🏴 Arsenal kept a point lead but remained without control of the league title race, as Manchester City has a game in hand that could see them take the lead with wins.
🇪🇸 Girona confirms Champions League football for the coming season and also confirmed Real Madrid as league champions.
🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven crowned Eredivisie champions for the 25th time.
🇵🇹 Sporting CP crowned Primeira Liga champions for the 20th time.
🇳🇱 Volendam is relegated.
🏴 Burnley and Luton Town are both on the brink of relegation.
Friday, May 3, 2024
🇺🇲 Ben Olsen turns 47, 🇭🇳 Noel Valladares turns 47, 🇦🇷 Ezequiel Lavezzi turns 39, 🇳🇬 Alex Iwobi turns 28.
🇪🇸 Getafe ( 0 ) – ( 2 ) Athletic Club (spanish la liga): Inaki Williams scored twice, with a goal in each half, securing Athletic Club their first win since claiming the Copa del Rey title. Athletic Club finished the match with two players and their manager receiving red cards. Yeray Alvarez was shown a straight red in the 58th minute, followed by Aitor Pareded receiving a second yellow card in the 79th minute, just seven minutes after his first. Ernest Valverde was sent off with a red card in the 85th minute. Mason Greenwood had the opportunity to reduce the deficit for Getafe in the 88th minute but was unable to convert from the penalty spot.
🏴 Luton Town ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) Everton (english premier league): They had home support but Luton Town couldn’t get the win to help aid their relegation battle in the Premier League. Luton Town displayed a commendable effort but couldn’t secure the desired outcome, settling for a draw at home despite swiftly equalizing after falling behind to make it 1-1 in the first half.
🇮🇹 Torino ( 0 ) – ( 0 ) Bologna (italian serie a): Bologna was held to a goalless draw in Turin.
🇩🇪 Hoffenheim ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) RB Leipzig (german bundesliga): A 10-man RB Leipzig dropped two points after conceding a late goal, ending in a 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim. Xavi Simons received a second yellow card in the 72nd minute. Andrej Kramaric leveled the score in the 90th minute, nullifying the lead Benjamin Sesko had secured for RB Leipzig in the 38th minute.
🇫🇷 Lens ( 2 ) – ( 0 ) Lorient (french ligue 1): Lorient’s fight to avoid relegation hinged on a positive result, specifically a win, against Lens. They couldn’t find the breakthrough, conceding twice in the second half and losing 2-0. Lorient has now suffered defeat in their last six league games, marking a run of eight consecutive league matches without a win, with seven losses.
🇵🇹 Moreirense ( 1 ) – ( 0 ) Vizela (portuguese primeira liga): Success was highly unlikely. Vizela’s relegation was confirmed after a defeat against Moreirense.
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Saturday, May 4, 2024
🇨🇲 Eric Djemba-Djemba turns 43, 🇧🇷 Fernandinho turns 39, 🇪🇸 Cesc Fàbregas turns 37.
🇪🇸 Real Madrid ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) Cádiz (spanish la liga): Real Madrid knew they could clinch the league title with a home win over Cadiz, provided Barcelona dropped points. And they did their part by beating Cadiz. The goals came in the second half for Real Madrid to secure the expected victory at home against Cadiz. Jude Bellingham came off the bench in the 66th minute and scored the second goal of the game just two minutes later, adding to Brahim Diaz’s opening goal in the 51st minute.
🇪🇸 Girona ( 4 ) – ( 2 ) Barcelona (spanish la liga): Just as in the reverse fixture, Girona were once again 4-2 winners against Barcelona. Both teams scored within the opening five minutes of the game, but Barcelona took a 2-1 lead into the break when Robert Lewandowski converted a penalty in the first added minute of the first half.
Cristian Portu came off the bench in the 65th minute, scoring twice and assisting another goal within 10 minutes of entering the game to propel Girona into the lead and to victory. Portu scored with his first involvement as soon as he entered the match to level the score, then assisted the game-winning goal two minutes later (67th minute), before going on to score an insurance goal in the 74th minute.
The result confirmed Girona’s qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League, while also confirming Real Madrid as La Liga champions. Girona moves a point ahead of Barcelona as they vie for a second-place finish in La Liga. This achievement holds greater significance for Girona, as it would mark their best league finish in the top flight of Spanish football. For Barcelona, ending below Real Madrid is painful, but finishing below Girona would be shameful.
🇪🇸 Mallorca ( 0 ) – ( 1 ) Atlético Madrid (spanish la liga): Mallorca, aiming to secure points to ensure a safer position and distance themselves from any threat of relegation, hosted Atletico Madrid and lost 1-0. Rodrigo Riquelme scored the game’s only goal in the 5th minute to secure a win for Atletico Madrid over Mallorca.
