European football round-up: Weekend results

 

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Spain's LaLiga

Real Madrid remain in control of LaLiga after goals from Karim Benzema, Isco and Nacho secured them a 3-0 win over Alaves at the Bernabeu.

Real took the lead through Benzema's strike in the 31st minute.

For much of the time thereafter Zinedine Zidane's men were far from convincing, and mid-table Alaves created several chances to equalise, only to be let down by poor finishing.

That profligacy was then punished late on, with Isco firing home Real's second in the 85th minute and Nacho heading in three minutes later, following up when Gareth Bale's free-kick came back off the bar.

Barcelona kept up the pressure on the leaders as they won 4-1 at struggling Granada.

Luis Suarez put Barca - without Lionel Messi for this game due to a one-match suspension - in front in the 44th minute with a sublime lobbed finish.

Granada sprung a surprise by levelling five minutes into the second half through Jeremie Boga, before fellow substitute Paco Alcacer restored the visitors' lead in the 64th minute.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men in the 82nd when Uche Agbo was sent off, and a minute later Ivan Rakitic's shot went in off Mathieu Saunier, with Neymar then adding a fourth for Luis Enrique's men in stoppage time, his 100th goal for the club.

It means the gap between second-placed Barca and leaders Real, who have a game in hand, is back to two points.

Also on Sunday, Valencia beat Deportivo 3-0 in one of their best displays of the season.

Ezequiel Garay put the hosts in front on 10 minutes and their advantage was doubled when Raul Albentosa put the ball in his own net.

Valencia remained in control throughout and their victory was capped by a stoppage-time goal from Joao Cancelo.

Sevilla slumped to their fourth La Liga game without a win after being held to a goalless draw at home by lowly Sporting Gijon.

Jorge Sampaoli's men remain stuck in fourth place after a dismal run of form which also saw them exit the Champions League against Leicester.

And it could have been even worse for the home side after referee Inaki Bikandi reversed a decision to award the visitors a penalty after a trip in the box after half an hour.

Bikandi initially pointed to the spot, only to realise one of his assistants had also raised his flag for offside against a Gijon player, giving the hosts a let-off.

Atletico Madrid's fourth successive victory in LaLiga took them up to third in the table.

Koke's fourth goal of the season in the 26th minute set Atletico on their way to a 2-0 win away to Malaga.

Diego Simeone's visitors were unable to add to their first-half advantage at La Rosaleda until defender Filipe Luis popped up with his first goal of the campaign - completing a fine move by expertly lifting the ball over Carlos Kameni with his left foot in the 74th minute.

Malaga, who had plenty of chances but have gone six matches without a win, dropped below Deportivo La Coruna to 16th on goal difference.

Villarreal's hopes of finishing in the top four suffered a fresh blow as they slumped to a 3-2 defeat at home to Eibar.

The Yellow Submarine lost to Las Palmas in their last match before the international break, and then received another setback on Saturday.

Villarreal scored first and last at El Madrigal through Roberto Soriano in the 18th and 89th minutes, but Eibar netted three times in between to claim a victory that moves them to within four points of their opponents.

Pedro Leon's hotly-disputed 48th-minute penalty brought the Basque side level, before goals from Kike and Takashi Inui put the game beyond Villarreal's reach.

Athletic Bilbao remained three points above Eibar thanks to first-half goals from Aritz Aduriz and Inaki Williams in a 2-1 win away to bottom-of-the-table Osasuna.

Aduriz had Ernesto Valverde's visitors in front by the 12th minute, and it was 2-0 when Williams struck just before the break

Osasuna had chances to get back in the match, though, and Sergio Leon made Bilbao sweat when he narrowed the deficit in the 79th minute.

But there was to be no equaliser for a team who have won just once all season - back in October away to Eibar - and they are still rooted to the bottom with just 11 points from 29 matches.

Real Sociedad's 1-1 draw at home to struggling Leganes took them up to fifth, a point above Villarreal.

Eusebio Sacristan's hosts surprisingly found themselves a goal down when Alexander Szymanowski's persistence paid off to give Leganes the lead just before the half-hour.

