🇮🇹 COPPA ITALIA
Napoli unexpectedly exited the Coppa Italia in the Round of 16, facing a ‘4-0’ defeat at home to Frosinone.
Lautaro Martinez missed a crucial penalty in the 65th minute, a goal that could have spared Inter Milan the need for extra time. Despite taking the lead early in the first two minutes of extra time, Inter Milan ultimately ended up on the wrong side of a ‘2-1’ scoreline against Bologna.
The Coppa Italia quarterfinalists so far are Lazio, Fiorentina, Frosinone, and Bologna.
The remaining four will be decided after the New Year (January 2-4): AC Milan or Cagliari, Atalanta or Sassuolo, Roma or Cremonese, Juventus or Salernitana.
🏴 EFL CUP – QUARTER FINAL
Fulham, Middlesbrough, Chelsea, and Liverpool move on the EFL semifinal
(**= win through penalty shootout)
1-1 : EVERTON vs. FULHAM**
0-3 : PORT VALE vs. MIDDLESBROUGH
1-1 : CHELSEA** vs. NEWCASTLE UNITED
5-1 : LIVERPOOL vs. WEST HAM UNITED
Everton came from a goal down to score an equalizing goal, extending the match into a penalty shootout where they lost 7-6 to Fulham.
Middlesbrough advanced comfortably with a ‘3-0’ victory over Port Vale.
Chelsea leveled the score in the second minute of added time, taking the game into a penalty shootout and winning ‘4-2’ against Newcastle United.
The most resounding win was at Anfield, with Liverpool thrashing West Ham 5-1.
Semifinals: For a spot in the final, Fulham will compete with Liverpool, while Middlesbrough does the same with Chelsea.
🇩🇪 BUNDESLIGA
1-1 : WERDER BREMEN vs. RB LEIPZIG
1-1 : BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs. MAINZ
3-3 : HOFFENHEIM vs. DARMSTADT
2-0 : UNION BERLIN vs. FC KÖLN
4-0 : BAYER LEVERKUSEN vs. BOCHUM
2-1 : EINTRACHT FRANKFURT vs. BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH
3-2 : HEIDENHEIM vs. FREIBURG
3-0 : STUTTGART vs. AUGSBURG
1-2 : WOLFSBURG vs. BAYERN MUNICH
The gap between the top two remained unchanged, as both Leverkusen and Bayern secured wins in this round. Bayern Munich still has a game in hand, and a potential victory could reduce Leverkusen’s lead to just one point.
RB Leipzig dropped to 4th position after drawing with Werder Bremen, while Stuttgart moved up to 4th with a win against Augsburg. Dortmund is now six points behind a spot in the top four.
Except for FC Koln, the teams in the relegation zone each earned a point, creating a three-way tie at the bottom of the standings. Darmstadt remains at the bottom.
STANDINGS
1st. Bayer Leverkusen [42 pts] | 2nd. Bayern Munich [38 pts] | 3rd. Stuttgart [34 pts]
4th. RB Leipzig [33 pts] | 5th. Borussia Dortmund [27 pts] | 6th. Eintracht Frankfurt [24 pts]
7th. Hoffenheim [24 pts] | 8th. Freiburg [24 pts] | 9th. Heidenheim [20 pts]
10th. Wolfsburg [19 pts] | 11th. Augsburg [18 pts] | 12th. Borussia Mönchengladbach [17 pts]
13th. Werder Bremen [16 pts] | 14th. Bochum [16 pts] | 15th. Union Berlin [13 pts]
16th. Mainz [10 pts] | 17th. FC Köln [10 pts] | 18th. Darmstadt [10 pts]
All the games played on December 19th ended in a draw, with RB Leipzig and Dortmund dropping points in a 1-all draw with Werder Bremen and Mainz, respectively.
Ihlas Bebou and Tim Sharke each scored a brace for their clubs as Hoffenheim and Darmstadt shared the points in a ‘3-3’ draw.
Patrik Schick’s first-half hat-trick propelled Leverkusen to a ‘4-0’ victory against Bochum.
In a dramatic turn of events, two late goals in added time allowed Frankfurt to come from behind and secure a ‘2-1’ win against 10-man Monchengladbach. Maximilian Wober had given Monchengladbach a lead in the 27th minute, but his second yellow card in the 88th minute led to their downfall.
Despite Lucas Holler scoring twice to equalize for Freiburg, an own goal in the second minute of added time resulted in a heartbreaking loss against Heidenheim.
Stuttgart rebounded with a ‘3-0’ victory against Augsburg after their previous defeat to Bayern.
Bayern Munich stayed in the title race with three points against Wolfsburg.
🇫🇷 LIGUE 1
4-0 : BREST vs. LORIENT
1-3 : CLERMONT vs. RENNES
1-0 : LYON vs. NANTES
1-1 : MONTPELLIER vs. MARSEILLE
2-0 : NICE vs. LENS
3-1 : PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN vs. METZ
1-0 : REIMS vs. LE HAVRE
2-1 : STRASBOURG vs. LILLE
1-2 : TOULOUSE vs. MONACO
Brest entered the top 4 with a victory over Lorient, causing Lille to drop to 5th after their defeat in Strasbourg. The top three teams maintained their point gaps with wins.
Lyon climbed to 15th with a victory over Nantes, while Toulouse dropped to 16th following their defeat at home against Monaco. Clermont remains anchored to the bottom of the league table after a home defeat to Rennes. Paris St. Germain takes a 5-point lead into the winter break.
STANDINGS
1st. Paris Saint-Germain [40 pts] | 2nd. Nice [35 pts] | 3rd. Monaco [33 pts]
4th. Brest [31 pts] | 5th. Lille [28 pts] | 6th. Marseille [27 pts]
7th. Lens [26 pts] | 8th. Reims [26 pts] | 9th. Strasbourg [23 pts]
10th. Rennes [19 pts] | 11th. Le Havre [19 pts] | 12th. Montpellier [18 pts]
13th. Nantes [18 pts] | 14th. Metz [16 pts] | 15th. Lyon [16 pts]
16th. Toulouse [14 pts] | 17th. Lorient [12 pts] | 18th. Clermont [11 pts]
Kamory Doumbia scored all four goals for Brest in the first half, securing a ‘4-0’ win over Lorient.
Clermont, with a first-half lead but a man sent off with a red card, struggled in the second half, conceding three goals to suffer a ‘3-1’ home defeat to Rennes.
Alexandre Lacazette’s goal was enough for Lyon to claim three points against Nantes, marking their third consecutive win after a challenging start to the season.
Marseille came from behind to earn a ‘1-1’ draw in Montpellier, ending their four-game win streak.
Terem Moffi’s two goals, just two minutes apart, secured three points for Nice in a ‘2-0’ victory against Lens, handing Lens their first league defeat since overcoming a poor start to the season.
Kylian Mbappe celebrated his 25th birthday with two goals, contributing to Paris St. Germain’s 3-1 win over Metz.
The first half ended with Reims leading by a goal, and Le Havre down to 10 men following a 21st-minute sending off. The second half saw no change in the score, with only substitutions and a couple of yellow cards.
Junior Mwanga’s second-half goal secured a ‘2-1’ win for Strasbourg at home against Lille, who had avoided defeat against Paris St. Germain in the previous round with a late goal.
Wissam Ben Yedder scored two goals, helping Monaco turn a first-half deficit into a ‘2-1’ lead against Toulouse. Despite playing the majority of the second half with a man down, Monaco held on to secure the win after Aleksandr Golovin received a red card in the 51st minute.
