It's another weekend of exciting activities across Europe. Once again, we're back with a review of all the sights, sounds, and drama that has transpired.
In Spain, Real Madrid moved closer to the La Liga title with a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad, but in Serie A, Juventus and AC Milan played out a lackluster 0-0 draw. Bayer Leverkusen remain unbeaten in the Bundesliga after a dramatic 2-2 draw with VfB Stuttgart, but the real spectacle was in Leipzig, where Marco Rose's side beat Borussia Dortmund by four points. Ta.
Let's take a look back at what happened across the continent this weekend.
– Stream on ESPN+: La Liga, Bundesliga and more (US)
saturday review
Güler scores and Madrid extend their lead.
“Arda Güler will get the minutes he wants,” manager Carlo Ancelotti said this week. On Friday, the Real Madrid manager was true to his word. The 19-year-old made his first league start away at Real Sociedad, scoring the goal that gave Madrid a 1-0 win and extended their lead at the top of La Liga.
Guler has had to be patient this season. A pre-season meniscus injury interrupted his start to life at the Santiago Bernabéu, followed by two muscle problems that kept him out until January. Since then, Ancelotti's reluctance to introduce an immature teenager to a team aiming to win La Liga and the UEFA Champions League has required more patience.
The playmaker scored his first goal for Madrid off the bench against Celta Vigo on 10 March, and a week later, against Osasuna, he almost scored the goal of the season by hitting the bar from the halfway line. ESPN reported that some at Madrid feel Ancelotti should have given the teenager more chances to prove himself.
Those voices would have been pleased with Guler's contribution in San Sebastian. His goal in the 29th minute was a cool finish, turning Dani Carvajal's cross into the crotch of keeper Alex Remiro for the first time. Before that, Guler had been cautioned for arguing with the referee. Afterwards, he displayed a deceptive strength that rivaled defender Robin Le Normand. In the second half, he had two shots from distance and was substituted in the 68th minute.
Güler's performance in the 2023-24 season is 6 La Liga appearances (1 start and 5 substitute appearances) and 2 goals, marking a spectacular comeback in his limited playing time. Ta. His development may be best served by playing weekly on loan next season, but Ancelotti won't listen to that. “Arda will be a very important player for us in the future,” the coach said after the match. “I have no doubt he will be with us next year as well.” — Alex Kirkland
Arda Güler's first-half goal sealed the victory for Real Madrid
Real Madrid played against Real Sociedad with multiple starting pitchers and won 1-0.
Saturday league topics
Dortmund collapse against Leipzig just days before facing PSG in the Champions League
RB Leipzig comfortably defeated Borussia Dortmund in the battle for fourth place in the Bundesliga table on Saturday afternoon, increasing the gap between the two teams to five points with three games remaining.
Four days before their Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain, fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund could not afford to rest their key players. However, Emre Can and Ian Maassen missed the match in eastern Germany due to suspension.
Before Saturday's match, RB Leipzig had won four of the last five meetings with Dortmund, with Leipzig's intense pressing style often nullifying BVB's efforts in possession. During the first quarter, the dynamic between the two teams looked very familiar. Dortmund credited their two centre-backs, Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck, for getting through the first half of the game without conceding a goal.
All hell broke out on both ends of the pitch as Jadon Sancho scored the winning goal for the visitors. However, Leipzig capitalized on their chances and led 2-1 at half-time. Immediately after the break, Dortmund were again caught off guard as Leipzig moved forward down the field at a fast pace, setting up Mohamed Simakan's goal. Just when it looked like things couldn't get any worse for BVB, Hummels was forced off with what appeared to be a muscular injury, putting his participation in Wednesday's match against Paris in jeopardy.
A lackluster Dortmund side failed to fight back in the second half. Leipzig continued to increase their attacking danger and added a fourth goal in the 80th minute. Dortmund have played better than usual in Champions League matches this season, but this performance in an important league match does not bode well for a possible matchup against a Kylian Mbappé-inspired PSG team. do not have.
