European roundup: Leverkusen go 10 points clear, Napoli beat Juventus
Bayer Leverkusen went 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and continued their unbeaten run with a 2-0 win at struggling neighbours Köln, who went down to 10 men in the first half of a hotly contested derby on Sunday.
Köln had Jan Thielmann sent off after 14 minutes for stepping on the back of Granit Xhaka’s ankle and Leverkusen took the lead through Jeremie Frimpong in the 37th minute. The home side were still very much in the game until Álex Grimaldo scored his ninth league goal of the season in the 73rd minute.
Leverkusen, who have now gone 34 games without defeat in all competitions this season, are on 64 points. They extended their lead over secondplaced Bayern Munich after the champions drew 2-2 at Freiburg on Friday. Köln remain 16th on 17 points.
Giacomo Raspadori scored an 88thminute winner as Napoli beat Juventus 2-1 in Serie A to secure their first backto-back wins in five months and edge closer to the European qualification places.
Dusan Vlahovic should have given Juve an early lead from Federico Chiesa’s lofted pass across the face of the goal but the Serb’s header went narrowly wide. Napoli, who on Wednesday demolished Sassuolo 6-1 for their first win under new coach Francesco Calzona, had a golden chance in the 24th minute when Giovanni Di Lorenzo struck over the bar.
The hosts had more than 70% possession throughout the game but Juve had a number of great chances and Vlahovic hit the far post after chipping Alex Meret from a tight angle.
Wojciech Szczesny denied Khvicha Kvaratskhelia following a solo run but the Napoli winger put his side in front three minutes before half-time with a powerful volley that beat the keeper at his near post.
Chiesa levelled for Juventus in the 81st minute, driving the ball low into the far corner from the edge of the box but in a frantic finale Napoli won a penalty when Victor Osimhen was taken down inside the area. Szczesny did well to deny the Nigerian striker from the spot but Raspadori raced in to wrap up the points, firing home the rebound into the roof of the net from close range.
Napoli moved up to seventh in the standings on 43 points, three points behind sixth-placed Atalanta – who lost 2-1 at home to Bologna earlier on Sunday with Scotland’s Lewis Ferguson netting the winner – and four adrift of Roma in fifth.
Juventus’s defeat leaves them 12 points behind leaders Internazionale, who host Genoa on Monday, and only a point above third-placed Milan.
Italy forward Domenico Berardi exited Sassuolo’s 1-0 defeat at Hellas Verona in tears on Sunday with a suspected torn Achilles tendon, raising the prospect that he may miss Euro 2024.
Returning from a separate injury in January to his left knee, which required surgery in January, Berardi went down in the 58th minute after controlling an errant kick from the Verona goalkeeper, Lorenzo Montipò, and immediately grasped his right ankle. He had to be helped off the pitch by teammates.
Barcelona remain third in La Liga after being held to a 0-0 draw by Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.
A frustrating evening for Barça included midfielders Frenkie de Jong and Pedri coming off with injuries in the first half.
Xavi’s men are eight points behind leaders Real Madrid, who had drawn 2-2 at Valencia on Saturday. And they are a point behind second-placed Girona, whose 1-0 loss at Mallorca earlier on Sunday, via a first-half José Manuel Copete goal, had offered Barça the chance to climb the table.
Atlético Madrid secured a hardfought 2-1 home victory over Real Betis thanks to an own goal by Rui Silva and a header by Álvaro Morata as Diego Simeone’s side ended a three-game winless run in all competitions.
The hosts came into the match licking their wounds after a 3-0 defeat in the Copa del Rey semi-finals at Athletic
Bilbao in midweek, and in desperate need of a win to strengthen their grip on a top-four spot.
In Ligue 1, fifth-placed Nice lost 2-1 at Toulouse after conceding two second-half goals in quick succession. The visitors took the lead in the eighth minute through Terem Moffi, who scored from close range. Toulouse levelled in the 65th minute when Thijs Dallinga stretched to score from Warren Kamanzi’s low cross and four minutes later Yann Gboho controlled Dallinga’s cross before rifling a shot to the roof of the net.
Brest, who are second, beat visitors Le Havre 1-0 thanks to a firsthalf goal by midfielder Pierre LeesMelou to narrow the gap to the leaders, Paris Saint-Germain, to nine points. Lens won 3-0 at Lyon in the late game.