With the return of European domestic action this weekend, a lot of top matches were on display Saturday across the top-five leagues.
Liverpool cruised to a 3-1 victory over rivals Everton in Saturday’s Merseyside Derby at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp’s side defeated their local rivals for the second time this season thanks to a comfortable home victory. Sadio Mane opened the scoring after eight minutes, rifling home from inside the box while Matthew Pennington’s first goal for Everton leveled the score at 1-1 after 28 minutes.
Philippe Coutinho’s seventh league goal of the season put the Reds back in front three minutes later. The Brazilian played contributor on Liverpool’s final goal, a 60th-minute finish by Divock Origi to earn the hosts all three points. Everton fell for the second time out of their last four matches, while Liverpool go to third-place at least until tomorrow.
Elsewhere, English leaders Chelsea were defeated at home by Crystal Palace while Tottenham defeated Burnley at Turf Moor. Eibar topped Villarreal on the road in Spain, while Athletic Bilbao defeated Osasuna. Schalke and Borussia Dortmund shared the points in Saturday’s Revierderby. Marseille were held at home by visiting Dijon in Ligue 1 action, while Monaco and PSG faced off in the Coupe de le Ligue final in Lyon.
Here is a rundown of all Friday and Saturday’s domestic action:
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
League-leaders Chelsea dropped their first home fixture since September in a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace. Sam Allardyce’s side fought back quickly after Cesc Fabregas’ fifth-minute opener had given the hosts a 1-0 lead. Wilfried Zaha leveled things for Palace in the ninth-minute before striker Christian Benteke chipped Thibaut Courtois for Palace’s second just minutes later. Palace keeper Wayne Hennessey made 10 saves in a match that served as Palace’s fourth consecutive victory. Chelsea suffered their first league defeat since a 2-0 loss at Tottenham on Jan. 4.
Tottenham earned an important 2-0 road win at Burnley to cut their deficit behind Chelsea to seven points. Despite injuries to both Harry Winks and Victor Wanyama, Tottenham got a 66th-minute winner from defender Eric Dier. Forward Son Heung-min extended the lead to 2-0 in the 77th-minute, finishing off Dele Alli’s assist. Burnley, who were on the back-foot most of the match, are winless since Jan. 31. The Clarets sit in 15th, while Tottenham remain in second.
Defending champs Leicester City made it five consecutive victories in all competitions, thanks to a 2-0 success over Stoke. Craig Shakespeare’s side got a 25th-minute rifle from Wilfred N’Didi to give them a 1-0 lead. Jamie Vardy’s ninth league goal of the season early in the second-half slammed the door shut on a Stoke comeback. Mark Hughes’ side remain in ninth despite back-to-back defeats, while Leicester jump to 13th.
Here are all the results from Saturday’s Premier League action:
Liverpool 3 – Everton 1
Burnley 0 – Tottenham Hotspur 2
Chelsea 1 – Crystal Palace 2
Hull City 2 – West Ham United 1
Leicester City 2 – Stoke City 0
Manchester United 0 – West Bromwich Albion 0
Watford 1 – Sunderland 0
Southampton 0 – A.F.C Bournemouth0
SPANISH LA LIGA
On Friday, Espanyol made it three matches unbeaten after a 2-1 win over Real Betis. Despite going down, 1-0, in the 78th minute, the hosts netted two goals in a three-minute span to earn the three points. Javi Fuego equalized for Espanyol in the 87th-minute before Jose Reyes put them in front for good in the 90th. Betis dropped their third match in the month of March to move to 13th, while Espanyol remained in ninth.
Eibar won their first match since Feb. 25 thanks to a 3-2 road win at Villarreal on Saturday. A 77th-minute finish by Takashi Inui proved to be the match-winner after the visitors rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit. Roberto Soriano’s 18th-minute header had the hosts up, 1-0, in the first-half. Pedro Leon’s 48th-minute penalty leveled things before Kike Garcia put Eibar ahead, 2-1, six minutes later. Inui’s first goal of the season made it 3-1, before Soriano scored a late consolation in the 89th-minute. Eibar keeper Yoel made five saves in the win, to keep the visitors in eighth-place. Villarreal drop to sixth.
Real Sociedad fought back for a home point in a 1-1 draw against Leganes on Saturday. A 53rd-minute goal from Juanmi had drawn the hosts level after Alexander Szymanowski had opened the scoring for Leganes after 29 minutes. Leganes keeper Iago Herrerin made four saves in the draw, which was the visitors third-in-a-row. Sociedad snapped a two-match skid, and moved up to fifth in the process, while Leganes remain in 17th.
