Chelsea made it nine matches unbeaten in all competitions with a 3-1 home league win over visiting Swansea City on Saturday.
Antonio Conte’s side were aiming to extend their lead at the top of the English Premier League table, while Paul Clement’s Swans were looking to pull the upset on the road. A 72nd minute winner from Pedro put the hosts in front for good at 2-1 before Diego Costa added an insurance strike in the 84th minute.
Swansea had leveled the match at 1-1 in first-half stoppage-time as Fernando Llorente headed home to cancel out Cesc Fabregas’ earlier effort. The visitors only mustered two chances on-goal, and were on the back foot for most of the match.
Elsewhere in Europe, Bayern Munich cruised to a lopsided win in Germany, while Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig also won comfortably. Sevilla earned an important road win in Spain, while Alaves held off Valencia at home.
Here is a rundown of Saturday’s action in Europe:
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
In 2017, Crystal Palace has struggled to get much going under new boss Sam Allardyce. The former West Ham and England manager had only guided his new club to only one league win since taking over in late December.
The London club bounced back from consecutive league defeats to beat Middlesbrough, 1-0, on Saturday at Selhurst Park. Patrick van Aanholt’s 34th minute curler was all the hosts need to earn a crucial three points at home. It was the January signing’s first goal for the club since joining from Sunderland. Palace keeper Wayne Hennessey was also busy, making four saves in the clean sheet. The win for Palace leaps them up to 17th and out of the relegation zone, level on points with their opponents.
Elsewhere, Sunderland boss David Moyes saw his current club fall to his former club Everton, 2-0, at Goodison Park. Idrissa Gueye’s 40th minute strike was the math-winner for the hosts, as the midfielder finished nicely from inside the box. Romelu Lukaku added an insurance strike in the 80th minute, which now gives the Belgian 17 league goals on the season.
West Bromwich Albion fought back from an early deficit to beat Bournemouth, 2-1, at the Hawthorns. Gareth McAuley’s 21st minute match-winner made it five matches unbeaten for Tony Pulis’ side. Josh King’s fifth minute penalty had the visitors up 1-0, before Craig Dawson’s 10th minute deflected effort leveled it for the hosts. McAuley’s sixth league goal was a tap-in after Bournemouth keeper Artur Boruc failed to clear a corner-kick.
10-men Burnley fought back for a 1-1 draw at the KCOM Stadium against Hull City. Defender Michael Keane’s 76th minute equalizer drew the visitors level before forward Ashley Barnes was sent off in stoppage-time. Tom Huddlestone’s 72nd minute penalty previously had Hull ahead, but the hosts had to settle for a point.
Here are all of Saturday’s Premier League results:
Chelsea 3 – Swansea City 1
Crystal Palace 1 – Middlesbrough 0
Everton 2 – Sunderland 0
Hull City 1 – Burnley 1
West Bromwich Albion 2 – Bournemouth 1
Watford 1 – West Ham United 1
SPANISH LA LIGA
Alaves made it consecutive league wins after a 2-1 come-from-behind victory against Valencia. Aleksandar Katai’s first goal of the season won it for the hosts in the 86th minute after coming on a second-half sub.
Ibai Gomez’s 78th minute long-range effort equalized for the hosts after Carlos Soler’s opener in the 70th minute had Valencia up 1-0. Trying to fight back late, the visitors were reduced to 10-men as Fabian Orellana picked up a second yellow card. Alaves move up to 10th after the win, while Valencia sit in 14th.
Sevilla made it four wins in-a-row in all competitions after fighting back against Real Betis for a 2-1 win. Vicente Iborra’s 76th minute tap-in gave the visitors their first lead in the match, which was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Gabriel Mercado made it 1-1 from close range in the 56th minute after Riza Durmisi’s free-kick had Betis up 1-0 in the first half. The win for Sevilla sees them up to second for the day, until Barcelona’s match on Sunday. Real Betis drop to 15th, after suffering their third defeat out of their last six matches.
Here are all of Saturday’s La Liga results:
Alaves 2 – Valencia 1
Real Betis 1 – Sevilla 2
Leganes 4 – Deportivo 0
Eibar 3 – Malaga 0
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
League-leaders Bayern Munich dismantled visiting Hamburg, 8-0, at Allianz Arena on Saturday to remain in top spot.
After a 1-1 draw at Hertha Berlin a weekend ago, Bayern were expected to come out with a lot of energy against one of the Bundesliga’s strugglers. A 3-0 halftime lead for the hosts saw Arturo Vidal open the scoring, before Robert Lewandowski netted a brace. The striker capped his hat-trick in the 54th minute, giving him 19 league goals on the season. Arjen Robbed capped the score at 8-0 in the 87th minute, while substsitute Kingsley Coman added a brace off the bench. Daniel Alaba also chipped in a goal, while Thomas Muller added two assists. Hamburg slumped to their first defeat since January 28th.
