Real Madrid received the Clasico because the title race intensifies in La Liga, whereas Inter march in the direction of the Scudetto however Bayern Munich stumbled in Germany. AFP Sport rounds up among the predominant speaking factors from throughout the continent:
A GREAT FEW DAYS FOR ZIDANE
Real Madrid adopted their 3-1 Champions League quarter-final first-leg win over Liverpool by beating Barcelona 2-1 in an exhilarating Clasico, and Zinedine Zidane’s facet stay, remarkably, on the right track for a La Liga and European Cup double.
A superb back-heel end by Karim Benzema — his ninth objective in his final seven league appearances — and a free-kick from in-form Toni Kroos gave Real their fourth straight La Liga win and a consequence which retains their momentum constructing.
They transfer above Barcelona into second after profitable each league Clasicos in a season for the primary time since 2007/08, simply earlier than Pep Guardiola took over on the Catalans. Real are additionally now only one level behind leaders Atletico Madrid after they have been held 1-1 at Betis.
Atletico nonetheless should go to Barcelona, which might play into the fingers of a Real facet who will head to Liverpool this week stuffed with confidence.
BAYERN UP AGAINST IT
Bayern’s standing as European champions is beneath severe menace as they head to Paris on Tuesday trailing 3-2 after the primary leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
The Bavarians are with out prime scorer Robert Lewandowski and a number of different gamers resulting from harm, and the troublesome relationship between coach Hansi Flick and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic is dominating headlines.
They might subsequently have accomplished with a greater consequence and efficiency than they managed in drawing 1-1 at residence with Union Berlin, when Jamal Musiala opened the scoring earlier than the guests scored a late equaliser.
The consequence shouldn’t be a serious setback of their quest to win a ninth straight Bundesliga title, even when second-placed RB Leipzig closed to inside 5 factors with a 4-1 victory at Werder Bremen. Nevertheless the environment across the membership might actually deteriorate in the event that they fail to show the PSG tie round.
FUN FRANKFURT CLOSE ON CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Eintracht Frankfurt took a giant step nearer to a primary top-four end within the Bundesliga since 1993 as they defeated fellow high-fliers Wolfsburg 4-3 in a thriller.
Andre Silva was among the many scorers because the Portuguese striker bought his twenty third of the season — that’s two greater than Erling Braut Haaland.
With only one defeat in 17, fourth-placed Eintracht — who’ve scored 11 targets of their final three outings — stay seven factors away from Borussia Dortmund with six video games remaining.
A spot within the Champions League beckons for the membership who famously misplaced the 1960 European Cup ultimate 7-3 to Alfredo Di Stefano’s Real Madrid.
RELENTLESS INTER MARCH ON
There is definitely little doubt now that Inter Milan will win a primary Serie A title since 2010 and in doing so cease Juventus from making it 10 consecutive Scudetti.
On Sunday Inter edged out Cagliari 1-0 with a late objective from ex-Manchester United full-back Matteo Darmian. Antonio Conte’s facet have now claimed 11 straight Serie A wins, nevertheless it has typically been like this: their final six wins have all been by a single objective.
With eight matches remaining, Inter are 11 factors forward of second-placed AC Milan, who beat Parma 3-1 regardless of having Zlatan Ibrahimovic despatched off. Juventus beat Genoa 3-1 however are 12 factors behind in third.
ROBBEN RETURNS
It appeared that Arjen Robben’s taking part in days would possibly truly be over as accidents marred his return to first membership Groningen final summer time.
The former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern winger — who initially introduced his retirement on leaving Bayern in 2019 — made simply two appearances earlier than succumbing to a calf drawback in October.
On Sunday, six months later and aged 37 years and 78 days, he lastly returned, approaching as a late substitute in Groningen’s 2-0 residence defeat by Heerenveen within the Dutch Derby of the North.
“Good to be back on the field. Thanks for all the support,” he posted on Instagram.
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