Erling Braut Haaland became the highest scoring Premier League player in a solitary season this century when his penalty set the tone for Manchester City’s 2-1 victory over Fulham. The win saw Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions wrest division leadership from Arsenal ahead of the Gunners’ Tuesday date with beleaguered London rivals Chelsea, who are winless in their last eight rubbers.
Haaland’s tally of 50 goals in all competitions, of which 35 have come in the league, are the fuel that’s driving City’s chase for an unprecedented treble. City lead England’s top flight with 76 points, one clear of Arsenal but with a game in hand; have already booked a place in next month’s FA Cup against Manchester United and face record European champions Real Madrid in a two legged mouth watering Champions League semifinal later this month.
Newcastle United cemented third place by battling from a goal down to overcome basement club Southampton 3-1 while Eric Ten Haag’s Carabao Cup winners, Manchester United, are red hot favourites to clinch fourth place after subduing Unai Emery’s rejuvenated Aston Villa 1-0. Brighton retain an outside chance of gatecrashing the Champions League positions. Roberto di Zerbi’s fast improving side were the weekend’s biggest winners, with their 6-0 obliteration of Wolves a club record in the competition.
Barcelona moved a step closer to winning their first Liga Santander title in four years when they pummeled Real Betis 4-0 at the Camp Nou. Xavi Hernandez’s Blaugrana possess a commanding eleven point cushion over Real Madrid with six games to go. Division leading scorer Robert Lewandowski was among the goal grabbers but his efforts to win the Pichichi, which is awarded to the top scorer, is under threat from current holder Karim Benzema, plunderer of a hat trick in Los Blancos’ 4-2 victory over Almeria.
In France, Paris Saint Germain’s Moroccan World Cup star Achraf Hakimi was sent off as the reigning Ligue One champions fell 1-3 to Lorient at the Parc des Princes. Defeat for Christopher Galtier’s Parisian moneybags saw their lead atop the standings slashed to five points by Igor Tudor’s Olympique Marseille, 2-1 winners over Auxerre. Monaco were the weekend’s biggest losers after falling 0-4 at home to Montpellier. Angers were relegated to Ligue 2 and they could be joined by Ajaccio who fell 0-3 at Lille Metropole and Troyes, 0-1 losers to Nice.
Across the Alsace region, Bayern Munich recaptured Bundesliga leadership with a 2-0 victory over bottom club Hertha Berlin. Thomas Tuchel’s ten time defending champions are a point clear of Edin Terzic’s Borussia Dortmund, who were held 1-1 by Bochum in a local derby. Urs Fischer’s Union Berlin stayed third despite drawing 0-0 with Xavi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, who are now unbeaten in 14 matches. Freiburg are level with Union Berlin on 56 points after toppling Koln 1-0.
With the destination of Scudetto already clear, Napoli’s 1-1 draw with Salernitana notwithstanding, there is a mad scramble for the three remaining Champions League positions. Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio suffered a second half meltdown to fall 1-3 at Inter Milan but remain second, a couple of points ahead of Juventus, who could only manage a 1-1 draw at Bologna. They are followed by San Siro based duo, AC Milan and Inter Milan, after Stefano Pioli’s reigning champions grabbed a last minute leveller at Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma, currently in fifth.
