By NICK IUELE
Manchester United looked primed for an upset when the fell behind by two goals against Aston Villa, but the Red Bulls mounted another trademark comeback to mantain their hold on first place in the English Premier League.
Villa’s Andreas Weimann scored two goals in first-half stoppage and 50th minute, respectively. However, the Red Devils brought Chicarito Hernandez on after half time and he sparked the comeback, scoring two goals in the second half and forcing an own-goal on the third score. The win allowed United to keep a two point lead over the table.
In Italy, second-place Inter Milan lost ground on table toppers Juventus with a shock 3-2 lost to Atalanta. Giacomo Bonaventura scored in the 9th minute and German Denis had a second half double to secure all three points. Rodrigo Palacio scored late to bring his side within one, but time ran out on the comeback.
Real Madrid fought past a tough Levante side to win 2-1 and keep pace in the La Liga standings. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for Madrid in the 21st minute, but Levante’s Angel equalized in the 62nd. Morata bagged the winner for Madrid in the 84th minute. The win keeps Madrid in the UCL conversation.
Here are the rest of the results from Europe’s top leagues:
ENGLAND
Chelsea hung on for a 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Sunday, but slipped to third in the table. John Terry gave the Blues an early led with a goal in the 20th minute, but the Chelsea skipper left the match after colliding with Luis Suarez. Suarez survived that collision and hit the equalizer in the 73rd.
Everton kept pace in the top four with a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Sunderland. Adam Johnson’s goal at the end of the first half gave the Black Cats the lead, but goals from Marouane Fellaini and Nikica Jelavic in the 76th and 79th minute gave the Toffees all three points and kept them in touch with the lead pack.
English Premier League scoreboard:
Manchester City 2, Tottenham 1
West Ham United 1, Newcastle 0
Chelsea 1, Liverpool 1
Arsenal 3, Fulham 3
Everton 2, Sunderland 1
Reading 0, Norwich City 0
Southampton 1, Swansea City 1
Stoke City 1, Queens Park Rangers 0
West Bromwich Albion 2, Wigan Athletic 1
Manchester United 3, Aston Villa 2
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ITALY
AC MIlan took another step backwards with a 3-1 loss at the hands of Fiorentina.
Alberto Aquliani and Borja Valero scored in the first half and Mounir El Hamdaoui sealed i Rossoneri’s fate in the 87th minute. Giampaolo Pazzini scored in the 59th for Milan and Alexandre Pato missed a penalty in the 34th.
Lazio got a big 3-2 win over Roma this weekend. Erik Lamela got Roma on the board early with a ninth minute goal, but a goal each from Antonio Candreva, Miroslav Klose and Stefano Mauri in an eleven minute span gave Lazio a lead they would not relinquish. The win leave Lazio two points out of the final UCL slot.
Serie A scoreboard:
Palermo 2, Sampdoria 0
Fiorentina 3, AC Milan 1
Chievo Verona 1, Udinese 1
Napoli 4, Genoa 2
Lazio 3, AS Roma 2
Parma 0, Siena 0
Torino 1, Bologna 0
Atalanta 3, Inter Milan 2
Cagliari 0, Catania 0
Juventus 6, US Pescara 1
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SPAIN
Malaga has hit a patch of bad form, losing a 2-1 match to Real Sociedad in the midst of three match winless streak, including two losses. Xabi Prieto hit the winner for Sociedad in the 59th minute. The loss drops the club to fifth position.
Barcelona continued their unbeaten season with a 4-2 win over Mallorca. Leonel Messi had a brace in this back and forth affair, while goals from Xavi and Cristian Tello sealed another dominating effort. The club has a three point lead on Atletico Madrid for the top spot.
La Liga scoreboard:
Valladolid 1, Valencia 1
Athletic Bilbao 2, Sevilla FC 1
Barcelona 4, Mallorca 2
Atletico Madrid 2, Getafe 0
Real Madrid 2, Levante 1
Rayo Vallecano 3, Celta Vigo 2
Osasuna 3, Espanyol 0
Real Zaragoza 5, Deportivo La Coruna 3
Real Sociedad 2, Malaga 1
Granada 2, Real Betis 1
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GERMANY
Bayern Munich won a 2-0 match over third-place Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. Frank Ribery’s goal in the 44th minute and David Alaba’s converted penalty in the 77th gave Munich the decisive victory. The table-toppers are not seven points ahead of second-place Schalke.
Schalke kept pace with Bayern Munich with their 2-1 win over Werder Bremen. Bremen was up 1-0 early, but second half goals from Julian Draxler and Roman Neustadter gave Schalke the comeback victory. All three points allow the club to stay in striking distance of the top spot, seven points.
Bundesliga scoreboard:
VfL Wolfsburg 3, Bayer Leverkusen 1
Borussia Monchengladbach 4, SpVgg Greuther Furth 2
Hannover 96 4, VfB Stuttgart 2
Bayern Munich 2, Eintracht Frankfurt 0
Borussia Dortmund 3, FC Augsburg 1
Fortuna Dusseldorf 1, TSG Hoffenheim 1
SC Freiburg 0, Hamburg SV 0
Schalke 04 2, Werder Bremen 1
Mainz 2, Nurnberg 1
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FRANCE
The results from the latest round of Ligue 1 play have caused a log jam at the top of the table. Top two clubs Paris-Saint Germain each settle for draws this weekend and are now tied on points.
Toulouse picked a bad time to take a loss, plummeting to eight place after a 4-2 loss to AC Ajaccio. Chahir Belghazouani was at the double in the win, while Sigamary Diarra and Frederic Sammaritano also added goals for Ajaccio.
Ligue 1 scoreboard:
Marseille 2, Nice 2
Bordeaux 4, Lorient 0
Sochaux 1, Lyon 1
Montpellier 1, Paris St.-Germain 1
Lille 1, Brest 0
Valenciennes 3, Bastia 2
St, Etienne 2, Troyes 2
Evian Thonon Gaillard 2, Stade de Reims 1
AC Ajaccio 4, Toulouse 2
Stade Rennes 3, AS Nancy Lorraine 1
I love how the SBI readers and posters refuse to read and comment whenever theres an article where a mexican player stands out. Effin haters on this site. For reals. Jajaja
“Manchester United looked primed for an upset when the fell behind by two goals against Aston Villa, but the _Red Bulls_ mounted another trademark comeback to mantain their hold on first place in the English Premier League.”
Wishful thinking? Talking about the Worlds Greatest Team and confusing it with one of the worst in MLS?
LOL waiting for the first jerk to post that^^^^ except not nearly the world’s best team or MLS’s worst