Livin’ La Liga Loca

BUNDESLIGA

This week in the Bundesliga there was an array of score lines which caught the eye, and there’s only one place for us to start, Eintracht Frankfurt versus Bayern Munich. Pre game the home side were fourteen points behind Thomas Tuchel’s men and this gap was only expected to increase. But that wasn’t the case. Frankfurt hit Bayern with three goals in twenty-five minutes, Kimmich getting a consolation for Bayern just before half-time in a game which concluded 5-1 to Frankfurt. This was Munich’s first loss of their league campaign. This loss gave Leverkusen the chance to go six points clear, however Stuttgart ensured Xabi’s side only picked up a single point. 

There was another clash within the top six too, with Dortmund hosting RB Leipzig on Saturday night. Goals from Christoph Baumgartner and Yussuf Poulsen, as well as an own goal, was enough to grab a 3-2 victory in Dortmund. This allowed Leipzig to stretch their lead over their opponents to four points. At the other end of the table Union Berlin got their first victory in sixteen games as they took home all three points in a 3-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach. 

LA LIGA

The weekend kicked off in La Liga on Friday night when Getafe hosted Valencia. The game was a fairly quiet one until the last ten minutes. Yes, Valencia were already down to ten-men after Gabriel Paulista was shown a second yellow but in the final ten Borja Mayoral scored to win it for Getafe, while both sides saw red as Javier Guerra and Domingos Duarte were given their marching orders. At the top end of the table Real Madrid faced Real Betis as the home side picked up what many would see as an unexpected point in a 1-1 draw vs Los Blancos – and yes, Jude Bellingham scored again.

On Sunday Atletico Madrid hosted Almeria who sit bottom of the pile. Diego Simeone’s side scored two in five minutes as Álvaro Morato and Ángel Correa put them ahead, many would’ve expected more goals after this but Almeria kept it low, with a goal from striker Léo Baptistão meaning the game finished only 2-1. The most highly anticipated game of the weekend was Barcelona vs Girona, and after Madrid’s draw Michel’s side had the opportunity to go top. And they took it. A 4-2 win over Xavi’s side means Girona are now top of La Liga, two points ahead of Real Madrid, and seven over this weekend’s opponents, Barcelona. Could they go all the way?

SERIE A

Over in Serie A both of the two teams leading the pack, Inter Milan and Juventus, won their games this weekend. Juventus got an important win over Napoli after a single goal from Federico Gatti separated the sides, while Inter Milan put four past Udinese to keep them top of the table. It looks like the title race is going to be between Simone Inzaghi’s and Massimiliano Allegri’s sides, both sides are currently unbeaten in over ten games across all competitions. 

Slightly further down the table Roma faced off against Fiorentina, despite Roma ending the game with only nine men on the field they still managed to grab a 1-1 draw as they moved up into fourth in the table. Elsewhere, Atalanta faced AC Milan. It was a busy game. Ademola Lookman gave the home side an advantage twice but both times this lead was taken away after equalisers from Olivier Giroud and Luka Jović. Going into the final minutes it looked like the game was going to end all square but it wasn’t to be, a red card fro Davide Calabria and a goal from Luis Muriel in the ninety-fifth minute meant Atalanta were victorious.

LIGUE 1

Let’s start at the top of the table in France. Paris Saint-Germain defeated Nantes 2-1 as Bradley Barcola and Randal Kolo Muani scored to lead them to victory.  Luis Enrique’s side are now four points ahead of Nice in second place. Nice also picked up three points as they hosted Stade Reims. The game finished 2-1, with goals from Gaëtan Laborde and Jérémie Boga. For Franceso Faioli’s side the most important thing they can do is stay close to PSG.

At the bottom of the table Lyon picked up only their second win of the season as they defeated Toulouse 3-0. Alexandre Lacazette is the man to thank for this as it was his hat-trick that won the game for them, fans will be hoping he can keep this up as before the game their front man had only scored three in eleven! Unfortunately though Lyon still sit bottom after Clermont Foot managed to hold Lille to a draw, this was a game most would’ve anticipated Lille to win.