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund snatched a 3-0 road win at Freiburg to keep pace with the top-two. Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted a second-half brace to give him 19 league goals on the season. However the match-winner came from defender Sokratis as the Greek headed home from a 13th minute corner.
Mainz bounced back from last weekend’s defeat vs. Werder Bremen by beating Bayer Leverkusen, 2-0, at the BayArena. Stefan Bell’s third-minute header had the visitors up 1-0 before Levin Oztunali’s 11th minute free-kick added some insurance to their lead. Despite 63% of the match possession, Leverkusen only had three shots-on-goal which were all saved by Mainz keeper Jonas Lossi. The winners move up to 10th place, sitting two spots behind their opponents.
In Saturday’s late match, Hertha Berlin leapfrogged Eintracht Frankfurt in the table after a 2-0 home win. Vedad Ibisevic’s 10th league goal of the season ended up being the match-winner for the hosts after 52 minutes. The Bosnian’s left-footed effort found the bottom left corner as winger Salomon Kalou was credited with the assist. Frankfurt were reduced to 10-men after Haris Seferovic was shown a straight red card for a violent tackle. Five minutes later, Vladimir Darida headed home Hertha’s insurance goal for a 2-0 final score. The winners now sit in fifth, two points better off than their opponents.
Here are all of Saturday’s Bundesliga results:
Bayern Munich 8 – Hamburger SV 0
Bayer Leverkusen 0 – Mainz 2
SV Darmstadt 1 – F.C. Augsburg 2
Freiburg 0 – Borussia Dortmund 3
RB Leipzig 3 – Koln 1
Hertha Berlin 2 – Eintracht Frankfurt 0
ITALIAN SERIE A
In a battle of third vs. fifth, visitors Atalanta defeated Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo 2-0 despite playing with 10-men for most of the second-half. Mattia Caldara’s brace was all the visitors needed to jump to fourth in the table. Caldara’s 70th minute goal was an insurance strike after the defender had headed Atalanta in front after 28 minutes. Napoli had eight efforts on-goal but Atalanta keeper Etrit Berisha was up to the task, making eight saves in the clean sheet. Napoli suffer only their fourth league defeat of the season, but are now only three points ahead of their opponents in the table.
League-leaders Juventus extended their lead over Roma by 10 points with a 2-0 win over Empoli. The deciding moment of the match took place in the 52nd minute as an own-goal off of Empoli keeper Lukasz Skorupski made it 1-0 to the hosts. Juve defender Alex Sandro extended the lead to 2-0 in the 65th minute, slotting home Dani Alves’ assist into the bottom right corner. Empoli had only one effort on-goal while Skorupski made four saves in the defeat. The visitors remain in 17th place, eight points clear of safety.
Here are the Serie A results from Saturday:
Napoli 0 – Atalanta 2
Juventus 2 – Empoli 0
FRENCH LIGUE 1
League-leaders Monaco bounced back from Tuesday’s Champions League loss in Manchester by beating Guingamp, 2-1, away from home. An 86th minute penalty kick goal from Fabinho had the hosts up 2-0 late, before Etienne Didiot rifled home a late consolation for the hosts in stoppage time. Kamil Glik’s fifth league goal of the season for Monaco came in the 25th minute from close range. Despite being out-possessed 56%-44%, Leonardo Jardin’s side extended their lead to three points over second-place Nice who won on Friday.
Bordeaux got a strong road win at Lille on Saturday, winning, 3-2, and coming from behind to do so. Adam Ounas 82nd minute winner completed a comeback after the visitors went down 2-1 just after the hour mark. Ounas had made it 2-2 in the 78th, finishing nicely with his left foot. The visitors saw an early 1-0 advantage slip away as goals from Nicolas de Preville and Eder a minute apart in the second half had the hosts in-front 2-1. Lille also had two players sent off in the second-half with one occurring just before Bordeaux took the lead for good. Bordeaux go up to fifth in the table, while Lille remain in 14th.
Eighth-place Rennes won their first league fixture since December 4th, defeating last-place Lorient 1-0 at the Stade de la Route-de-Lorient. A 19th minute goal from Ivorian striker Giovanni Sio was all the hosts needed. It was the forward’s seventh goal of the season, which equals his total from a year ago. The hosts dominated in offensive chances out-shooting Lorient 9-2 in efforts on-goal. Lorient keeper Benjamin Lecomte made eight saves in the loss, while Rennes keeper Benoit Costil made two. The bottom-club now sit six points from safety.
Here are the Ligue 1 results from Saturday:
Guingamp 1 – Monaco 2
Nancy 0 – Toulouse 0
Lille 2 – Bordeaux 3
Angers 3 – Bastia 0
Rennes 1 – Lorient 0