Naughty Neymar costs Barcelona
Neymar dealt a self-inflicted blow to Barcelona’s Spanish league title defense when he was sent off with 25 minutes left in its 2-0 loss at Malaga yesterday.
Barcelona failed to take advantage of the opportunity
EUROPEAN SOCCER
Atletico Madrid gave it to pull level with leader Real Madrid, where Antoine
Griezmann’s late equalizer grabbed a 1-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu hours earlier.
Barcelona’s setback in Malaga meant Real increased its lead to three points despite the disappointing finish to the Spanish capital derby.
Blues hold serve
Chelsea answered Tottenham’s win with its own by beating Bournemouth 3-1 to restore its sevenpoint lead in the English Premier League.
Tottenham, Chelsea’s only remaining title rival, applied pressure by defeating Watford 4-0 hours earlier.
But Chelsea got going early through a fortuitous own goal and Eden Hazard’s calm finish. Josh King pulled one back for Bournemouth, only for Marcos Alonso’s stunning free kick to seal victory for Chelsea.
Bayern cruises
Robert Lewandowski scored twice against his former side to help German Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich warm up for Real Madrid by downing Borussia Dortmund 4-1.
Lewandowski scored with a free kick and a penalty to take his tally to a Bundesliga-leading 25 goals, overtaking Dortmund counterpart Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
However, Lewandowski was forced off with an apparent right shoulder injury, leading to concerns over his fitness for Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal in Munich on Wednesday.
Higuain two good
Gonzalo Higuain scored twice to lead Juventus past Chievo Verona 2-0 in Italy’s Serie A. Juventus moved nine points clear of secondplace Roma, which visits Bologna today.