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[March 20, 2023]
(Reuters) - Talking points from the weekend in European
soccer leagues:
BARCELONA TAKE HUGE STEP TOWARDS LALIGA TITLE
Barcelona have tightened their grip at the top of the LaLiga
standings after an electric 2-1 comeback win in an El Clasico
against bitter rivals Real Madrid on Sunday.
Franck Kessie's stunner in added time gave Barca a well-earned
victory that left second-placed Real trailing the leaders by 12
points with only 12 games to be played.
Only a major letdown would take the title away from Barcelona, who
are set to lift their first LaLiga title in four years.
It is also a major boost in confidence to Barcelona who earned their
third consecutive win in all competitions against their bitter
rivals for the first time in over a decade.
They will host Real Madrid again in two weeks in the second leg of
their Copa del Rey semi final tie after winning 1-0 away at Santiago
Bernabeu.
With Real having to share their focus on their Champions League
quarter final tie against Chelsea in their effort to win
back-to-back European championships, Barca are starting to dream
with the LaLiga and Copa del Rey double.
FEYENOORD LOOK ODDS-ON FOR DUTCH TITLE
Feyenoord exorcised their Amsterdam demons on Sunday as they claimed
a first league win at Ajax in 18 years in ‘De Klassieker’ to open up
a six-point lead over their bitter rivals at the top of the
Eredivisie table.
Chasing a first championship since the 2016-17 season, Feyenoord
showed immense character to come from 2-1 down and claim victory in
a five-goal thriller that at times threatened to boil over in the
first half.
Indeed, Feyenoord coach Arne Slot made the decision to remove
Quilindschy Haartman from the game after only 24 minutes with the
fullback on a yellow card and final warning from referee.
It was shrewd management at a time when Ajax were well on top the
game and Feyenoord losing their heads, but once the visitors
settled, they proved the better side in the second half.
MORE UGLY SCENES FOR DUTCH FOOTBALL
The Eredivisie match between Groningen and Heerenveen was stopped
for around 25 minutes late on when a fan of the
relegation-threatened home side tried to enter the pitch, seemingly
to berate his own team, who were trailing 2-0.
The disturbance in the stands grew and as Groningen players went
over to speak with the section of the supporters, defender Jetro
Willems was struck by a fan, though he appeared unhurt.
The referee took the players from the pitch and they later returned
when the situation had calmed down to complete the game. Willems
played the full 90 minutes as Heerenveen won with no further goals
scored.
It is yet another incident of hooliganism in Dutch football that has
seen a number of unsavoury incidents over the years.
DORTMUND FORM
Dortmund have steeled themselves for their upcoming Der Klassiker
against Bayern Munich with a 6-1 demolition over Cologne.
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Soccer Football - LaLiga - FC Barcelona
v Real Madrid - Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain - March 19, 2023 FC
Barcelona's Franck Kessie celebrates scoring their second goal with
teammates REUTERS/Juan Medina
With teams going into a one-week international
break, the Ruhr valley club, who have won nine of 10 league games in
2023, could not have hoped for a better result before their April 1
big match in Munich that could go a long way in deciding this
season's champions.
"We will be well prepared," talismanic captain Marco Reus said. "It
will be a great match." He was not yet with Dortmund when they last
won the Bundesliga title in 2012.
NAPOLI CRUISE WHILE MILAN STUMBLE AGAIN
Napoli moved 19 points clear at the top of Serie A to effectively
put one hand on the title with 11 games to play after Victor Osimhen
and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored yet again in a 4-0 win over Torino
- their 10th win in 11 games.
Osimhen's double took his tally to 21 goals, becoming only the
fourth Napoli player to score more than 20 goals in a Serie A
campaign, while Kvaratskhelia is the first player in Italy to put up
double figures for goals (12) and assists (10) this season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the oldest goal scorer in Serie A history
but reigning champions AC Milan saw their Champions League hopes
dented following a 3-1 loss to Udinese amid a poor run of form where
they have lost five of their last nine games.
Stefano Pioli's side could have moved up to second place with a win
at Udinese but the defeat left them in fourth with 48 points after
Sunday's results.
Inter Milan suffered their third defeat in four Serie A games as
they were beaten 1-0 by Juventus, who retained a minor chance of
ending up in the top four despite their 15-point deduction.
Inter dropped to third behind Lazio, who won the derby against AS
Roma 1-0.
MESSI WALKS OUT ON PSG FANS AFTER DEFEAT
Paris St Germain were lucky enough to enjoy the continued support of
their fans during their 2-0 home defeat against Stade Rennais on
Sunday - their first at home in Ligue 1 this season, but only a few
players went to the Auteuil kop to greet them after a dismal
display.
Kylian Mbappe was one of them after the France forward was denied
twice by Rennes keeper Steve Mandanda, but Lionel Messi, who looked
nothing like the player who inspired Argentina to the World Cup
title last December, walked straight to the dressing room, as did
the disappointing Marco Verratti.
PSG lead the standings on 66 points from 28 games with a seven-point
advantage over Olympique de Marseille, who ended Stade de Reims's
19-game unbeaten streak in the league with a 2-1 away win courtesy
of an Alexis Sanchez double.
(Reporting by Nick Said, Karolos Grohmann, Rohith Nair, Hritika
Sharma, Fernando Kallas; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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