Girona regained their position at the top of La Liga by defeating Barcelona 4-2 on Sunday. This marked Barcelona’s second loss of the season and was a blow for Xavi Hernández’s team.
In the 12th minute, Artem Dovbyk scored for Girona with a shot that hit the bottom of the post and went in. Seven minutes later, Robert Lewandowski tied the game with a header after a corner kick.
Miguel Gutiérrez regained the advantage for Girona before the break and Valery Fernández extended their lead to 3-1 in the 80th minute. Ilkay Gündogan narrowed the deficit for Barça, but Cristhian Stuani scored their fourth goal in added time.
Girona top the table with 41 points from 16 games. Barcelona are fourth on 34 points, level with third-placed Atletico Madrid.
The La Liga match between Granada and Athletic Bilbao was abruptly ended due to a fan experiencing a heart attack in the stands, as confirmed by both teams.
The match was halted in the 17th minute due to paramedics attempting to revive a fan. It was ultimately called off after an hour. La Liga stated that the date for the game to continue, with Bilbao ahead 1-0 thanks to a goal from Iñaki Williams in the sixth minute, will be announced shortly.
In a match against Almería, Atlético Madrid secured a 2-1 win with goals from Álvaro Morata and Ángel Correa in the first half. This loss extends Almería’s record of not winning a league game for 16 consecutive matches. The win puts Atlético in third place, tied with Barcelona at 34 points.
Unfortunately, Antoine Griezmann’s goal was disallowed due to an offside call by VAR. However, he was able to assist his team in taking the lead in the 17th minute by regaining possession of the ball near the opposing team’s goal. He then passed it to Morata, who skillfully maneuvered past the goalkeeper and scored.
Correa scored a second goal after five minutes, with an assist from Marcos Llorente who crossed the ball from the side for Correa to tap in from a short distance. This was another successful scoring play coordinated by Griezmann.
Almería reduced the margin by half with a goal from Léo Baptistão, who found the back of the net just after the 60-minute mark. The Brazilian striker took advantage of a loose ball after Atlético’s Jan Oblak made a save.
Almería, the sole team in La Liga who has not yet secured a victory this season, had opportunities in the second half to tie the game, but Oblak remained strong and prevented the opposing team from scoring. This allowed Diego Simeone’s squad to bounce back from their loss to Barcelona last weekend and claim a win.
Bayer Leverkusen, who are currently at the top of the Bundesliga, had a 1-1 tie against Stuttgart, who are in third place. This was their second consecutive draw, but they still managed to widen their lead to four points.
Xabi Alonso’s squad, the only undefeated team in the Bundesliga this year, now has 36 points. Bayern Munich, in second place, has 32 points and still has one game to play, despite their 5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. Stuttgart stays in third place with 31 points. Leverkusen’s undefeated streak across all competitions this season extends to 22 consecutive games.
Stuttgart gained the advantage with five minutes remaining in the first half when Chris Führich scored from nearby.
Leverkusen equalized just two minutes into the second half when Granit Xhaka passed to Victor Boniface on the left side, who then crossed the ball to Florian Wirtz for a volley and Germany’s goal.
Roma tied 1-1 with Fiorentina at their home stadium in Serie A on Sunday, despite being down a player for most of the second half due to the ejections of Nicola Zalewski and Romelu Lukaku.
In the fifth minute, Lukaku scored the first goal with a well-executed diving header from a close distance, thanks to a precise cross from Paulo Dybala. In the 64th minute, midfielder Zalewski received his second yellow card, but two minutes later, Fiorentina managed to equalize when Lucas Quarta scored with a header from a cross.
Lukaku made a sliding tackle on Fiorentina’s Christian Kouamé and received a straight red card with only three minutes left on the clock. Roma currently holds the fourth spot in the standings with 25 points, 13 points behind the top-ranked team, Internazionale. Fiorentina sits in seventh place with 24 points.
Nice regained their position as second in Ligue 1 thanks to a winning goal from Jeremie Boga in their 2-1 victory against Reims at home. After Monaco’s 2-1 triumph over Stade Rennes on Saturday, Nice had fallen to third place in the standings. However, with 32 points, they are now two points ahead of Monaco and four points behind the leaders, Paris Saint-Germain.
Lille and Clermont played to a scoreless tie, with goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier playing a crucial role in preventing the home team from scoring. Despite initially being under pressure from Lille, Clermont had some strong opportunities thanks to Chevalier’s impressive saves. In the 50th minute, Jim Allevinah nearly scored for Clermont, but his shot hit the post from a tough angle.
Source: theguardian.com
