In the final weekend of domestic action before the upcoming international break, plenty of high-quality matches took place across Europe’s top five leagues.
In England, Tony Pulis’ West Bromwich Albion earned a huge 3-1 home win against struggling Arsenal in the opening game of the weekend in England. Craig Dawson opened the scoring for the hosts, heading home in the 12th minute. Alexis Sanchez netted his 18th league goal of the season, three minutes later, to draw the Gunners level. Substitute Hal Robson-Kanu gave West Brom a 2-1 lead in the 55th minute, before Dawson headed in his second of the day in the 75th minute.
Arsenal were outplayed by West Brom, who continue to be a surprise in the top half of the table. Arsene Wenger’s side is now five points off the top-four, after losing back-to-back league matches.
At the San Memes, Real Madrid fought back for a 2-1 road win at Athletic Bilbao. Zinedine Zidane’s side got a 68th-minute winner from midfielder Casemiro to earn its third consecutive league victory. The game winner came three minutes after Bilbao striker Artiz Adruiz equalized for Ernesto Valverde’s squad with a close range header.
Karim Benzema opened the scoring for Los Blancos in the 25th minute, as he finished off Cristiano Ronaldo’s assist. Keylor Navas made four saves in the win for Real Madrid, which extends their lead to five points over Barcelona, who play Sunday. Athletic Bilbao remains in seventh, after ending a two-match winning run.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace defeated Watford, while Chelsea earned a late win at Stoke City. In Spain, Espanyol drew at Eibar in a top-half clash, while Hoffenheim remained unbeaten at home in the Bundesliga. Nice and Nantes shared the points in the early match in Ligue 1.
Here are all the results from Saturday’s action across Europe:
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
League leaders Chelsea picked up three points over Stoke City with an 87th-minute winner by Gary Cahill. The defender finished a right-footed effort following a corner to give Antonio Conte’s side a 13-point lead over second-place Tottenham. Jonathan Walters pulled Stoke level in the 38th minute, rifling home a penalty kick. Walters drew the foul on Cahill after the forward was bundled over on a cross. Willian’s 13th-minute free kick gave Chelsea the 1-0 lead. Potters keeper Lee Grant made five saves in the defeat.
Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace made it three wins in a row after a 1-0 home win over Watford. Despite having zero efforts on goal, the Eagles got a 68th minute own-goal off of Watford striker Troy Deeney which proved to be the winner. M’Baye Niang’s last-minute chip in stoppage time just missed the top of the goal which would have given Watford a late point. Walter Mazzarri’s men dropped to 14th, while Palace moved up to 16th.
Leicester City made it four straight wins in all competitions after a 3-2 road win at West Ham United. Craig Shakespeare’s side capped off a great week by being up 3-1 at halftime at London Stadium. Riyad Mahrez’s fifth- minute long range effort fooled Hammers keeper Darren Randolph and gave the Foxes a 1-0 lead. Robert Huth’s header two minutes later made it 2-0 before Manuel Lanzini’s 20th minute free-kick pulled West Ham within one. Jamie Vardy’s close range finish in the 38th minute made it 3-1 to Leicester just before halftime. Andre Ayew’s 63rd minute header gave West Ham some hope after the hour mark, but that was the closest the hosts would get. Foxes keeper Kasper Schmeichel made five saves in the win, which sees Leicester stay in 15th. West Ham fell to 12th.
Here are all of Saturday’s Premier League results:
West Bromwich Albion 3 – Arsenal 1
Crystal Palace 1 – Watford 0
Everton 4 – Hull City 0
Stoke City 1 – Chelsea 2
Sunderland 0 – Burnley 0
West Ham United 2 – Leicester City 3
A.F.C. Bournemouth 2 – Swansea City 0
SPANISH LA LIGA
On Friday, Las Palmas got a 10th-minute winner from Kevin-Prince Boateng to defeat Villarreal at Gran Canaria. The Ghanaian striker netted his eighth goal of the season, which was all the hosts needed to win their second consecutive home match. Villarreal was reduced to 10 men in the 19th minute when Victor Ruiz saw a straight red card for a foul on Boateng. Palmas keeper Raul Lizoain made three saves in the shutout, while the hosts looked comfortable for most of the match. Palmas moved up to 11th, while Villarreal dropped to sixth.
In Saturday’s early fixture, Espanyol fought back for a point at Eibar in a 1-1 draw. Jurado’s third goal of the season drew the visitors level in the 50th minute after Kike Garcia’s 20th minute header opened the scoring for Eibar. The hosts were the more dominant of the two sides, but couldn’t muster up a second goal. Espanyol is unbeaten in two matches, while Eibar has drawn two of its last three.
Here are all of Friday’s and Saturday’s La Liga results:
Las Palmas 1 – Villarreal 0
Eibar 1 – Espanyol 1
Athletic Bilbao 1 – Real Madrid 2
Alaves 1 – Real Sociedad 0
Real Betis 2 – Osasuna 0
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
On Friday, Borussia Dortmund made it four wins out of its last five in all competitions, thanks to a 1-0 home win over Ingolstadt. A 14th-minute winner from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was all Thomas Tuchel’s side needed to inch closer to second place. Despite only four shots on goal between the two sides, Dortmund was able to claim an important three points over a struggling Ingolstadt side. The visitors fell to their second defeat out of their last three matches, and remain in 17th.
