Barcelona overcame all odds to secure a historic Champions League result midweek, but the Spanish giant couldn’t quite muster enough energy to role that momentum into league play.
Deportivo earned the result of the weekend with a 2-1 home win over league-leaders Barcelona. Alex Bergantino’s 74th minute header put Deportivo in front for good after the visitors had leveled the score early in the second half. Luis Suarez’s 21st league goal of the season tied the score at 1-1 after Joselu put the hosts ahead, 1-0, in the 40th minute.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen made seven saves for Barcelona, who definitely looked a little sluggish after Wednesday’s comeback win in the Champions League. Deportivo jump to 15th, while Barcelona slipped to second place.
In another mouth-watering fixture across Europe this weekend, Italian leaders Juventus earned a late 2-1 victory vs. AC Milan on Friday in Serie A action.
A 97th minute game-winning penalty by Paulo Dybala gave the hosts three points, and extended their current unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 matches. Mattia De Sciglio was whistled for handball inside the box two minutes prior which allowed Dybala to rifle home the winning goal.
Elsewhere, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Tottenham advanced to the FA Cup semifinals, while Everton cruised in Premier League action. Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin earned important top-half wins in Germany, while Marseille and Monaco were victorious in Ligue 1 action.
Here is a rundown of all the weekend’s action across Europe:
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
On Saturday, Hull City earned an important three points at the bottom of the Premier League table after a 2-1 home win over Swansea. Substitute Oumar Niasse’s nine minute brace in the second half was all the Tigers needed to win. The forward slotted home in the 69th and 78th minutes to put Hull ahead, 2-0. Alfie Mawson’s 91st minute header was a late consolation for Paul Clement’s Swans. Hull jumps to 18th, while Swansea sits three places higher in 15th.
Everton cruised to a comfortable home win at Goodison Park on Saturday, defeating West Bromwich Albion, 3-0. Romelu Lukaku’s 82nd minute header was the icing on the cake for Ronald Koeman’s side, who had a 2-0 halftime advantage. Morgan Schneiderlin and Kevin Mirallas netted goals in a six-minute span to end the first half. West Brom remains in eighth, while the Toffees sit seven points higher in the standings.
In the only league fixture on Sunday, Liverpool fought back to defeat Burnley at Anfield, 2-1. Emre Can’s 61st minute goal proved to be the winner after Georginio Wijnaldum leveled the score at 1-1 on the verge of halftime. Ashley Barnes’ had given the visitors an early lead after seven minutes, but that was the Clarets only effort on-goal. Jurgen Klopp’s men stay in fourth place, while Burnley remains in 12th as their road woes continue.
A.F.C. Bournemouth 3 – West Ham United 2
Everton 3 – West Bromwich Albion 0
Hull City 2 – Swansea City 1
Liverpool 2 – Burnley 1
ENGLISH F.A. CUP
On Saturday, Manchester City cruised to a 2-0 road win against struggling Middlesbrough to book a spot in the FA Cup semifinals. David Silva’s third minute close range goal opened the scoring for Pep Guardiola’s side before Sergio Aguero slammed the door on a comeback in the 67th minute. Middlesbrough posed a threat early, but could not break down a solid Manchester City back-line.
Despite a poor week in Europe, Arsenal also booked their spot in the FA Cup semifinals with a thrashing of non-league Lincoln City on Saturday. Theo Walcott gave the Gunners a 1-0 lead right before halftime before Arsenal rolled in the second half. Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez, and Aaron Ramsey all netted goals in the second half, while an Lincoln City own-goal off of Luke Waterfall added to the visitors misery.
Middlesbrough 0 – Manchester City 2
Arsenal 5 – Lincoln City 0
Tottenham Hotspur 6 – Millwall 0
Manchester United travel to Chelsea on Monday in the final quarterfinal tie of the round.
