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European Rewind: Tevez nets hat trick, Dortmund close in on title, and more

Tevez getty

By JOHN BOSCHINI

Welcome back, Carlos Tevez.

The Argentinian striker, who recently returned to the club after a six-month absence due to a dispute with Manchester City manager Roberto Macini, netted a hat trick in City's 6-1 win over Norwich City. Sergio Aguero added a brace while Adam Johnson completed the rout in the 90th minute.

The win did little to close the gap on Manchester United as the Red Devils thrashed Aston Villa 4-0 to keep their lead at five points with four games to play. The title will likely be decided in two weeks when the Manchester Derby kicks off at the Etihad Stadium.

Borussia Dortmund have all but wrapped up the Bundesliga title with a win over Schalke 04. Lukasz Piszczek and Sebastian Kehl scored to give Dortmund the come from behind victory. Bayern Munich slumped to a 0-0 draw with Mainz and the gap is now eight points with four games remaining. Dortmund can wrap up the title this weekend with a win over Borussia Monchengladbach and a Bayern Munich loss or draw to Werder Bremen.

Here are the rest of the results from around Europe:

ENGLAND

The FA Cup semifinals provided plenty of drama as Chelsea and Liverpool advance to face each other in the final. Andy Carroll scored the most important goal of his Liverpool career, heading home an 87th-minute winner to dispatch Everton 2-1. The Toffees capitalized on a defensive miscue to take the early lead but Luiz Suarez equalized thanks to poor back pass from Sylvain Distin in the second half.

Chelsea are through to their third final in six years with a dominating 5-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.  The result was not without controversy as Chelsea's second goal was judged to have crossed the line by referee Martin Atkinson but video replays proved inconclusive. Gareth Bale pulled a goal back for Tottenham but stellar goals from Ramires, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda in the final 15 minutes put the result beyond all doubt. 

PREMIER LEAGUE SCOREBOARD

Norwich City 1, Manchester City 6
Sunderland 0, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0
Swansea City 3, Blackburn Rovers 0
West Bromwich Albion 1, Queens Park Rangers 0
Manchester United 4, Aston Villa 0

MONDAY

Arsenal vs. Wigan Athletic, 3 p.m.

FA CUP SCOREBOARD

Liverpool 2, Everton 1
Tottenham 1, Chelsea 5

SPAIN

Both Real Madrid and Barcelona had to come from behind to claim victory as the stage is set for next weekend's Clasico. Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema scored in the final 16 minutes to give Madrid a 3-1 win over Sporting Gijon. The visitors took a surprise lead in the 30th minute with Miguel de Las Cuevas' penalty but Gonzalo Higuain leveled the score before halftime.

Barcelona were made to sweat by a Levante team that is still fighting for a Champions League spot. Jose Barkero gave Levante the lead but eventually Barcelona found their way through with a second-half brace from Lionel Messi. Madrid maintains their five-point lead with five games to play.

LA LIGA SCOREBOARD

Real Madrid 3, Sporting Gijon 1
Levante 1, Barcelona 2
Espanyol 4, Valencia 0
Malaga 1, Real Sociedad 1
Real Betis 1, Osasuna 0
Real Zaragoza 1, Granada 0
Villarreal 1, Racing Santander 1
Athletic Bilbao 1, Mallorca 0
Rayo Vallecano 0, Atletico  Madrid 1

MONDAY

Getafe vs. Sevilla, 3 p.m.

GERMANY

The major races in the Bundesliga are all but decided as Borussia Monchengladbach are poised to book a place in the Champions League. A 3-0 victory over FC Cologne takes them seven points clear of VfB Stuttgart.

FC Augsburg notched a surprising win over Wolfsburg to take them four points clear of the relegation zone. 

BUNDESLIGA SCOREBOARD

VfB Stuttgart 4, Werder Bremen 1
Bayer Leverkusen 3, Hertha Berlin 3
Hamburg SV 1, Hannover 96 0
Kaiserslautern 0, Nurnberg 2
Schalke 04 1, Borussia Dortmund 2
VfL Wolfsburg 1, FC Augsburg 2
Bayern Munich 0, Mainz 0
Borussia Monchengladbach 3, FC Cologne 0
SC Freiburg 0, TSG Hoffenheim 0

ITALY

The tragic death of Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini led to all Serie A matches scheduled for this weekend being postponed. No announcement has been made as to when these games will be made up. 

SERIE A SCOREBOARD

All games postponed

FRANCE

It seems neither Paris Saint-Germain or Montpellier want to win the Ligue 1 title as both sides dropped points yet again. Montpellier fell 2-1 to Lorient but PSG failed to take advantage, conceding a late goal to AJ Auxerre to draw 1-1. Montpellier's lead shrunk to two points with six games to play. 

Lille are quietly closing the gap on the two leaders as a 4-1 win over AC Ajaccio takes them within seven points of Montpellier.

LIGUE 1 SCOREBOARD

AS Nancy Lorraine 2, Bordeaux 2
Lille 4, AC Ajaccio 1
Lorient 2, Montpellier 1
Sochaux 1, Dijon FCO 0
St Etienne 2, Brest 1
Valenciennes 0, Evian Thonon Gaillard 3
AJ Auxerre 1, Paris Saint-Germain 1 

MONDAY

Stade Rennes vs. Nice, 3 p.m.

NETHERLANDS

Ajax have broken free from the pack and now hold a six-point lead at the top of the Eredivisie. The race is unbelievably close for the Champions League spot in second place as five teams are seperated by one point. Despite losing late to PSV Eindhoven, AZ Alkmaar holds the runner up position thanks to goal differential. Feyenoord Rotterdam have caught fire and are unbeaten in seven games, taking them into third place and equal on points with AZ.

EREDIVISIE SCOREBOAD

PSV Eindhoven 3, AZ Alkmaar 2
Feyenoord Rotterdam 3, Excelsior 0
NEC Nijmegen 2, Heerenveen 4
FC Twente 2, NAC Breda 2
FC Groningen 0, Roda JC Kerkrade 1
Ajax 3, De Graafschap 1
FC Utrecht 4, VVV Venlo 2
Vitesse Arnhem 1, ADO Den Haag 0
SC Heracles Almelo 1, RKC Waalwijk 1

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What do you think of the weekend's results? Glad to see Tevez scoring again? Are Borussia Dortmund now a German powerhouse? Who do you see winning the FA Cup Final?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Not to beat the competitiveness issue to death, but there are 12 teams either in or within 4 points of Europe with 5 to play in La Liga. Would be nice if the two greatest teams in the world weren’t quite so far out front, but there are still 2 Champions and two Europa spots up for grabs and ten good teams in the hunt for them.

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  2. Even considering the “ghost goal,” Tottenham would have had a great chance if the referee had gotten the next call correct. Cech should have been sent off for taking down Adebayor, then it would have been 2-1 with plenty of time remaining for Spurs to capitalize on the man advantage.

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  3. you know i thought that at first, but watching the highlights over, the goalie literally had no chance on any of them to be fair

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  4. Will be interesting to see if Mancini is crazy enough to start Balotelli again for the Manchester derby. I can’t imagine even he would risk doing that, since Tevez and Kun are playing so well together…

    Reply

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