Barcelona fought again to earn a 2-1 win at Elche on Sunday as a overdue penalty from Memphis Depay ensured they persevered their revival after a hard begin to the season.
Having fallen as little as 9th again in November, when former trainer Ronald Koeman was once sacked, Xavi Hernandez’s revitalised Barca have climbed into L. a. Liga’s height 3 with 48 issues, leapfrogging Actual Betis in 0.33 position.
Mid-table Elche opened the scoring proper ahead of half-time when Pedri attempted to transparent the ball however proficient a really perfect lend a hand to Fidel Chavez, who out-ran Dani Alves and scored with an angled shot simply inside of the fitting submit.
Former Manchester Town ahead Ferran Torres scored Barcelona’s first function
Ferran Torres scored the equaliser within the 61st minute after nice play from Ousmane Dembele down the fitting flank. His go was once deflected via Jordi Alba and the previous Manchester Town ahead, in the fitting position on the proper time, became it house from shut vary.
Barca’s winner got here after the video assistant referee noticed a handball from an Elche defender within the space and Depay rifled his penalty into the top-left nook.
In the meantime, Joao Felix scored two times as he helped Atletico Madrid earn a 3-1 win at Actual Betis, making sure they leapfrogged their competitors into fourth position within the standings.
Atletico are tied on 48 issues with third-placed Barcelona, who received 2-1 at Elche, despite the fact that the Catalans have a recreation in hand. Each groups path leaders Actual Madrid via 15 issues.
Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix celebrates after scoring
Betis, who began the weekend in 0.33 position, dropped under Barca and Atletico to 5th position with 46 issues from 27 video games.
Felix opened the scoring within the first minute with a close-range strike from an Angel Correa go.
Betis equalised simply ahead of the ruin when Cristian Tello fired house an angled shot from the threshold of the field.
Atletico ruled following the ruin. Felix scored his moment after Marcos Llorente led a handy guide a rough counter-attack ahead of crossing to the Portuguese, who made the overall contact from within the field.
Change Antoine Griezmann, who’s slowly running his long ago from harm, supplied the go that allowed Thomas Lemar to finish the 3-1 victory within the eightieth minute.
In different places, relegation-threatened Cadiz boosted their survival probabilities with a 2-0 win over Rayo Vallecano to transport inside one level of Seventeenth-placed Granada.
Serie A: Giroud function sends Milan again to summit
Olivier Giroud scored his winner for AC Milan
Olivier Giroud’s second-half function despatched AC Milan again to the tip of Serie A as they battled to a 1-0 win away at Napoli on Sunday.
Victory implies that Stefano Pioli’s table-toppers now have 60 issues, two forward of town competitors and reigning champions Inter – who’ve performed a recreation fewer – and 3 greater than Napoli in 0.33.
Probabilities had been few and a ways between in a frightened come upon, with the hosts simplest managing two pictures on the right track all the way through the 90 mins on the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
After a low-key first half of by which neither facet truly threatened, Giroud netted the one function of the sport as he became in Davide Calabria’s cross-shot 4 mins after the ruin.
Adam Ounas curled one large for Napoli and Hirving Lozano dragged an effort large overdue on as they attempted in useless to search out an equaliser.
Theo Hernandez and Alexis Saelemaekers had been denied via sensible saves from Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina at the counter within the final levels as they sought to seal the victory.
In the meantime, a first-half function from Alvaro Morata was once sufficient to present Juventus a 1-0 victory at house to Spezia in Serie A as they tightened their grip on a Champions League spot.
The hosts, who went shut at the 15 minutes mark via midfielder Arthur Melo, took the lead after 21 mins when the Brazilian latched directly to a deficient clearance from Spezia goalkeeper Ivan Provedel, choosing out Manuel Locatelli at the fringe of the field ahead of the Italian fed Morata, who netted his first league function since December.
Emmanuel Gyasi and Kevin Agudelo had been each denied via Wojciech Szczesny from shut vary after the ruin as Spezia sought some way again into issues.
Morata, in the meantime, overlooked a gilt-edged likelihood to seal the victory in stoppage time on the finish of the sport as Juventus held directly to safe the win.
Juve transfer onto 53 issues within the fourth and ultimate Champions League spot, the place they take a seat six issues above fifth-placed Atalanta, who’ve performed a recreation fewer.
Fiorentina had been made to rue a number of overlooked alternatives as they had been held to a 1-1 draw at house to Hellas Verona.
Best two issues separated the 2 groups, who had been each determined for a win to near in at the Eu puts.
Krzysztof Piatek fired Fiorentina forward within the tenth minute, however Gianluca Caprari equalized from the penalty spot for Verona 10 mins later.
