European roundup: Bayern Munich held at home by RB Leipzig
The Bundesliga leaders, Bayern Munich,drew 0-0 with visiting RB Leipzig on Sunday, missing their chance to increase their lead at the top of the table, with their opponents staying a point behind in second place.
Bayern, top on 43 points, enjoyed possession in a dominant first half but failed to score despite chances for Robert Lewandowski.
Leipzig, without a win now in their last four games in all competitions, waited patiently for their chances and they got them after the break but both Marcel Sabitzer and Timo Werner fired wide to squander golden scoring opportunities.
Leipzig’s keeper, Peter Gulacsi, then tipped Leon Goretzka’s effort wide in the 80th minute, in Bayern’s best chance of the second half.
Sunday’s only other game between Borussia Mönchengladbach, who are fourth on 39 points, and Cologne was postponed due to a storm warning.
La Liga leaders, Real Madrid, continued their rampant form by coming from behind to win 4-1 at Osasuna for a fifth consecutive league victory.
Zinedine Zidane’s side were reeling from a 4-3 home defeat by Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey on Thursday and started badly when Unai Núñez gave Osasuna the lead in the 14th minute with a diving header from a corner.
Real showed little sign of panic, however, and the midfielder Isco equalised in the 33rd minute with a volley before the captain, Sergio Ramos, put them in front five minutes later with a header from close range after a flick-on from Casemiro.
Two substitutes, Lucas Vazquez and Luka Jovic, stretched Real’s lead later on.
Lionel Messi produced a hat-trick of assists as Barcelona pulled off a gutsy 3-2 win away to Real Betis in La Liga after trailing twice in an enthralling match as the coach, Quique Setien, enjoyed a winning return to his former club.
The French defender Clement Lenglet headed home the decisive goal in the 72nd minute from a Messi freekick but was then sent off for two bookings, moments after Betis’s Nabil Fekir had been dismissed for earning two yellow cards.
Barcelona had fallen behind in the sixth minute to a penalty from Sergio Canales, after a VAR review showed Lenglet had handled the ball, but the Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong promptly equalised with the help of a lofted pass from Messi.
Betis restored their lead with a strike from the World Cup-winning forward Fekir in the 26th minute but Barcelona struck back again right before half-time when Messi found Sergio Busquets with a free-kick and the midfielder converted from close range.
The win allowed second-placed Barcelona to cut the deficit to Real Madrid back to three points.
Second-half substitute Edinson Cavani rediscovered his scoring touch as Paris Saint-Germain beat Olympique Lyonnais 4-2 to edge closer to a seventh Ligue 1 title in eight years.
The Uruguay striker, Cavani, struck his first goal in almost six months after being barely used on his return from injury. His goal completed the win to put PSG on 61 points from 24 games.
Thomas Tuchel’s side, who also scored through Angel Di Maria, Kylian Mbappé and a Fernando Marcal own goal, lead second-placed Olympique de Marseille by 12 points.
Lyon, who hit back with goals by Martin Terrier and Moussa Dembélé, are in ninth place on 33 points, eight behind Stade Rennais who hold the last Champions League qualifying spot.