🏴 Arsenal ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) Bournemouth (english premier league): Arsenal maintained the pace in the title race with another win. Arsenal secured a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth. Bukayo Saka provided Arsenal with the lead at the end of the first half by converting from the penalty spot in the 45th minute. Leandro Trossard doubled the lead in the 70th minute, and Declan Rice added a late goal in the 7th minute of added time.
🏴 Burnley ( 1 ) – ( 4 ) Newcastle United (english premier league): With Sheffield United relegated, Burnley is now the prime candidate to face relegation next. Newcastle United helped in the sinking of Burnley by handing them a ‘4-1’ home defeat.
🏴 Sheffield United ( 1 ) – ( 3 ) Nottingham Forest (english premier league): A relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest faced a relegated Sheffield United and emerged victorious with a 3-1 win, highlighted by Callum Hudson-Odoi scoring a brace. It was a significant win for Nottingham Forest, as it aided their battle to avoid relegation.
🏴 Manchester City ( 5 ) – ( 1 ) Wolverhampton Wanderers (english premier league): To maintain the importance of their game in hand, Manchester City continued their winning streak. Knowing of Arsenal’s success earlier in the day against Bournemouth, Manchester City made sure they matched that with a home win as well.
Erling Haaland added four goals to his scoring tally as Manchester City defeated Wolves 5-1. Wolves were coming off their first league win in seven games, having defeated Luton Town 2-1 in the last round.
🇮🇹 Sassuolo ( 1 ) – ( 0 ) Inter Milan (italian serie a): Relegation-threatened Sassuolo, in desperate need of points to avoid the drop, hosted an Inter Milan side celebrating their 20th league title and won 2-1.
The result meant Sassuolo ended the season completing a league double against Inter Milan, following a 1-0 win after beating them 2-1 in Milan in the reverse fixture. Inter Milan could’ve gotten more from this game but Sassuolo had a lot more to play for.
🇩🇪 Borussia Dortmund ( 5 ) – ( 1 ) Augsburg (german bundesliga): The game was practically decided in the first half when Dortmund took a 4-1 lead into the break, with Youssoufa Moukoko scoring a brace in the first half. The result is a boost to Dortmund’s odds of finishing in the top four.
🇩🇪 Stuttgart ( 3 ) – ( 1 ) Bayern Munich (german bundesliga): Harry Kane added a goal to his collection as he moved closer to the European Golden Shoe, but Bayern Munich suffered defeat against Stuttgart. There might be bigger fish to fry for Bayern Munich as they have a Champions League semifinal coming up in a few days against Real Madrid. Stuttgart reduced the gap between themselves and Bayern Munich to two points.
🇩🇪 Werder Bremen ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Borussia Mönchengladbach (german bundesliga): Mönchengladbach needed the points to aid their push to escape the threat of relegation, and they secured one point by avoiding defeat in Bremen when Florian Neuhaus scored a late goal from a penalty in the first minute of added time (90+1’), getting them a 2-2 draw against Werder Bremen.
🇩🇪 Wolfsburg ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) Darmstadt (german bundesliga): Wolfsburg was mathematically within the threat of relegation but officially secured their spot to remain in the top flight by defeating relegated Darmstadt.
🇩🇪 FC Köln ( 0 ) – ( 0 ) Freiburg (german bundesliga): The effort to win was there, but relegation-bound FC Köln’s chance to conjure a miracle ended with a goalless draw at home against Freiburg.
🇫🇷 Le Havre ( 3 ) – ( 1 ) Strasbourg (french ligue 1): Le Havre is hoping to extend their stay in the top flight for another season. Achieving this relied on making their home advantage count, which is exactly what they did by picking up a 3-1 win against Strasbourg.
🇫🇷 Monaco ( 4 ) – ( 1 ) Clermont (french ligue 1): Wissam Ben Yedder scored a brace as Monaco helped in the sinking Clermont. Bottom-table Clermont was hoping to secure points in Monaco to aid their efforts to avoid relegation. Monaco, on the other hand, was seeking a win to solidify their grip on second place and to rebound from the points dropped in their defeat to Lyon in the last round.
🇫🇷 Metz ( 2 ) – ( 3 ) Rennes (french ligue 1): Metz was defeated at home by Rennes and ended the match with a player sent off on a red card. Fortunately for Metz, Lorient was also defeated by Lens, allowing them to maintain their position in the relegation playoff spot with a 3-point gap on Lorient. Metz is hoping to avoid the threat of relegation and escape the relegation playoff spot, but it seems unlikely.
🇫🇷 Brest ( 0 ) – ( 0 ) Nantes (french ligue 1): Nantes were seeking points to escape the threat of relegation, while Brest was aiming to secure points to challenge for the second-best finish in the league. Both teams ended up with a point after a goalless draw against each other.
