as newly crowned champions was at home a ‘2-0’ home victory over Torino, with both goals coming from Hakan Calhanoglu.

🇮🇹 Napoli ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Roma (italian serie a)
Napoli and Roma shared the points in a 2-2 draw, with all goals coming in the second half, and both sides scoring one from the penalty spot. It has indeed been a disappointing title defense season for Napoli.

🇩🇪 Darmstadt ( 0 ) – ( 1 ) Heidenheim (german bundesliga)
A goal from Nikola Dovedam in the 90th minute secured a 1-0 win for Heidenheim, also confirming Darmstadt’s relegation. Interestingly, both clubs were promoted at the start of the season.

🇫🇷 Rennes ( 4 ) – ( 5 ) Brest (french ligue 1)
Rennes squandered a 2-goal lead to fall two goals behind by the 66th minute. They then managed to recover from the deficit by the 79th minute, leveling the score at 4-4, before conceding again in the 6th minute of added time to ultimately lose 5-4 at home.

🇫🇷 Lyon ( 3 ) – ( 2 ) Monaco (french ligue 1)
Lyon, coming off a 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, secured a 3-2 victory against Monaco. This result confirmed Paris Saint-Germain as the Ligue 1 champions.

🇵🇹 Porto ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Sporting CP (portuguese primeira liga)
Sporting CP’s lead in the title race takes a 2-point hit, reducing their advantage to 5 points, with a maximum of 9 points left to play for in the league. Viktor Gyokeres scored two goals in quick succession (87th and 88th minute) to bring Sporting CP level, recovering from a 2-goal deficit in the first half to secure a point in a thrilling 2-2 draw away against FC Porto.

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Monday, April 29, 2024

🇭🇷 Domagoj Vida turns 35

🇪🇸 Barcelona vs. Valencia (spanish la liga) –
Valencia were 2-1 up towards the end of the first half when their goalkeeper came out of the box and handled the ball to stop a scoring opportunity for Barcelona. The goalkeeper picked up a red card for the offense, forcing the team into a substitution and playing the remainder of the game with a man down. Barcelona took full advantage of this, coming from behind to win 4-2, with Robert Lewandowski scoring a hat-trick.

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MIDWEEK FIXTURES TO TRACK

🇪🇺 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
The final will take place at Wembley Stadium in England.
The last time the Champions League final was held at Wembley Stadium (2013), it featured an all-German final between 🇩🇪 Borussia Dortmund and 🇩🇪 Bayern Munich. These two German clubs could potentially replay that final if they manage to overcome 🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain and 🇪🇸 Real Madrid, respectively.

In the semifinals, the two most successful teams remaining in the Champions League will face each other. Bayern Munich, six-time winners, will host Real Madrid, who have won the title 14 times, for the first leg.

Paris Saint-Germain is the only club left in the semifinals that has never won the Champions League. They will travel to Dortmund to face a Borussia Dortmund side that has won the title once, in 1997.

🇪🇺 UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE
There are two tickets left to the next round of the Europa League (the final). 🇫🇷 Marseille and 🇮🇹 Atalanta fight over one ticket, 🇮🇹 Roma and 🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen fight over the other.

Marseille has reached three finals in this tournament and lost all three (1999, 2004, and 2018). Can Marseille make it to the final for the fourth time and maybe win it? Marseille remains the only French club with a Champions League title, winning in 1993.

Atalanta has no history of success in continental football, but they are building something beautiful with this generation. A Europa League title would be historic.

Roma was the first winner of the Conference League, their first major continental title.
Roma were finalists last year, losing out to Sevilla in the final. They can make amends for their defeat by getting back to the final and winning it this year. They’ve reached the final in this competition twice (1991 and 2023), losing both times.

Bayer Leverkusen won this competition in 1988, their only major continental title to date. They lost the Champions League final in 2002.

🇪🇺 UEFA CONFERENCE LEAGUE
There are two tickets left to the next round of the Conference League (the final). 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Aston Villa and 🇬🇷 Olympicos fight over one ticket, 🇮🇹 Fiorentina and 🇧🇪 Club Brugge fight over the other.

Aston Villa’s major title success in continental football was winning the European Cup/Champions League in 1982, which led them to win the European Super Cup. Can they end a 42-year drought by winning the Conference League?

Olympiacos has yet to win a major continental cup, with this semifinal fixture being the furthest they’ve gone in one.

Fiorentina were finalists in the competition last season, but unfortunately couldn’t come out with a win, losing 2-1 to West Ham United in the final. They are trying to take another swing at it.

Club Brugge have been runners-up in the European Cup/Champions League once in 1978, and once in the Europa League/UEFA Cup in 1976. This could be their first continental cup title if they can get to the final and contend.

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