On the different finish of the desk, Genoa drew 0-0 towards Empoli to transport inside seven issues of protection. Venezia additionally remained within the backside 3 as they misplaced 4-1 at house to Sassuolo. Torino drew 0-0 at Bologna.
Bundesliga: Hoffenheim move fourth with win over Cologne
Stefan Posch scored the one function as Hoffenheim beat Cologne 1-0, amid a bunch of overlooked probabilities via each groups, to transport as much as fourth within the Bundesliga, the remaining position for Champions League qualification.
Posch’s second-half function was once sufficient for the guests to stretch their profitable run to 4 video games and transfer two issues transparent of Leipzig and Freiburg after their 1-1 draw on Saturday. 9 rounds of fixtures stay.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine once more featured prominently within the Bundesliga. Cologne gamers wore jerseys with ‘Forestall Battle’ written at the entrance.
John Lennon’s ‘Consider’ was once performed across the stadium ahead of gamers and fanatics noticed a minute’s silence in unity with the sufferers.
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Highlights: Bayern Munich had been held to a 1-1 draw via Bayer Leverkusen within the Bundesliga on Saturday
Hoffenheim ahead Ihlas Bebou overlooked a number of excellent alternatives to attain, whilst Anthony Modeste overlooked the house group’s highest likelihood of the primary half of when he fired over with simplest the goalkeeper to overcome.
Bebou started the second one half of with a header towards the submit and Modeste had a function dominated out for offside ahead of Posch in spite of everything broke the impasse within the 61st minute when he headed in a go from Germany defender David Raum.
There have been additional overlooked probabilities for each groups, with Hoffenheim’s Christoph Baumgartner hitting the submit when it seemed more straightforward to attain. Cologne replace Tim Lemperle headed simply large in harm time.
The scheduled previous recreation between second-placed Borussia Dortmund and Mainz was once postponed on Friday to March 16 because of a coronavirus outbreak at house group Mainz.
Ligue 1: Monaco’s Martins sinks Marseille
Gelson Martins scored a moment half of winner as Monaco inflicted extra house distress on Marseille with a 1-0 victory of their Ligue 1 come upon on Sunday.
Martins reacted fastest to show the ball in after Kevin Volland’s shot crashed go into reverse the submit. The function was once to begin with flagged for offside however that call was once overturned via the Video Assistant Referee.
Marseille, who’ve received simplest 5 in their 14 house fits this season, stay in 0.33 position within the desk with 47 issues from 27 video games. They path leaders Paris Saint-Germain via 15 issues and are two in the back of second-placed Great.
Denis Bouanga scored the one function as St Etienne climbed out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 house win over Metz, whilst Troyes claimed a a very powerful victory of their bid for survival away at backside facet Bordeaux.
Bouanga had a first-half function dominated out via the Video Assistant Referee for handball, however there was once without a doubt about his effort on 52 mins as a deficient clearance landed at his ft and he thumped a shot into the again of the web.
Metz, who’re second-bottom within the desk, idea they’d a penalty within the final levels as Falaye Sacko dedicated a transparent foul on Farid Boulaya within the field, however referee Jeremy Stinat overturned the verdict after an infringement within the build-up was once noticed.
Troyes did their possibilities of staying up the arena of excellent after a 2-0 win at sick Bordeaux.
They’d a bit of of good fortune early on when Mama Balde’s penalty was once stored via house goalkeeper Gaetan Poussin, who then knocked the ball into the web together with his trailing leg for an personal function.
The guests added a moment with 5 mins final having been awarded a moment spot-kick, this time transformed via South Africa world Lebo Mothiba, who has not too long ago returned from nearly two years at the sidelines with harm.
Rennes moved as much as fourth with a 2-0 victory over Angers, their 0.33 win in succession however a 6th directly loss for his or her combatants that has noticed them tumble down the desk.
Benjamin Bourigeaud and Gaetan Laborde scored the targets for Rennes, who are actually some degree off the Champions League qualification puts.
They have got leapfrogged Strasbourg, who had been held to a 3rd successive draw via Reims. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde put Strasbourg in entrance, however Jens Cajuste equalised for the house facet with six mins final.
Nantes additionally stored their Champions League hopes alive with a 2-0 win at house to Montpellier. Objectives from Randal Kolo Muani and Willem Geubbels sealed the 3 issues. They climb to 6th, 5 issues in the back of third-placed Marseille.
Protecting champions Lille persevered their overdue push for a Eu spot via routing 10-man Clermont 4-0 to stick degree on issues with Nantes.