🇫🇷 Sporting CP ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) Portimonense (portuguese primeira liga): Sporting CP fulfilled expectations against a side fighting against relegation playoffs with a win that moved them closer to becoming league champions.
🇫🇷 Chaves ( 0 ) – ( 3 ) Porto (portuguese primeira liga): Porto secured points to aid in their fight for third place after falling too far behind from the top two. In doing so, they contributed to the plight of Chaves, who are embroiled in a tight relegation battle and are desperately seeking points to escape the relegation zone.
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Sunday, May 5, 2024
🇦🇷 Juan Pablo Sorín turns 48, 🇲🇽 Raúl Jiménez turns 33.
🇪🇸 Celta Vigo ( 3 ) – ( 2 ) Villarreal (spanish la liga): Villarreal had to play with a numerical disadvantage from the 18th minute after Santi Comesana saw a red card. Anastasios Dourikas entered the match in the 80th minute and scored the winning goal for Celta Vigo two minutes later, securing a victory against a 10-man Villarreal. An important win for Celta Vigo to drive them further away from relegation threat.
🇪🇸 Rayo Vallecano ( 0 ) – ( 1 ) Almería (spanish la liga): Almeria picked up their second league win of the season, beating Rayo Vallecano with a single goal.
🇪🇸 Sevilla ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) Granada (spanish la liga): Sevilla bounced back from dropping points in the Seville derby with a 3-0 win against Granada, handing them their first defeat in four matches, which is a major blow to Granada’s fight against relegation.
🏴 Brighton & Hove Albion ( 1 ) – ( 0 ) Aston Villa (english premier league): Joao Pedro scored the game’s only goal in the 87th minute to see Brighton win their first league game in seven.
🏴 Chelsea ( 5 ) – ( 0 ) West Ham United (english premier league): Chelsea followed a London derby win at home with another, a 5-0 win against West Ham United, following a 2-0 win against Tottenham. Nicolas Jackson scored two goals in the second half, adding to Chelsea’s 3-goal lead from the first half.
🏴 Liverpool ( 4 ) – ( 2 ) Tottenham Hotspur (english premier league): Liverpool appeared eager to bounce back after failing to secure a win in their last two league games, including a Merseyside derby defeat to Everton and a draw against West Ham United in the last round. They picked up their first league win in three games, while handing Tottenham a fourth straight league defeat.
🇮🇹 AC Milan ( 3 ) – ( 3 ) Genoa (italian serie a): Six goals evenly shared between AC Milan and Genoa, with both teams dropping two points as a result. With Juventus also dropping points in Rome, AC Milan’s five-point cushion in second place remained despite being unable to come up with a win against Genoa.
🇮🇹 Roma ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) Juventus (italian serie a): Roma, whose position in the league standings is currently being pursued by Atalanta, shared the points in a 1-1 draw with Juventus, who have now played four consecutive league draws.
🇩🇪 Union Berlin ( 3 ) – ( 4 ) Bochum (german bundesliga): After taking a 3-0 lead into the half time, Bochum narrowly edged it to win 4-3 against Union Berlin by full time. Bochum got the edge in a 7-goal match to widen the gap between themselves and Union Berlin to three points.
🇩🇪 Eintracht Frankfurt ( 1 ) – ( 5 ) Bayer Leverkusen (german bundesliga): After winning the German Bundesliga unbeaten, Bayer Leverkusen’s additional objective is to finish the season without a loss. With two more games to play, they are aiming to maintain their unbeaten record. Last season, when Leverkusen visited Frankfurt in the league, they suffered a 5-1 defeat. This time around, they secured a 5-1 victory. This win marks their first league victory since becoming Bundesliga champions. The result also keeps Bayer Leverkusen unbeaten in all competitions this season.
🇳🇱 PSV Eindhoven ( 4 ) – ( 2 ) Sparta Rotterdam (dutch eredivisie): The first half-hour saw both teams scoring two goals each, including one own goal. PSV Eindhoven only needed a point to claim their 25th Eredivisie league title but managed to secure additional goals in the second half, winning 4-2 at home against Sparta Rotterdam. Even though winning the title was inevitable, PSV desired to achieve it in front of their home supporters.
🇳🇱 Volendam ( 1 ) – ( 4 ) Ajax (dutch eredivisie): This was bad news for a Volendam side that is staring at relegation to face an Ajax side that has had a terrible season by their standard, and in the hunt for the points to give them the best possible finish their season can have. Ajax found success on the day and confirmed Volendam’s relegation by handing them a ‘4-1’ defeat.
