Top Stories

Sunday European Rewind: Arsenal and Man City share points, Napoli ties Juventus, and more

Arsenal showed some fight in battling back from a pair of deficits on Sunday, but the hard-earned draw against Manchester City doesn’t do much for the Gunners hopes of climbing back into the English Premier League’s top four.

Leroy Sane’s fifth-minute goal gave Manchester City an early 1-0 advantage after the winger rounded David Ospina and tapped into an empty net. Kevin De Bruyne came close to doubling the visitors lead five minutes later as his right-footed effort struck the right post.

Theo Walcott’s bundled effort in the 40th minute leveled the score at 1-1 for Arsenal, which was the forward’s ninth league goal of the season. The lead only lasted two minutes however as Sergio Aguero put Pep Guardiola’s men back in front from a tough angle.

The Argentine striker finished nicely to the bottom-left corner just before halftime. Shkodran Mustafi’s 53rd-minute header brought the score level at 2-2, which would be the final. Ospina made three saves, while Willy Caballero only made one.

Manchester City remains in fourth place, while Arsenal sits in sixth place and seven points behind.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid cruised to a home success against Alaves, while Sevilla was held at home by Sporting Gijon. In Serie A action, Fiorentina earned a 1-0 home victory against Bologna, while Napoli and Juventus shared the points at the San Paolo. Ingolstadt defeated Mainz in Germany, while Nice and Bordeaux faced off in France’s must-watch match of the day.

Here is the complete rundown from all Sunday’s European action:

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

In the early Premier League showdown, Swansea City and Middlesbrough shared the points in a 0-0 draw in Wales. The hosts created the better chances offensively, while Jordan Ayew and Glyfi Sigurdsson saw long-range efforts saved by Victor Valdes. Alvaro Negredo’s close-range effort forced the only save out of Swans keeper Lukasz Fabianski. Substitute striker Rudy Gestede missed a 92nd-minute header which would’ve sealed a crucial three points for Middlesbrough. However, both teams earned a point while the visitors remain in 19th place. Swansea are in 17th, and a point clear of the relegation zone.

Swansea City 0 – Middlesbrough 0

Arsenal 2 – Manchester City 2

SPANISH LA LIGA

Real Madrid made it five consecutive victories in all competitions with a 3-0 home win against Alaves. Karim Benzema’s 31st-minute strike proved to be the match-winner as Los Blancos added two second-half goals as insurance. Isco’s seventh league goal of the season doubled the hosts lead in the 85th-minute, before Nacho added a headed goal three minutes later for a 3-0 scoreline. Alaves lost its first match since Mar. 1st, remaining in 10th place. Real Madrid remains atop the La Liga summit, two points clear of Barcelona.

In Sunday’s early match, Sevilla was held to a scoreless draw at home on Sunday against visiting Sporting Gijon. The hosts were clearly the more-dominant side forcing six saves from Gijon keeper Ivan Cuellar. Samir Nasri, Steven Jovetic, and Vitolo all saw efforts saved by the Spanish keeper, who helped Gijon to their third striahgt unbeaten result. Sevilla dropped to fourth-place on the day, and are now winless in their last five matches.

Barcelona cruised to a 4-1 road win at second from bottom Granada on Sunday afternoon. A 44th-minute chip from Luis Suarez opened the scoring for Luis Enrique’s side just before halftime. Granada leveled things in the 50th minute as Jeremie Boga’s right-footed shot found the bottom left corner. Paco Alcacer’s 64th-minute goal proved to be the winner which put the visitors up 2-1. After going down to 10 men late, Granada’s Matthieu Saunier saw an own-goal go in off of him for a 3-1 Barca lead. Neymar netted his ninth league goal of the season, which capped the final score at 4-1. Barcelona have now won consecutive league fixtures, while Granada have lost four in a row.

Here are all of Sunday’s La Liga results:

Sevilla 0 – Sporting Gijon 0

Real Madrid 3 – Alaves 0

Valencia 3 – Deportivo 0

Granada 1 – Barcelona 4

Celta Vigo host Las Palmas in the final match of the round on Monday.

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA

It was a six-goal thriller at the BayArena on Sunday as Bayer Leverkusen fought back for a point against visiting Wolfsburg. The hosts were cruising just after the hour-mark as goals from Karim Bellarabi and Kevin Volland had them up 2-0. However, the match flipped on its head as Wolfsburg striker Mario Gomez netted a seven-minute hat trick which had Wolfsburg ahead 3-2 after 87 minutes. Kai Havertz’s 89th-minute equalizer salavaged a point for Tayfun Korkut’s side at home. Leverkusen have failed to record a league win since Feb. 17th, while are now four matches unbeaten in league play. The visitors move up to 13th, while the hosts sit two places higher in 11th.