Hoffenheim kept its unbeaten home streak alive with a 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. Sandro Wagner’s 11th league goal of the season gave Julian Nagelsmann’s side its fifth straight home victory. Hoffenheim keeper Oliver Baumann made seven saves in the home clean sheet, while Bayer Leverkusen remain in 10th place.
In a battle of two teams in the bottom four, Wolfsburg defeated Darmstadt 1-0 at the Volkswagen Arena. Mario Gomez’s 45th-minute header gave the hosts all three points in back-to-back wins. The 31-year-old now has nine league goals on the season, which leads the team. Darmstadt only recorded one shot on goal while dropping its fourth match over its last five. Darmstadt remains in last place and 12 points from safety, while Wolfsburg is two points clear of Hamburg in 16th.
A hat-trick from Anthony Modeste sparked F.C. Koln to a 4-2 home win over Hertha Berlin on Saturday. Yuya Osako’s sixth minute finish opened the scoring for Koln before Modeste added two goals before halftime. Vedad Ibisevic’s 50th-minute penalty pulled Berlin to 3-1 before Modeste capped his hat-trick in the 63rd minute. John Brooks’ 69th-minute header gave Berlin a consolation goal as they lost their second match in their last three. Koln snapped a six-match winless run in all competitions which sees them move up to sixth place.
Here are all of Friday’s and Saturday’s Bundesliga results:
Borussia Dortmund 1 – Ingolstadt 0
Wolfsburg 1 – SV Darmstadt 0
F.C. Koln 4 – Hertha Berlin 2
F.C. Augsburg 1 – SC Freiburg 1
SV Werder Bremen 3 – RB Leipzig 0
1899 Hoffenheim 1 – Bayer Leverkusen 0
Eintracht Frankfurt 0 – Hamburg SV 0
ITALIAN SERIE A
In the mouth-watering match of the weekend in Italy, Inter Milan and Torino played out a 2-2 draw at the Olimpico di Torino on Saturday. Antonio Candreva’s 62nd-minute effort gave Stefano Pioli’s side a point against a stubborn Torino side. Afriyie Acquah gave Torino a 2-1 lead in the 59th minute after netting his first goal of the season. The hosts leveled things at 1-1 when Daniele Baselli headed home an equalizer after Geoffrey Kondogbia opened the scoring for Inter six minutes prior. Torino bounced back from a 3-1 road loss at Lazio on Monday, and remain in 10th place. Inter stays in fifth, sitting five points off from the final Champions League spot.
A.C. Milan bounced back from last weekend’s loss at Juventus by defeating Genoa 1-0 at the San Siro on Saturday. A 33rd=minute effort from Matias Fernandez proved to be the game-winner as Milan earned all three points at home. Genoa only created two shots-on-goal and were on the back foot for most of the match. Genoa keeper Eugenio Lamanna made four saves in the defeat. A.C. Milan move to sixth at least until tomorrow, while Genoa remain in 16th after losing their second consecutive match.
Torino 2 – Inter Milan 2
A.C. Milan 1 – Genoa 0
FRENCH LIGUE 1
On Friday, Metz snapped a five match winless streak by defeating Bastia 1-0 at the Stade Saint-Symphorien. A 46th-minute own goal by Gilles Cioni gave the hosts a much-needed three points in their fight to stay clear of the relegation zone. Bastia failed to record a shot on goal and it has not won since Dec. 17th. Bastia remain in 19th, four points from safety, while Metz move up to 13th sitting seven points clear of the bottom three.
Third-place Nice was held to a 1-1 draw at Nantes on Saturday which was its second in a row. Jean Michael Seri’s 28th-minute long-range effort drew the visitors level after Emiliano Sala opened the scoring for Nantes six minutes prior. Nice only had two shots on goal, while Nantes looked the more likely to get a winner. Nice’s Yoann Cardinale made four saves in the draw, which keeps them in third. Nantes remain in 10th place after drawing their second match out of their last four.
League minnows Lorient fought back from a two-goal first-half deficit to defeat hosts Nancy at the Stade Marcel Picot. An Arnold Mvuemba strike in the 94th minute gave Lorient their first victory since Feb. 4th. After first-half goals from Faitout Maouassa and Issiar Dia put Nancy comfortably ahead at halftime, Lorient cut the deficit to one in the 66th minute as Benjamin Moukandjo netted his eighth goal of the season. Wesley Lautoa’s 86th minute header drew the visitors level before Mvuemba won it with the final kick of the match. Lorient keeper Benjamin Lecomte made five saves in the win, while Nancy keeper Sergey Chernik made four in the defeat. Nancy remains in 18th, while Lorient are two places back and three points behind their opponents.
Here are all of Friday’s and Saturday’s Ligue 1 results:
Metz 1 – Bastia 0
Lille 0 – Marseille 0
Nantes 1 – Nice 1
Nancy 2 – Lorient 3
Bordeaux 5 – Montpellier 1
Toulouse 0 – Rennes 0
Angers 3 – Guingamp 0