Here are all the results from Friday and Saturday’s La Liga action:
Espanyol 2 – Real Betis 1
Villarreal 2 – Eibar 3
Osasuna 1 – Athletic Bilbao 2
Real Sociedad 1 – Leganes 1
Malaga 0 – Atletico Madrid 2
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
Hoffenheim made it six matches unbeaten after a 3-1 road success at Hertha Berlin on Friday. Julian Nagelsmann’s side got a brace from Andrei Kramaric which propelled them to three points. However, Berlin got the 1-0 lead after Peter Pekarik’s right-footed effort found the bottom corner in the 32nd minute. Kramaric leveled the score at 1-1 from the penalty spot before halftime. Berlin was reduced to 10 men in the 58th minute when Maximilian Mittelstadt earned a second yellow. Niklas Sule’s long-range strike proved to be the winner after 76 minutes, before Kramaric netted his second. The visitors move to third, while Berlin stay in fifth.
Schalke fought back for a 1-1 draw against rivals Borussia Dortmund in Saturday’s second Revierderby of the season. A 77th-minute finish from Thilo Kehrer leveled things for the hosts after Schalke had gone down earlier in the second-half. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 24th league goal of the season had given Thomas Tuchel’s side a 1-0 advantage after 53 minutes. This was the second draw between the two sides after a scoreless draw back in October. Schalke stay in ninth-place, while Dortmund drop to fourth.
Hamburg moved up to 13th after a 2-1 victory against visiting Koln on Saturday. A 91st-minute winner from Lewis Holtby earned Markus Gisdol’s side a precious three points at home. Nikolai Muller’s 13th-minute goal had Hamburg up early, as the midfielder finished off Bobby Wood’s assist. However, Koln fought back through Milos Jolic’s 25th-minute header. Holtby’s first goal of the season proved to be the difference as Hamburg are now four-matches unbeaten. Koln drop their first match since a 3-0 loss vs. Bayern Munich on Mar. 4th.
RB Leipzig snapped a two-match losing streak on Saturday, pummeling Darmstadt 4-0 at Red Bull Arena. Naby Keita’s 12th-minute finish opened the scoring for the hosts who led 1-0 at halftime. Emil Forsberg’s eighth goal of the season made it 2-0 after 67 minutes before Darmstadt were reduced to 10-men just five minutes later. Willi Orban’s 79th-minute header extended Leipzig’s lead to 3-0 before Keita added his second of the day a minute later. The victory for RB Leipzig keep them in second-place, while Darmstadt remain bottom after losing their 19th match of the campaign.
Here are all the results from Friday and Saturday’s Bundesliga action:
Hertha Berlin 1 – 1899 Hoffenheim 3
Bayern Munich 6 – FC Augsburg 0
Schalke 04 1 – Borussia Dortmund 1
Hamburg SV 2 – FC Koln 1
SC Freiburg 2 – Werder Bremen 5
RB Leipzig 4 – SV Darmstadt 0
Eintracht Frankfurt 0 – Borussia Monchengladbach 0
ITALIAN SERIE A
In the must-watch match of the day in Italy, Lazio extended their unbeaten run to 10 matches with a 2-1 road win at Sassuolo. An 83rd-minute own goal off of Sassuolo keeper Andrea Consigli proved to be the difference at the Giglio Stadium. Sassuolo had the first-half lead thanks to a 26th-minute penalty kick goal from Domenico Berardi. It was the forward’s third goal of the season. Lazio answered back in the form of leading scorer Ciro Immobile, who scored his 18th league goal of the season just before halftime. The late own-goal dropped Sassuolo to their third consecutive defeat. The hosts stay in 15th at least until tomorrow, while Lazio stay in fourth.
Second-place Roma cut their deficit behind leaders Juventus to five points after a 2-0 victory against Empoli on Saturday. A brace from striker Edin Dzeko was all Luciano Spalletti’s side needed to make it four straight wins in all competitions. Dzeko opened the scoring after 12 minutes, finishing off Antonio Rudiger’s headed assist. The Bosnian international made it 31 goals in all competitions, after he made it 2-0 from Mohamed Salah’s headed pass. Empoli could not recover, suffering their seventh straight loss in league-play. The visitors remain in 17th, seven points from safety.
Here are all the results from Saturday’s Serie A action:
Sassuolo 1 – Lazio 2
Roma 2 – Empoli 0
FRENCH LIGUE 1
On Friday, Guingamp bounced back from a 3-0 defeat on March 18th to defeat visiting Nancy 1-0. The visitors didn’t help their cause after Nancy defender Modou Diagne saw a straight red-card for a tackle on Jimmy Briand after 27 minutes. Sloan Privat’s 59th-minute finish proved to be the winner for Guingamp as they dropped Nancy to their fourth consecutive defeat. Guingamp move up to eighth-place, while Nancy remain in 18th and a point from safety.
In the late match on Saturday, Lille defeated Bastia 1-0 at the Stade Armand-Cesari-Furiani. Nicolas de Preville’s eighth goal of the season proved to be the winner for Franck Passi’s side on the road. The midfielder slotted home a right-footed effort into the bottom-right corner for an important three points. Bastia only created two shots-on-goal, but ultimately lost their third-in-a-row. Lille move up to 13th after making it four matches unbeaten.
Here are all the results from Friday and Saturday’s Ligue 1 action:
Guingamp 1 – Nancy 0
Marseille 1 – Dijon 1
Bastia 0 – Lille 1