Juanmi levelled up seven minutes after the break, but Sociedad could not find the winner on a rainy evening in San Sebastian against opponents still languishing down in 17th place.

Villarreal's hopes of finishing in the top four of LaLiga suffered a fresh blow as they slumped to a 3-2 defeat at home to Eibar. 

The Yellow Submarine were left seven points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid after losing to Las Palmas in their last match before the international break and they received another setback on Saturday. 

Villarreal scored first and last at El Madrigal through Roberto Soriano's brace in the 18th and 89th minutes, but Eibar netted three times in between to claim a victory that moves them to within four points of their opponents. 

Pedro Leon's hotly-disputed 48th-minute penalty brought the Basque side level, before goals from Kike and Takashi Inui put the game beyond Villarreal's reach.   

Athletic Bilbao remained three points above Eibar thanks to first-half goals from Aritz Aduriz and Inaki Williams in a 2-1 win away to bottom-of-the-table Osasuna.

Aduriz had Ernesto Valverde's visitors in front by the 12th minute, and it was 2-0 when Williams struck just before the breakOsasuna had chances to get back in the match, though, and Sergio Leon made Bilbao sweat when he narrowed the deficit in the 79th minute.

But there was to be no equaliser for a team who have won just once all season - back in October away to Eibar - and they are still rooted to the bottom with just 11 points from 29 matches.mfl

Real Sociedad's 1-1 draw at home to struggling Leganes takes them up to fifth, a point above Villarreal.

Eusebio Sacristan's hosts surprisingly found themselves a goal down when Alexander Szymanowski's persistence paid off to give Leganes the lead just before the half-hour.

Juanmi levelled up seven minutes after the break, but Sociedad could not find the winner on a rainy evening in San Sebastian against opponents still languishing down in 17th place.   

On Friday, Jose Antonio Reyes sent Espanyol to a 2-1 turnaround victory after Javi Fuego had almost gifted the points to Real Betis. 

Former Arsenal forward Reyes snatched the 90th-minute winner as hosts Espanyol rallied having fallen behind to Ruben Castro's penalty with just 12 minutes to play. 

Fuego's foul had gifted Betis the late advantage, only for the midfielder to atone for his mistake with a smartly-taken equaliser just three minutes from time. 

Just when visitors Betis were ready to settle for a point having squandered victory, up popped Reyes to punish them still further, firing into the top corner after an assist from Alvaro Vazquez. 

Until that late rally, Espanyol had not even mustered a single clear-cut opening of any real note, leaving the hosts fretting on conceding the penalty that allowed Castro to blast his 10th league goal of the campaign.  

Italy's Serie A

Gonzalo Higuain failed to score on his long-awaited return to Napoli, where Serie A leaders Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw.

The Argentinian left Stadio San Paolo under a cloud in the summer, joining Napoli's title rivals Juve for 90 million euros on the back of a 36-goal season.

Higuain, who should be back in Naples again for a Coppa Italia semi-final showdown on Wednesday, was largely anonymous in the face of an extremely hostile reception from his former fan base.

Sami Khedira covered for Higuain's jitters by boosting Juve into a seventh-minute lead but Napoli were the better side throughout and managed to grab a deserved equaliser through Marek Hamsik on the hour mark.

The gap between the clubs remains 10 points, meaning Napoli stand little chance of catching the Bianconeri over the eight-game run-in. Only Roma retain an outside chance of denying Juve a sixth straight Scudetto.

Basement boys Crotone retain a glimmer of hope they can secure a shock survival in the top flight after beating Chievo 2-1 in Verona.

The promoted club were in 19th place with only 14 points heading into Sunday's match but a Diego Falcinelli winner boosted them to within five points of safety with eight games remaining.

Crotone took the lead through Gian Marco Ferrari six minutes after the break and, after Sergio Pellissier pegged them back, Falcinelli clinched the victory with a goal at the end of an 82nd-minute counter-attack.

Pescara remain bottom of the pile despite earning a point from a creditable 1-1 draw with AC Milan on the east coast.