🇳🇱 Feyenoord ( 5 ) – ( 0 ) PEC Zwolle (dutch eredivisie): On the day when they officially lost their title as current Eredivisie champions, Feyenoord released their frustrations on PEC Zwolle, thrashing them 5-0. The result does not alter Feyenoord’s league position for this season, as they are set to finish in 2nd place.
🇵🇹 Famalicão ( 2 ) – ( 0 ) Benfica (portuguese primeira liga): To keep pressure on Sporting CP and extend the title race down to the wire, Benfica had to come out with an away win against Famalicao. They failed, conceding two goals in the second half to lose the match to Famalicão, and the league title to Sporting CP.
🇹🇷 Galatasaray 6-1 Sivasspor (turkish super lig): Hakim Ziyech, Dries Mertens, and Mauro Icardi scored a brace each to get Galatasaray a game away from becoming Turkish champions.
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The top seven European leagues
With Real Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, and Sporting CP clinching the league title this weekend to join Bayer Leverkusen, Inter Milan, and Paris Saint-Germain, the English Premier League is now the only title race that hasn’t been decided.
🏴 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal maintains their lead, but they don’t have full control over their destiny. Manchester City, on the other hand, retains control of their fate, making them the frontrunners to clinch the league title for the fourth consecutive year.
Unless Tottenham manages to secure wins in their remaining games, the current top four teams are likely to maintain their positions.
Luton Town and Burnley face a challenging situation as they are unlikely to avoid relegation. Both teams cannot afford to drop points in their next two games if they want to retain their Premier League status.
🇪🇸 LA LIGA
Real Madrid clinched the La Liga title with four rounds to spare.
Girona rose to second place after defeating Barcelona, who dropped to third. This outcome sealed Real Madrid’s title victory, although it was expected.
The bottom three teams remained unchanged, with relegated Almeria being the sole team to earn points by defeating Rayo Vallecano, resulting in Vallecano slipping down to 15th place.
Osasuna fell two positions to 13th after losing to Real Betis.
The only positional alteration in the top half of the league standings was the swap between Girona and Barcelona.
🇩🇪 BUNDESLIGA
Leverkusen maintains their unbeaten record. There were no changes in positions within the top 7 spots.
Augsburg dropped a position following their defeat to Dortmund, enabling Hoffenheim to move up to 8th place with a draw against RB Leipzig.
Dortmund narrowed the gap between themselves and the top four to three points.
🇮🇹 SERIE A
The great news for Serie A is that they have secured five slots in next season’s Champions League through the league standings. As it stands, the Milan clubs (Inter Milan and AC Milan) have already qualified for Champions League football for the upcoming season, leaving three spots up for contention.
🇫🇷 LIGUE 1
Second place is the highest position achievable in the French Ligue 1 after Paris Saint-Germain secured the expected league title. Monaco is the frontrunner to finish in second place. Clermont and Lorient’s best hope for the season is to secure the relegation playoff spot, currently held by Metz, who aims for a better finish to avoid the relegation playoff altogether.
🇳🇱 EREDIVISIE
PSV Eindhoven clinches the Eredivisie title with two games to spare, suffering just one defeat on their path to victory. Volendam joins Vitesse in relegation. The remaining competition now focuses on the race to avoid the relegation playoff spot, with Excelsior, RKC Waalwijk, and Heracles being the primary contenders.
Another race is the chase for third place finish between FC Twente and AZ Alkmaar
🇵🇹 PRIMEIRA LIGA
With two rounds left in the season, Sporting CP secures the league title for the 20th time. Benfica confirms their position as the runner-up, while the battle for third place continues between Porto and Braga.
Chaves and Vizela are destined for relegation, while Portimonense is within reach of avoiding the relegation playoff spot.
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Monday, May 6, 2024
🏴 Graeme Souness turns 71, 🇧🇷 Dani Alves turns 41, 🇧🇪 Dries Mertens turns 37, 🇭🇷 Mateo Kovačić turns 30
The league rounds in Italy, England, France, and the Netherlands will conclude on Monday.
🇮🇹 Udinese vs. Napoli (italian serie a) –
For Udinese, it will be valuable points to help their fight against relegation.
For Napoli, it is an attempt not to finish in the worst position among the defending champions in the top seven leagues in Europe.
🇫🇷 Lille vs. Lyon (french ligue 1) –
Lyon is midtable and are not expected to do much better than that this season. They are coming off a win against Monaco, which also allowed Paris Saint-Germain to confirm the league title. Lyon travel to face a Lille side that is looking to gather the points to move up a position into third place.
🏴 Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United (english premier league) –
Crystal Palace is unbeaten in their last four league games, winning three. Having already won the reverse leg, they have the opportunity to achieve a league double if they make their home advantage count against an inconsistent Manchester United side that is seeking points to enter the top six in the Premier League standings.