SPANISH LA LIGA
Real Madrid jumped back atop the La Liga summit after a 2-1 home win against Real Betis in Sunday’s late fixture. Despite going down, 1-0, after a Keylor Navas own-goal, Real Madrid equalized right before halftime thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 19th league goal of the season. Betis was reduced to 10-men in the 78th minute as Cristiano Piccini earned a second yellow card. Three minutes later, Sergio Ramos headed in the winning goal from a Toni Kroos assist. Zinedine Zidane’s men now sit two points ahead of Barcelona in the table, while Betis remain in 14th.
Atletico Madrid earned a late victory at Granada in Saturday’s late match as Antoine Griezmann netted an 84th minute winner. The Frenchman headed the visitors in front with his 21st goal in all competitions this season. Granada held firm defensively for most of the match, but could not muster up much offensively. Jan Oblak was only forced into two saves in the Atletico goal. Diego Simeone’s side now sit eight points off the top-two.
Athletic Bilbao pulled closer to a European spot with a 2-0 road win at Real Sociedad on Sunday. A 28th minute penalty kick goal from Raul Garcia proved to be the winner, while Inaki Williams added an insurance goal in the 56th minute. It was the striker’s third league goal of the campaign. Sociedad slumped to their first defeat out of their last four matches, while Bilbao made it back-to-back wins.
Espanyol 4 – Las Palmas 3
Valencia 1 – Sporting Gijon 1
Sevilla 1 – Leganes 1
Malaga 1 – Alaves 2
Granada 0 – Atletico Madrid 1
Real Sociedad 0 – Athletic Bilbao 2
Deportivo 2 – Barcelona 1
Celta Vigo 0 – Villarreal 1
Real Madrid 2 – Real Betis 1
Osasuna host Eibar on Monday in the final match of the round.
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
Hertha Berlin earned an impressive home win over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday at the Olympiastadion. Salomon Kalou’s sixth league goal of the season, put the hosts in front after 11 minutes before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued his hot week after equalizing in the 55th minute with his fourth goal in four days in Bundesliga and Champions League play. Marvin Plattenhardt’s brilliant freekick gave Berlin a 71st minute winner and three points at home. Dortmund remains in third, but see Berlin only three points behind them in the table now.
League leaders Bayern Munich rolled to a 3-0 home win over Eintracht Frankurt on Saturday. A brace from Robert Lewandowski propelled the hosts to three points. The Polish international opened the scoring after 38 minutes, before Douglas Costa extended Bayern’s lead three minutes later. Lewandowski doubled his tally by slotting home Arjen Robben’s assist in the 55th minute. Manuel Neuer made four saves in the clean sheet. Frankfurt remains in sixth, while Bayern sees their lead grow to 10 points over RB Leipzig who sit in second.
Hamburg SV made it consecutive league wins after a 2-1 home victory over Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday. Bobby Wood netted the winner for Hamburg, rifling home to the top-right corner in the 80th minute. Andreas Christensen’s 23rd minute header had the visitors up 1-0, before Filip Kostic headed Hamburg’s equalizer in the 36th minute. Wood’s fifth league strike of the season proved to be the difference, as Hamburg climbs closer to Bundesliga safety. Gladbach stays in ninth after the defeat.
Bayer Leverkusen 1 – Werder Bremen 1
Bayern Munich 3 – Eintracht Frankfurt 0
Hertha Berlin 2 – Borussia Dortmund 1
SV Darmstadt 2 – Mainz 05 1
SC Freiburg 1 – 1899 Hoffenheim 1
RB Leipzig 0 – Wolfsburg 1
Ingolstadt 2 – F.C. Koln 2
Schalke 04 3 – F.C. Augsburg 0
Hamburg SV 2 – Borussia Monchengladbach 1
ITALIAN SERIE A
Napoli bounced back from Tuesday’s Champions League exit by defeating Crotone, 3-0, on Sunday. Lorenzo Insigne’s 32nd minute penalty proved to be the winner for Maurizio Sarri’s side, who made it consecutive league wins. Dries Mertens added a 66th minute penalty to double Napoli’s lead before Insigne netted his second goal of the afternoon four minutes later. The Italian now has 10 league goals on the season, while Napoli climbs to 10 points behind leaders Juventus. Crotone stay in 19th after losing their sixth match out of their last seven.