Dortmund's chances of finishing fourth in the Bundesliga are now incredibly slim with Leipzig currently leading by five points. However, the Bundesliga will earn a fifth spot in next year's Champions League, mainly thanks to the strong performances of Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Dortmund in this season's European competitions. — Konstantin Ekner
Juve and Milan played out an unforgettable draw
Once again, this season's Serie A was fantastic. Inter Milan are great champions, Bologna and coach Thiago Motta are a great revelation, Atalanta are a breath of fresh air, Fiorentina are fun to watch and Daniele De Rossi is a pleasant surprise for Roma. Ta. It was a great game, a great derby and some late drama. And then there was Juventus vs. Milan on Saturday. The most disappointing 0-0 draw of the season. The 90 minutes between a Turin team, who had an average performance (and let's put it kindly) all season, and an Milan team, who hadn't won any of their last four games and suffered a historic defeat, was a big deal. That never happened. Derby della Madonnina Monday to crown their biggest rival and neighborhood champion.
Christian Pulisic and his teammates are second in the table and their only goal in this match was simply not to lose. They played to a 0-0 draw and emerged victorious. They couldn't create anything, with zero shots on target and only 0.31 expected goals.
Juventus at least tried a little harder. They saved two big chances, one from Marco Sportiello with a great acrobatic move in front of Danilo and one from Arkadiusz Milik with a header.of bianconeri We didn't do well in the first half, but we needed to push a little more after the break. Given their current form, with just two wins in their last nine games, third place is by no means guaranteed. They are 3 points behind 4th place Bologna and 7 points behind 5th place Roma, with both teams having a game in hand, while they are 11 points behind 6th place Atalanta with 2 games left. ing. With four games still left, this could be a very tense end to the season for them! And Saturday's match did not bode well for manager Max Allegri's future at the club. This team and this club won't go anywhere with him at the helm.
For Milan, it's all about how they finish this season after the disappointment of recent weeks, losing to Roma in the Europa League quarter-finals and conceding the title to Inter. Manager Stefano Pioli is also under pressure about his future at the club, and today's performance probably didn't do much for him. — Julian Lawrence
Americans Abroad: Sargent Scores, Americans in Italy Disappoint
Saturday's big highlight from overseas USMNT players came from England, with Josh Sargent scoring in Norwich City's 2-2 draw with Swansea City, with the striker leading the way for the EFL champions. He scored 16 goals with the ship.
With this goal, he became the top American scorer in England's second division, one goal ahead of Coventry City's Hadji Wright. The Canaries currently sit fifth in the league table, have qualified for the play-offs, and are aiming to join Leicester City and another team in England's First Division next season, remaining They are aiming for promotion to the Premier League.
Sara🔗Sarge pic.twitter.com/ZcUQwut9Cy
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) April 27, 2024
Meanwhile, in Italy, a major incident involving the United States occurred as Juventus (Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie) competed against AC Milan (Christian Pulisic and Yunus Moussa), two of Serie A's historic giants.
However, the match ended up being just a boring game as both teams ended in a scoreless draw. This means that Milan remain in second place, below newly crowned neighbors Inter, but are five points ahead of Juve as both teams aim to qualify for next season's Champions League. There will be. — Roberto Rojas
news of the day
And finally on Saturday…
Unbeaten in 46 games in all competitions. Germany's new Bundesliga champions, Bayer Leverkusen, came from behind to beat VfB Stuttgart 2-2 at home, before snatching another result at the last minute to keep their unbeaten run at 46 games, an insane number that continues to rise. ing.
The game looked to be going the visitors' way in the second half, as Chris Furych and Deniz Undav scored twice in 10 minutes, meaning Xabi Alonso's unbeaten run ended at the near end. Bundesliga season. However, we're talking about Bayer Leverkusen here. They have done the same thing over and over again in the league and in the Europa League, so they won't give up.
Leverkusen equalize in the final minute to maintain their unbeaten Bundesliga season
Robert Andrich scored in the final seconds of stoppage time to equalize for Bayer Leverkusen and maintain their unbeaten season in the Bundesliga.
A goal from Amine Adli in the 29th minute gave Leverkusen hope back and they kept attacking and putting pressure on Stuttgart until the final ball in the 96th minute. From a free kick, the ball was found by Robert Andrich and he fired a shot. They scored the next goal in the back to secure the win and maintain the team's winning streak heading into next week's Europa League semi-final match against Roma.
An even crazier statistic? Bayer Leverkusen have now scored the equalizer or the winner in stoppage time on 10 different occasions. That's an insane amount of money coming off a historic season with perhaps three trophies. However, his undefeated record continues. — LOHAS