Gabriel Paletta scored an early own goal by passing the ball back to teenage Rossoneri goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in a haphazard fashion, and Pescara were only denied a famous win by Mario Pasalic's 41st-minute equaliser.

Palermo went into this weekend's round of games determined to close the seven-point gap on 17th-placed Empoli, but they are still in dire straits following a 3-1 loss to Cagliari.

Diego Lopez's men took the lead through Giancarlo Gonzalez in the 26th minute, yet the Sardinian visitors to the Stadio Renzo Barbera would turn it around with a second-half brace from Artur Ionita and Marco Borriello's 14th league goal of the season.

Genoa, who are 12 points clear of the drop zone, look likely to avoid relegation but a 5-0 home hammering did little to appease their unhappy fans.

Alejandro Gomez was the destroyer-in-chief for upwardly-mobile Atalanta, for now up to fifth at the expense of Inter Milan.

The Argentinian grabbed a hat-trick to propel the Nerazzurri clear after Andrea Conti opened the scoring and Mauricio Pinilla was sent off for Genoa.

Italy Under-21 defender Mattia Caldara, who is owned by Juventus, was also on target at the Marassi.

Emiliano Moretti and Andrea Belotti scored late goals as Torino snatched a 2-2 draw with Udinese.

The hosts looked set to slide to their second defeat in three games when Jakub Jankto opened the scoring with a powerful 49th-minute drive.

Stipe Perica doubled Udinese's lead from close range in the 69th minute before Moretti struck in the 70th minute to give the home side hope.

Belotti grabbed the equaliser with seven minutes to go, and thought he had won it in stoppage time with a strike which was ruled out for offside.

Elsewhere, eighth-placed Fiorentina sustained their bid for Europa League football as substitute Khouma Babacar clinched a 1-0 win against Bologna.

Edin Dzeko set a new club record for Roma with both goals in a 2-0 victory over Empoli at the Stadio Olympico.

Dzeko now has 33 goals in all competitions this season - 23 in Serie A - which represents the most goals scored in a single campaign by a Giallorossi player, beating the previous mark of 32 shared by Francesco Totti, Rodolfo Volk and Pedro Manfredini.

He turned in the first with his knee from a corner after 12 minutes and then converted Mohamed Salah's knockdown at the back post in the 56th minute.

It might have been different had Empoli, now beaten in their last seven matches, been awarded a penalty early on after goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny brought down Mame Thiam. It should have been a spot-kick, but the forward was incorrectly flagged offside.

Roma's win puts a little pressure on Napoli and leaders Juventus ahead of their clash on Sunday night.

Earlier in the day, Lazio remained firmly in the race for Champions League qualification after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Sassuolo.

Domenico Berardi's penalty put the hosts ahead, but Ciro Immobile's strike before half-time - his 20th goal of the season - and an unfortunate own goal by Andrea Consigli with seven minutes remaining completed the turnaround for Simone Inzaghi's side.

Sassuolo, now without a win in five matches, losing four, almost rescued a point in injury time, but Lorenzo Pellegrini's header struck the frame of the goal.

Lazio stayed fourth in the table after extending their unbeaten run in Serie A to eight matches, including six victories, but have narrowed the gap on Napoli, who they host next weekend, to three points.     

Germany's Bundesliga

Mario Gomez plundered a hat-trick inside seven minutes as Wolfsburg saw a remarkable fightback victory over Bayer Leverkusen snatched from their grasp in a dramatic conclusion on Sunday.

The visitors, who ran out at the BayArena sitting in 15th place in the Bundesliga table, looked to be in deep trouble when Kevin Volland's 65th-minute strike handed the home side a 2-0 lead after Karim Bellarabi had opened the scoring before the break.

Striker Gomez halved the deficit with 10 minutes remaining when he headed home Jakub Blaszczykowski's cross and then repeated the feat three minutes later with Maximilian Arnold the provider.

