European roundup: Bayer continue run, Real smash Celta, Mbappé benched
Unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen eased past 10-man Wolfsburg 2-0 to restore their 10-point lead at the top of the table and stay firmly on course for a first Bundesliga title.
Leverkusen are now unbeaten this season across all competitions, stretching their run to 36 games without defeat. Xabi Alonso’s team are on 67 points, with champions Bayern Munich in second. There are nine matchdays left in the season.
The visitors went down to 10 men following a second booking for Moritz Jenz. It did not take long for the hosts to make the extra man count.
Nathan Tella found enough space in the box to head in a perfect Álex Grimaldo cross in the 37th minute. Germany international Florian Wirtz made amends for an earlier miss, volleying in their second goal in the 87th to seal their win and set a new club record with a 25th consecutive league game without defeat.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid cruised to a 4-0 home win over relegationthreatened Celta Vigo to restore their seven-point lead at the top of the table with a dominant display.
Goals from Vinícius Júnior and Arda Guler, the 19-year-old’s first for the club, as well own goals from Celta’s Carlos Dominguez and goalkeeper Vicente Guaita sealed the victory for Real.
“I’m very happy, I’m trying to be at my best, it’s a good time of the season with good games and I want to continue like this, hopefully without injuries,” Vinícius said.
The Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 2-2 home draw by Reims after the PSG manager, Luis Enrique, left top scorer Kylian Mbappé on the substitutes’ bench.
PSG extended their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to 20 games but it was a third straight draw for the defending champions after Reims impressed despite an own goal. With both sides picking up a point, PSG extended their lead over second-placed Brest to 10 points while Reims are ninth with 35 points.
“I can only wish Kylian Mbappé the best; the best things for the future,” Luis Enrique said in a post-match interview as he continued to dodge questions about the club’s all-time top scorer. “He is a very good player but even more a good person, and I wish him only the best of the best.”
Mbappé has regularly played 90 minutes this season but has yet to play a full match for PSG since he informed the club last month that he would leave them as a free agent at the end of this season.
Reims shocked the league leaders by taking the lead in the seventh minute to silence the fans at the Parc des Princes after Oumar Diakité profited from an error from PSG’s Achraf Hakimi.
But PSG took little time to get the home crowd going again thanks to an own goal when a corner kick delivery into the box went in off defender Yunis Abdelhamid. Two minutes later, Gonçalo
Ramos gave PSG the lead when Lee Kang-in’s floated ball into the box was not cleared and it fell kindly to the Portuguese forward, who fired home to make it 2-1.
However Reims made it 2-2 when Diakité took advantage of PSG’s high line and beat the offside trap to latch on to Emmanuel Agbadou’s superb pass, then guide his shot past Keylor Navas in goal.
Enrique brought on both Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé – who tops the assists charts in the league with seven – in the 73rd minute as PSG looked for a winner but the introductions made no difference to the scoreline as Reims held on for a valuable point.
A goal from Diego Llorente in the dying moments of the match secured Roma a vital point in the Serie A topfour race as they drew 2-2 at FiorentinaLlorente was in the right place five minutes into stoppage time when a cross was nodded down for him to volley it into the far corner.
The result put Roma in fifth place in the standings with 48 points, three points behind Bologna, who occupy the fourth and last automatic Champions League qualification spot. Luca Ranieri put Fiorentina ahead after 18 minutes when he managed to get just ahead of his marker, heading in a flicked corner inside the far post. However, Roma equalised in the 58th minute when Houssem Aouar headed in from close range. Fiorentina went ahead again in the 69th minute when
Rolando Mandragora was played free inside the box, putting it away from a short distance, but Llorente silenced the home fans in stoppage time.
Earlier, a Christian Pulisic goal was enough to give Milan a 1-0 home win over struggling Empoli in Serie A. Pulisic’s shot was deflected by Sebastiano Luperto past the goalkeeper Elia Caprile, and although the flag was raised for an offside on Noah Okafor, after a VAR check, the American was awarded his eighth league goal of the season.
“I think I’m in my best shape, I’ve received a lot of trust from my teammates, the staff and the whole environment,” Pulisic told DAZN. “It’s a good feeling, both the three points and the goal, even if it was a bit lucky.”
Milan are on 59 points, two ahead of Juventus who host Atalanta later on Sunday, with Internazionale top on 75 points.