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European Weekend Rewind: Milan beats Juve, Real Madrid falls, and more

By NICK IUELE

Juventus’ days as a seemingly unstoppable force in Serie A appear to be over after the reigning champions dropped points for the third time in four matches, losing a 1-0 decision to a struggling AC Milan side.

Brazilian international Robinho converted a penalty kick in the 31st minute that sealed Juve’s fate. The loss was The Old Lady’s second in four matches. Their lead atop Serie A is down to four points, but could be reduced to one if Inter Milan beat Parma on Monday.

In Spain, Real Madrid fell even further behind Barcelona after suffering a shock upset loss to Real Betis 1-0. Benat’s 17th minute goal was all Betis needed to upend Madrid, leaving the defending champions 11 points back of Barcelona. Madrid has found good form in the last month or so, but this loss in combination with Barca’s win is a hit to their hopes of a repeat as champion.

Manchester United scored three goals in the second half to come back from a 1-0 deficit   and topple Queens Park Rangers 3-1. QPR’s Jamie Mackie opened the scoring in the 52nd minute, but Johnny Evans, Darren Fletcher and Javier Hernandez all scored within a seven minute span between the 64th and 71st to complete the comeback. The win gave the Red Devils back the Premier League lead by one point over Manchester City, which tied Chelsea, 0-0, in Rafa Benitez’s managerial debut for the Blues.

Here is a rundown of all the results from Europe’s top leagues:

ENGLAND

Manchester City surrendered the EPL lead with an uninspiring scoreless draw with Chelsea. Rafa Benitez did not have a dream start to his tenure with the Blues, but Chelsea did get their first clean sheet in 11 matches. Even with the draw, City is only one point behind United.

Tottenham Hotspur got back on track with a 3-1 win over West Ham United. Spurs were led by Jermain Defoe’s brace and a 58th minute goal by Gareth Bale. Andy Carroll scored in the 82nd minute, but it was too late for a Hammers comeback.

English Premier League scoreboard:

Swansea City 0, Liverpool 0

Southampton 2, Newcastle 0

Chelsea 0, Manchester City 0

Tottenham Hotspur 3, West Ham United 1

West Bromwich Albion 4, Sunderland 2

Everton 1, Norwich City 1

Manchester United 3, Queens Park Rangers 1

Stoke City 1, Fulham 0

Wigan Athletic 3, Reading 2

Aston Villa 0, Arsenal 0

———

ITALY

Third-place Fiorentina was held by Torino in a 2-2 draw. Valter Birsa gave Torino the lead with a goal in 76th minute, but Mounir El Hamdaoui salvaged a point with a strike in the 84th. Fiorentina is now five points back of first-place Juventus.

Roma built on their recent good form with a 1-0 win over Pescara. Mattia Destro hit the back of the net in the fifth minute to help give the Giallorossi all three points. The win puts Roma three points out of the final Europa League spot.

Serie A scoreboard

Genoa 1, Atalanta 0

Chievo Verona 0, Siena 0

Sampdoria 1, Bologna 0

Torino 2, Fiorentina 2

AS Roma 1, US Pescara 0

AC Milan 1, Juventus 0

Palermo 3, Catania 1

Monday: Cagliari v Napoli; Parma v Inter Milan

Tuesday: Lazio v Udinese

———

SPAIN

Barcelona had a dominant 4-0 win over Levante this weekend. Leonel Messi’s double propelled the table toppers, while Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta also had goals. The win puts Barca three points clear of second-place Atletico Madrid, who also won this weekend.

Malaga found their form with a 4-0 win over Valencia. Francisco Portillo opened the scoring in the eighth minute, while Javier Saviola, Roque Santa Cruz and  Isco also added goals. To make matters worse, Adil Rami got a second yellow card in the 84th minute, so Valencia will be without him next weekend.

La Liga scoreboard:

Getafe 2, Espanyol 0

Athletic Bilbao 1, Deportivo La Coruna 1

Atletico Madrid 4, Sevilla FC 0

Barcelona 4, Levante 0

Rayo Vallecano 2, Mallorca 0

Valladolid 1, Granada 0

Malaga 4, Valencia 0

Real Betis 1, Real Madrid 0

Real Sociedad 0, Osasuna 0

Monday: Real Zaragoza v Celta Vigo

—————

GERMANY

Borussia Dortmund took over second place in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 win over Mainz.  Robert Lewandowski’s brace was the difference in the match, both goals coming after Marco Caliguri’s opener in the four minute. Dortmund is still nine points back of first-place Bayern Munich.

Schalke and Eintracht Frankfurt didn’t do each other any favors, drawing 1-1 and dropping a spot in the standings each. Schalke’s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s 11th minute goal gave his club the lead, but Stefan Aigner tied things up for Frankfurt in the 13th and the score stayed that way.

Bundesliga scoreboard:

SC Freiburg 3, VfB Stuttgart 0

FC Augsburg 1, Borussia Monchengladbach 1

Bayer Leverkusen 2, TSG Hoffenheim 1

Bayern Munich 5, Hannover 96

Borussia Dortmund 2, Mainz 1

Schalke 04 1, Eintracht Frankfurt 1

SpVgg Greuther Furth 0, Nurnberg 0

VfL Wolfsburg 1, Werder Bremen 1

Fortuna Dusseldorf 2, Hamburg SV 0

FRANCE

Things returned to normal in Ligue 1 after last weeks shake up. Lyon lost their week-long hold on the top spot with a 3-0 loss to Toulouse, while Paris Saint Germain retook the lead with a 4-0 win over Troyes. Marseille took second place after downing Lille 1-0.

Ligue 1 scoreboard:

Montpellier 1, Bordeax 0

Toulouse 3, Lyon 0

Marseille 1, Lille 0

Paris St.-Germain 4, Troyes 0

AS Nancy Lorraine 1, AC Ajaccio 1

Bastia 2, Lorient 1

Nice 1, Sochaux 0

Stade de Reims 0, Brest 0

Evian Thonon Gaillard 1, Stade Rennes 0

St. Etienne 1, Valenciennes 0

Comments

  1. i really like livescore.com for the instant update on scores around the world, and one of their new features is having updated tables from the top leagues. it just makes it real easy to check out the standings, so for example you can go right to serie a and see that roma is moving on an upward trajectory and i think the generalissimo is really starting to show his worth, and infact increase said worth.

    Reply
    • Yes, Who would’a thought that Roma would flourish with De Rossi missing. Certainly not Roma management who turned down a 50 million offer from Man City last summer.

      Reply

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