Hat-trick Harry continues to break records in Germany

BUNDESLIGA

This weekend there was one result in the Bundesliga that no one could ignore. Bayern Munich beating Mainz 8-1. Thomas Tuchel’s side may not be having their best season but they certainly turned up this Saturday. Three men in particular starred in this win, Golden Boot favourite Harry Kane, young superstar Jamal Musiala, and Mr Reliable, Leon Goretzka. Kane scored three to make it his fourth hat-trick of the season, a Bundesliga debut season record, and he’s still chasing Robert Lewandowski’s goal record too, but will need eleven goals in nine games to equal it. Can Harry do it in his debut season? Musiala and Goretzka both had brilliant games in midfield, grabbing three goals and four assists between them! 

Bayer Leverkusen picked up another win as they beat a 10-man Wolfsburg 2-0 to make it 36-games unbeaten after a shaky midweek draw to Qarabağ. All four of the teams chasing Champions League qualification won this weekend. Stuttgart and Leipzig with 2-0 victories over bottom half sides, while Dortmund edged past Werder Bremen with a 2-1 win. Frankfurt defeated Hoffenheim 3-1 as they beat the side in one place below them in seventh, an important win as this takes them six points above their opponents. Another game full of goals was Borussia Monchengladbach vs Köln. This one finished 3-3 with both Faride Alidou and Robin Hack grabbing doubles. Köln will be disappointed with this result after leading twice, both 1-0 and 2-1, as they needed the three points to try to pull away from the automatic relegation places. Although they did equalise once it was 3-2 they’ll be kicking themselves that they couldn’t get the win.

LA LIGA

Real Betis hosted Villareal this weekend, a game which fans anticipated being an action packed affair, and it didn’t disappoint. A fixture which has only seen two goalless games in the last 20 years and doesn’t look like it’ll see another one anytime soon. Villareal were the ones victorious this time around, beating Betis by a single goal in a 3-2 win. Betis however did lead 2-1 at half-time, a lovely goal from Willian José just before half-time giving them the advantage. It didn’t take long for Villareal to equalise again though, a curling ball into the box was met by former Arsenal man Sokratis who turned the ball into his own net to level the score. In the end though it was Alexander Sørloth who was the difference maker, he picked up his thirteenth goal of the season to make it eight games unbeaten for Villareal in La Liga. That wasn’t the end of the drama though as both Alberto Moreno and Chimy Ávila were given their marching orders after theatrics from the pair. This was Moreno’s second red card in only four days after seeing red versus Marseille in the week. 

The most surprising result of the weekend came in Cadiz. An Atletico Madrid side sat fourth in the table travelled to Cadiz for a game they would expect to win. However this wasn’t the case. A double from striker Juanmi won it for Cadiz as they ran out 2-0 winners in their first win for 190 days, a massive three points as they chase survival. Cadiz now only sit two points behind Celta Vigo and will believe they can stay up. This result gave Bilbao the chance to sneak up on the Champions League qualification spots, and they took it. Bilbao beat Las Palmas 2-0 to send them only two points away from Atletico Madrid in fourth spot, with much better form behind them as well. At the top of the table all of the top three won as the chase for the title continues. Real Madrid still lead the pack with Girona and Barcelona chasing behind. 

SERIE A

Cagliari and Salernitana were both sitting in the relegation zone heading into this weekend’s fixture, nothing less than a win was acceptable for either side. It was an eventful game, with six goals providing most of the entertainment. The first came after Gianluca Lapadula rounded goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and outwitted defender Konstantinos Manolas to find the back of the net. Cagliari went on to double their lead before half-time through Gianluca Gaetano on the counter attack, and then made it three shortly after the break after Eldor Shomurodov found the back of the net. Salernitana threatened a comeback after scoring two in two minutes before the hour mark, but it wasn’t enough. Shomurdov scored his second to make it 4-2 and three points for Cagliari, taking them out of the relegation zone and cementing Salernitana in it.

Elsewhere in Italy, Inter extended their lead to sixteen points at the top of the table after their 1-0 victory over Thiago Motta’s Bologna and Juventus dropping points to Atalanta in a 2-2 draw. Inter now need just fifteen points to win the title, they’ve currently won thirteen games in a row, if they win their next five in the league then they’ll be lifting the title in front of their city rivals, AC Milan. This loss shouldn’t dent Bologna’s confidence too much as their performance was strong and recent form indicates they should bounce back and continue to fight for their place in the top four. Juventus’ draw to Atalanta wasn’t entirely surprising, Juventus have only beaten Atalanta twice in the last six seasons (eleven league meetings), and over half of the meetings have ended with the points shared.

LIGUE 1

In an unsurprising turn of events Paris Saint Germain are leading the table over in France. They’re ten points ahead of second placed Brest as they look to win their third title in a row, which would be the third time they have achieved this feat. This weekend they hosted Reims, a side still with an outside chance of finishing in the European Qualification spots for next season. Reims were the side to strike first, Marshall Munetsi scoring after miscommunication at the back from PSG left the defence flailing. However it didn’t take long for the home side to reply, an own goal from Yunis Abdelhamid and a strike just two minutes later from Gonçalo Ramos put the Parisians ahead just before the twenty minute mark. That wasn’t it for the half though, with Oumar Diakité finding the bottom corner of Keylor Navas’ net in the last minutes of the first half to make it 2-2. Luis Enrique brought Kylian Mbappé on with less than twenty minutes to play in an attempt to win the game but it was too late, Oumar Diakité had already had the final say, the game finished all square. PSG have now drawn three in a row in the league, with Brest beginning to gain on the, is this down to the fact of Luis Enrique reducing Mbappé’s game time or is it just a coincidence?

Metz vs Clermont was the big game at the bottom of the table this weekend. With both still aiming for survival this was a huge six-pointer. Clermont win, they go level with Metz and five points away from automatic survival. Metz win, they would be only two points away from automatic survival and six ahead of Clermont. The latter was what occurred. Only one goal separated the two sides as Metz were victorious in a 1-0 win. This came from Maxime Colin nicking the ball off of Andy Pelmard who, unfortunately for him and his side, took out the Matz player and conceded a penalty. This was dispatched by Georges Mikautadze who put Metz ahead and in the end won them a massive three points! Next weekend Nantes host Strasbourg in a clash which could be pivotal in the survival race. Nantes sit in the relegation play-off place currently and Strasbourg only a point above, a draw again isn’t enough if either want to escape relegation. Watch out for this one!