On Sunday, Marie-Louise Eta achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first woman to coach a Bundesliga game. She led Union Berlin to a win against Darmstadt.
The 32-year-old former Germany youth international was named as an assistant first-team coach for Die Eisernen earlier this season. She took charge of the Bundesliga strugglers for their home game against the bottom club, Darmstadt, with Nenad Bjelica starting his three-game suspension for shoving the Bayern Munich forward Leroy Sané in the face during a 1-0 loss on Wednesday.
Eta’s first time as captain of a team in the division resulted in a 1-0 win thanks to Benedict Hollerbach’s goal just after the 60th minute. As a member of the Women’s Champions League winning team Turbine Potsdam in 2010, Eta had previously coached in Union’s youth program. After finishing fourth last season, Union has struggled more this year, but their win against Darmstadt put them five points ahead of the relegation zone.
Niclas Füllkrug of Borussia Dortmund achieved a hat-trick in their 3-1 triumph at home against Bochum. This victory propels Dortmund into the top four, marking their third consecutive win in the league.
In La Liga, Girona regained first place with a 1-0 victory over Rafa Benítez’s Celta Vigo in Spain. This was made possible by Portu’s goal in the early stages of the first half and the impressive performance of their former Tottenham goalkeeper, Paulo Gazzaniga, who shined for the unexpected league leaders.
After 20 minutes, Girona scored their first goal when Portu launched a powerful shot from close range that the Celta goalkeeper, Vicente Guaita, couldn’t stop. Girona currently holds the top spot with 55 points in 22 games, one point ahead of Real Madrid in second place. Real Madrid, who have a game in hand, will face Getafe on Thursday. The two teams will meet at Santiago Bernabéu in two weeks.
During the evening game in La Liga, Atlético Madrid achieved a confident 2-0 victory at home against Valencia, which pushed Diego Simeone’s team to third place with 44 points, ahead of Barcelona based on their goal difference.
In the Italian Serie A league, Internazionale regained their position at the top after defeating Fiorentina, who are currently in fifth place, with a score of 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lautaro Martínez in the early stages of the match. Inter, who were recently crowned champions of the Italian Super Cup for the third year in a row, now hold the top spot in the standings with 54 points, one point above second-placed Juventus who have played one more game.
Fiorentina thought they had taken the lead when the forward M’Bala Nzola nutmegged Yann Sommer in the 11th minute but the Angola striker was ruled to be offside. Martinez put Inter ahead three minutes later, nodding in a corner from a tight angle.
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On Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain surrendered their two-goal advantage and ended with a 2-2 tie against Brest at their home stadium. This prevented the hosts from widening their lead in Ligue 1. In the 38th minute, Marco Asensio scored the first goal of the match with a close-range volley from a superbly chipped pass by Bradley Barcola, marking his first league goal since September. Randal Kolo Muani then doubled the lead by tapping in a rebounded ball from close range, after Brest’s goalkeeper Marco Bizot had blocked Asensio’s shot right before half-time.
In the 55th minute of the second half, Brest scored a goal when Mahdi Camara’s shot from the penalty area deflected off PSG’s Danilo and went past Gianluigi Donnarumma. In the 80th minute, substitute Mathias Pereira Lage tied the game with an elegant backheel.
PSG, led by Luis Enrique, ended the match with 10 players after Barcola received a red card in added time. They are still in first place with 44 points, holding a six-point lead over second-place Nice. Brest sits in third with 35 points, just one point ahead of Monaco.
Source: theguardian.com