Ingolstadt snapped a four-match unbeaten run by defeating Mainz 2-1 at Audi Sportspark on Sunday. A 73rd-minute winner from Florent Hadergjonaj sealed the win for the hosts after they lost their lead two minutes prior. An own-goal off of Marvin Matip pulled Mainz level at 1-1 in the 71st. Romain Bregerie’s 10th-minute header had opened the scoring for Ingolstadt in the first-half. Mainz have now lost three in a row, while Ingolstadt inch closer to Bundesliga safety.

Ingolstadt 2 -FSV Mainz 1

Bayer Leverkusen 3 – VfL Wolfsburg 3

ITALIAN SERIE A

In the must-watch match of the round, Napoli fought back for a point against visiting Juventus on Sunday. A goal from Marek Hamsik at the hour-mark salvaged a point for Maurizio Sarri’s men at the San Paolo. However, it was the league leaders who led at halftime thanks to a seventh-minute finish from midfielder Sami Khedira. Gianluigi Buffon made three saves in the match, while Juventus looked comfortable with the draw. Napoli remain in third, now 10 points back from Juventus, while the leaders have not lost a league match since Jan. 15th.

Fiorentina made it three straight league wins after a 1-0 home victory against Bologna on Sunday. Khouma Babacar’s sixth goal of the season proved to be the winner as the second-half sub headed home in the 51st-minute. The hosts forced five saves from Bologna keeper Antonio Mirante, while the visitors only had one shot-on-goal. Bologna saw a two-match winning run snapped, which also dropped them to 14th in the table. Fiorentina stay in eighth.

Cagliari earned its first league win since Feb. 26th as beating Palermo, 3-1, at the Renzo Barbera. Despite being down 1-0 at halftime, Cagliari used a three-goal second half to pull away. Artur Ionita’s 48th-minute header leveled the score at 1-1. Marco Borriello’s 58th-minute finish proved to be the winner, while Ionita added his second of the day in the 88th-minute. Palermo remain in 19th, and seven points from safety, while Cagliari move to 13th.

Last-place Pescara earned a point at home on Sunday against visiting A.C. Milan in a 1-1 draw. A 12th-minute own goal off of Milan’s Gabriel Paletta made it 1-0 to the hosts. However, Milan fought back just before halftime as Mario Pasalic leveled the score at 1-1 in the 41st minute scoring his third goal of the season. Alessio Romagnoli’s 85th-minute header struck the post, which was the closest either side came to a late winner. A.C. Milan remain in seventh, while Pescara are nine points from safety.

Here are all of Sunday’s Serie A results:

Torino 2 – Udinese 2

Chievo Verona 1 – Crotone 2

Fiorentina 1 – Bologna 0

Genoa 0 – Atalanta 5

Palermo 1 – Cagliari 3

Pescara 1 – A.C. Milan 1

Napoli 1 – Juventus 1

Inter Milan host Sampdoria in the final match of the round on Monday.

FRENCH LIGUE 1 

Third-place Nice made it eight league matches unbeaten thanks to a 2-1 comeback victory against Bordeaux. Despite going down after nine minutes to a Gaetan Laborde’s finish, Nice fought back quickly. Mario Balotelli equalized for Nice from the penalty spot in the 16th-minute after Arnaud Souquet drew a foul. The match-winner came off the foot of Valentin Eysseric whose long-range effort beat Cedric Carrasso in the 26th-minute. Despite having four efforts on target, Bordeaux fell for the second time in their last three matches. With Monaco and PSG facing off in Saturday’s Coupe de la Ligue final, Nice now sit one point behind the Parisians. Bordeaux remain in sixth, five points behind Lyon for the final European qualification spot.

In the early match of the day, Lyon dropped points in a 1-1 road draw at Rennes. The hosts were reduced to 10-men early as Remy Bensebaini saw red for a hand-ball inside the box. However, the ensuing penalty kick by Alexandre Lacazette was saved by Benoit Costil. Maxwel Cornet’s 52nd-minute finish gave the visitors a 1-0 lead. Rennes fought back in the 81st-minute as Firmin Mubele’s long-range effort found the bottom-right corner for a 1-1 equalizer. Costil was the busier of the goalkeepers making five saves in the draw. Rennes drop to 11th, while Lyon remain in fourth.

Nantes made it three matches unbeaten after a 2-1 home win against Angers. after a scoreless first half, Nantes received a 48th-minute opening goal from Prejuce Nakoulma. The striker doubled his tally and his team’s lead in the 54th-minute from the center of the box. Famara Diedhiou brought Angers to within one just a minute later, scoring from a header. However, the hosts held on for their 11th victory of the season. Angers drop to 12th after suffering their second loss in their last three matches.

Here are all of Sunday’s Ligue 1 results:

Rennes 1 – OL Lyon 1

Lorient 1 – Caen 0

Montpellier 0 – Toulouse 1

Nantes 2 – Angers 1

Nice 2 – Bordeaux 1

Leave a Comment