He completed his treble from the penalty spot with three minutes remaining after Blaszczykowski had been felled by Benjamin Henrichs to send the travelling supporters into raptures, but their joy proved to be short-lived as substitute Kai Havertz spared Leverkusen's blushes with an 89th-minutre equaliser.

Florent Hadergjonaj blasted lowly Ingolstadt to just a sixth league win of the season over Mainz to keep their survival hopes alive.

The home side got off to the perfect start when defender Romain Bregerie headed them into a 10th-minute lead from Markus Suttner's cross, and they managed to hang on to their advantage until Marvin Matip's own goal dragged Mainz back into it with 19 minutes remaining.

But two minutes later, Hadergjonaj's shot from a tight angle flew past keeper Jonas Lossl and into the top corner to restore Ingolstadt's lead and secure a precious victory.

Academy graduate Thilo Kehrer earned Schalke their share of the spoils from the 150th Revierderby as Borussia Dortmund were held to a 1-1 draw.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's 24th Bundesliga goal of the season put Thomas Tuchel's Champions League hopefuls on the right track after the break at the Veltins-Arena.

But 24 minutes later 20-year-old Kehrer, making only his 11th senior start for the Gelsenkirchen club, ensured honours were even with a near-post finish to open his account in blue.

Dortmund's extremely faint hopes of catching league leaders Bayern Munich are all, but extinguished after the reigning champions hammered Augsburg 6-0 to leave BVB 18 points off the pace in fourth.

Robert Lewandowski helped himself to a hat-trick at the Allianz Arena, while Thomas Muller bagged a brace and Thiago Alcantra notched one.

It took Poland's Lewandowski only 17 minutes to get the ball rolling on his fifth treble of the season for club and country and he set up Muller for Bayern's second nine minutes before half-time.

The Bavarians let rip in the second half with Lewandowski scoring either side of Thiago's 62nd-minute strike, yet leaving Muller to add the gloss from a Jerome Boateng assist in the final exchanges.

Second-placed RB Leipzig are unlikely to bridge the 13-point gap on the runaway leaders, but they are certainly not showing any signs of slowing down, as their 4-0 home win over Darmstadt proves.

Naby Keita opened and closed the scoring against the basement boys, with Emil Forsberg and Willi Orban propelling the promoted club to their widest margin of top-flight victory since mid-September.

A return to the second division beckons for Darmstadt, who lost defender Sandro Sirigu to a red card.

Hamburg look set to pull clear of danger, however, after the northerners made it three wins from four with a 2-1 success against Cologne.

Nicolai Muller's opener was cancelled out by Milo Jojic, but a second-half stoppage-time strike from Lewis Holtby got Hamburg over the line.

Werder Bremen ran out 5-2 victors at Freiburg thanks to a Thomas Delaney hat-trick.

Max Kruse and Delaney boosted Alexander Nouri's men into a modest two-goal lead by the break, with the Danish midfielder doubling his tally when play resumed.

Nils Petersen then converted his own saved penalty before Fin Bartels replied for Bremen.

Vincenzo Grifo ensured Freiburg had something to play for heading into the last 10 minutes, but Delaney had the final say.

In the evening game, Marco Fabian missed a penalty as Eintracht Frankfurt were frustrated by 10-man Borussia Monchengladbach.

When Oscar Wendt handled the ball in the Foals' box in the 78th minute, Fabian had an opportunity to score from the spot, but goalkeeper Yann Sommer guessed correctly.

Tobias Strobl was later sent off for receiving a second yellow card and the game finished goalless. 

On Friday night, ten-man Hertha Berlin fell to a home defeat for only the second time in the Bundesliga this season as their hunt for Champions League football next season took a major setback with a 3-1 defeat against Hoffenheim.

Hertha Berlin took the lead after 32 minutes when a swift counter attack started by Salomon Kalou saw the Ivorian set up Alexander Esswein but he sliced the ball straight into the path of Peter Pekarik and the full-back drilled it home at the near post for his first ever league goal.

Hoffenheim were level six minutes later when defender Max Mittelstadt was adjudged to have handled in the area and Andrej Kramaric coolly slotted home.