Inter Milan leapfrogged Atalanta on Sunday after a 7-1 home win over the visitors. Mauro Icardi and Ever Banega each netted hat-tricks in what was a 5-1 lead at halftime for the hosts. Roberto Gagliardini made it 6-1 in the 52nd minute before Banega capped his hat-trick with a 67th minute free-kick. Antonio Candreva also added two assists for Stefano Pioli’s men. Atalanta sees their seven-match unbeaten streak snapped, while Inter moves to fourth place at least until Monday.
Roma bounced back from three consecutive defeats in all competitions by winning, 3-0, at Palermo on Sunday. Bruno Peres’ 90th minute insurance goal capped the three points for Luciano Spalletti’s side after Edin Dzeko slotted home his 20th league goal of the season in the 76th minute. Stephan El Shaarawy’s 22nd minute opener started the scoring for Roma, who was the more dominant of the two sides. Palermo slipped to their fourth defeat out of their last five matches, and are seven points from safety. Roma keeps a two point lead over third-place Napoli, and are eight points off of leaders Juventus.
Juventus 2 – A.C. Milan 1
Genoa 0 – Sampdoria 1
Sassuolo 0 – Bologna 1
Chievo Verona 4 – Empoli 0
Fiorentina 1 – Cagliari 0
Inter Milan 7 – Atalanta 1
Napoli 3 – Crotone 0
Pescara 1 – Udinese 3
Palermo 0 – Roma 3
Lazio face Torino on Monday in the final match of the round.
FRENCH LIGUE 1
Nice earned a point after a come-from-behind draw at home on Friday against Caen. Anastasios Donis’ 76th minute equalizer had brought Nice back from a 2-0 deficit to 2-2. Mario Balotelli’s 10th league goal of the season five minutes prior had cut the Caen lead in half. Ivan Santini’s 36th minute header opened the scoring for Caen, before Santini assisted on Yahn Karamoh’s goal in the 50th minute. Caen drops to 15th after dropping two points, while Nice remains in third place.
Marseille cruised to back-to-back league wins after a 3-0 home success on Friday against Angers. Florian Thauvin’s brace helped Rudi Garcia’s side to the win, after the forward capped the scoring in the 77th minute. Remy Cabella’s 20th minute finish made it 2-0 for the hosts after Thauvin’s long-range goal kicked off the scoring nine minutes in. Marseille keeper Yohann Pele made seven saves in the clean sheet, while Angers fell for the first time since Feb. 5th.
Monaco made it three consecutive league wins after a 2-1 home win against Bordeaux on Saturday. Kylian Mbappe’s 68th minute opener gave the hosts a 1-0 advantage before Joao Moutinho’s long-range effort six minutes later extended Monaco’s lead to 2-0. Diego Rolan’s sixth league goal of the season made things interesting in the 84th minute, but the hosts were able to hold on for three points. Monaco remains in the top spot, holding a three point lead over second-place PSG. Bordeaux drops to sixth place, sitting seven points off of the final European spot in Ligue 1.
Saint-Etienne fought back twice for a 2-2 draw against visiting Metz on Sunday at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Loic Perrin’s 95th minute header gave Saint-Etienne a point after Metz took two leads prior to that. Simon Falette’s 67th minute goal had Metz in front 2-1 after 67 minutes. Robert Beric had leveled the score at 1-1 in the 53rd, after Ismalia Sarr’s first minute long-range effort opened the scoring for Metz. Perrin’s fourth goal of the season gave Saint-Etienne their second consecutive draw in league play. For the second match in a row, Metz saw a lead slip in second-half stoppage time.
Nice 2 – Caen 2
Marseille 3 – Angers 0
Monaco 2 – Bordeaux 1
Nancy 1 – Lille 2
Montpellier 2 – Nantes 3
Rennes 1 – Dijon 1
Guingamp 5 – Bastia 0
Saint-Etienne 2 – Metz 2
Lyon 4 – Toulouse 0
Lorient 1 – Paris Saint-Germain 2