The hosts were reduced to to 10 men after Mittelstadt was dismissed for his second yellow card following a late challenge on Nadiem Amiri with over half an hour of the match still remaining, and Hoffenheim took full advantage.

Central defender Niklas Sule hit a 30-yard wonder strike off the underside of the crossbar to put the visitors ahead after 76 minutes before Kramaric grabbed his second late on to seal the win.

France's Ligue 1 

Mario Balotelli struck from the penalty spot as Nice came from behind to beat Bordeaux 2-1 and maintain the pressure on the Ligue 1 pace-setters.

Balotelli's spot-kick cancelled out Gaeten Laborde's early opener at the Allianz Riviera, but it was Valentin Eysseric who won it with his 27th-minute effort to cement the home side in third place in the table.

Nice, who are unbeaten in eight games, are now just a single point worse off than second-placed Paris St Germain and four adrift of leaders Monaco.

Firmin Ndombe Mubele came off the bench to snatch a draw for 10-man Rennes as fourth-placed Lyon allowed victory to slip from their grasp.

The home side played for 85 minutes at a numerical disadvantage after defender Ramy Bensebaini was dismissed for handball, although Alexandre Lacazette saw the resulting penalty saved by keeper Benoit Costil on what proved to be a costly afternoon for the visitors.

Maxwel Cornet fired Lyon into a 52nd-minute lead but Mubele secured a 1-1 draw nine minutes from time with a shot from distance.

Lorient, who started the day propping up the table despite winning for the first time in six league attempts last time out, gave their survival hopes a boost with a 1-0 victory over Caen in a stormy affair at the Stade du Moustoir.

Benjamin Moukandjo fired them into a 29th-minute lead, but they found themselves up against it when midfielder Francois Bellugou was sent off for a foul on Jonathan Delaplace four minutes after the restart.

Caen frontman Ronny Rodelin and defender Damien da Silva passed up a series of chances to level as time ran down, and their chances of staging a fightback were dealt a blow nine minutes from time when the latter was also shown a red card for a foul.

Andy Delort fired Toulouse to a first win in six at Montpellier with the only goal of a 1-0 triumph as the half-time whistle approached.

Striker Delort opened the scoring after running on to Christopher Julien's knock-down at the end of a half during which both sides had previously gone close.

Delort, Issa Diop and Oscar Trejo all forced early saves from keeper Laurent Pionnier, while Montpellier's Stephane Sessegnon, Isaac Mbenza and Yacouba Sylla threatened at the other end.

Prejuce Nakoulma's double was enough to claim a 2-1 victory for Nantes over Angers in an explosive start to the second half at La Beaujoire.

The striker's close-range left-footed finish handed his side a 48th-minute lead, and he doubled his tally within six minutes when he fired home right-footed.

However, frontman Famara Diedhiou headed the visitors back into the game from Issa Cissokho's cross within seconds to spark something of an onslaught.

But they could not rescue the game as they slipped to just a second defeat in seven in the league with Cissokho receiving his marching orders for a foul on Guillaume Gillet four minutes from time.

Marseille had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw at home to Ligue 1 strugglers Dijon.

Rudy Garcia's hosts predictably made all the running at the Stade Velodrome, but went behind in first-half injury time when Gregory Sertic put the ball into his own net.

Former West Ham forward Dimitri Payet pulled them level only three minutes into the second half, but that was as good as it got for Marseille.

Even a victory could not have improved their fifth position in the league. 

But after a disappointing result against opponents who were taking their sequence without victory to six matches, Marseille are three points adrift of Lyon, who have played two games fewer.

Dijon's determined display takes them four points clear of bottom-of-the-table Lorient. 

Out-of-sorts Bastia remain above Lorient only on goal difference after extending their long run without victory in a 1-0 home defeat against mid-table Lille.

Nicolas de Preville scored the only goal of the match early in the second half in Corsica.

Lille's interim manager Franck Passi therefore banked the points, while Bastia are left to contemplate a 13th league fixture without a win since early December. 

On Friday night, Slovan Privat's third Ligue 1 goal of the season saw Guingamp condemn 10-man Nancy to their eighth defeat in nine matches. 

The visitors had Modou Diagne sent off midway through the first half and never recovered, with the 1-0 defeat leaving Nancy in the relegation zone. 

Yannis Salibur missed a gilt-edged chance for Guingamp by heading over, before quickly making amends by laying on the winning goal, with Privat striking home just before the hour.   

Holland's Eredivisie

Ajax cut the gap to Eredivisie leaders Feyenoord to three points with a 2-1 win over their title rivals on Sunday.

A brilliant goal from Lasse Schone and a strike from David Neres had the Amsterdam side 2-0 up, before Michiel Kremer made for a tense finish in stoppage time.

Feyenoord still lead the way on 69 points but Ajax are firmly on their tail now.

Schone's goal was simply wonderful. Standing over a second-minute free-kick 30 years out, the Dane hit the ball with the front of his foot, going left, coming back right and then straightening up before dropping in off the underside of the bar.

A second followed 36 minutes in. Hakim Ziyech crossed from the left, Brad Jones found himself lost in the away goal and Neres arrived at the back post to slot into an open goal.

Feyenoord were unable to make inroads into the deficit, until Kremer cracked in a fine 25-yarder, but a second would not follow in the two minutes remaining. 

At the foot of the table, ADO Den Haag boosted their survival chances with a 4-1 win over fellow strugglers Roda JC, who end the week bottom.

ADO started the day second bottom and a point behind Roda but ended it two clear of them and level with Excelsior, who occupy the final survival spot.

Sheraldo Becker opened the scoring inside a minute, with Abdenasser El Khayati, Mike Havenaar and Guyon Fernandez adding further goals.

Mohammed El Makrini grabbed a stoppage-time consolation for the shell-shocked visitors.

Things would get worse for Roda, too, as bottom side Go Ahead Eagles also leapfrogged them as they came from behind to win 2-1 at FC Twente.

Enes Unal's goal on the stroke of half-time put Twente in front but Sam Hendriks made it 1-1 eight minutes after the break.

And Marcel Ritzmaier won it for the Eagles halfway through the second half, bunching up the bottom of the table even more.

Vitesse remain in pursuit of the top four after beating NEC Nijmegen - themselves not assured of survival - 2-1.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel's 51st-minute goal got Vitesse going but Ferdi Kadioglu levelled 15 minutes later. But former Norwich striker Van Wolfswinkel had the final word with an 84th-minute penalty.

PSV Eindhoven had temporarily moved up to second place after a 2-0 win at Sparta Rotterdam on Saturday.

Jurgen Locadia marked his recall to the side with his first goal of the season to give PSV a 21st-minute lead, but Sparta should have equalised shortly afterwards when Jeroen Zoet came racing out of his goal and failed to clear the ball, Jerson Cabral putting his shot wide of the empty net.

PSV punished the miss just before half-time when Marco van Ginkel latched on to a pass and rounded goalkeeper Ryan Korsmit to score.

Korsmit kept the score down in the second half with two saves to deny Locadia and another stop to thwart Jetro Willems.

FC Utrecht won for the fourth time in their last six outings as goals by Sebastien Haller and Richairo Zivkovic gave them a 2-0 victory at home to Willem II.

Heracles Almelo recorded a third straight home win with a 4-1 success against Heerenveen, who took a fifth-minute lead through Reza Ghoochannejhad's penalty.

However, goals from Reuven Niemeijer, Samuel Armenteros, Brandley Kuwas and Kristoffer Peterson - all before half-time - completed an emphatic turnaround. Jerry St Juste was sent off for Heerenveen after half-an-hour with the score at 3-1.

Luigi Bruins scored Excelsior's equaliser, cancelling out Django Warmerdam's opening goal for PEC Zwolle in a 1-1 draw. It means Excelsior have now shared the points in nine of their last 15 league matches.

AZ Alkmaar have drawn four of their last six Eredivisie games after a goalless stalemate at home to FC Groningen, who are now without a win in 10 games.