A title race is heating up in LaLiga. With Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid both dropping points on the weekend, can Barcelona take advantage to go top of the table in Spain?
In the Premier League, Mikel Merino was the unexpected hero for an Arsenal side continuing to deal with injuries in their attack. Will it be enough for Mikel Arteta’s team to continue in a title race?
Meanwhile, in the Bundesliga, Xabi Alonso continues his personal unbeaten streak against Bayern Munich as Bayer Leverkusen‘s manager. However, the draw means Leverkusen failed to make a dent in the title race as the Bavarian side are now eight points ahead of the defending champions.
Sam Tighe, Alex Kirkland and Constantin Eckner make observations from across Europe to bring you up to speed on what you might have missed this weekend.
Top takeaway: It turns out Arsenal do have another striker
When Arsenal’s front three was unveiled ahead of kick-off against Leicester City — Raheem Sterling on the left, Ethan Nwaneri on the right and Leandro Trossard through the middle — it truly hammered home the cost of the injuries they’ve suffered this season. This was, quite literally, the B team.
No Bukayo Saka, no Gabriel Martinelli and no Kai Havertz. The result? A stunted, weak attacking effort that one of the Premier League’s worst defensive units held at bay with ease. Except for Nwaneri, it fell flat in every way; the Gunners managed just one shot on target in the entirety of the first half.
With the scoreline still locked at 0-0 entering the 70th minute, Mikel Arteta tried something: He chucked midfielder Mikel Merino up front and asked him to cause some chaos — and chaos he did cause. Suddenly, Arsenal had someone to cross to, so Nwaneri’s next Saka-esque cross found Merino’s head, and the Spaniard’s glancing nod found the back of the net.
Dan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and others to bring you the latest highlights and debate the biggest storylines. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only).
Fascinatingly, Leverkusen dominated after an evenly matched first 10 minutes, suffocating Bayern completely at times. We hadn’t seen anything like it since Bayern’s 4-1 loss to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League earlier this season. And even in the game against one of LaLiga’s top sides, Bayern were occasionally able to push back. Leverkusen, however, controlled the ball and the pace of the air, creating 16 shots.
Alonso’s idea of using the two attacking midfielders Florian Wirtz and Nathan Tella upfront worked perfectly because both pulled defenders away from the offside line by dropping back or towards the wing, thereby destabililsing Bayern’s defensive structure. Meanwhile, Kompany’s team only created two attempts worth 0.14 xG (expected goals), according to Bundesliga.com. Bayern got away, but it was close.
Best match: Union Berlin 1-2 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach have been on the rise lately, with their win at Alte Försterei getting them closer to the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League spots. That the Foals would establish themselves in the upper half of the table couldn’t have been predicted only a few months ago.
Berlin-born Lukas Ullrich opened the scoring against Union Berlin, and German international Tim Kleindienst made it 2-0 before the interval. Union Berlin pushed hard to get back into the game following the break, but they were only able to score once from the penalty spot.
Best goal: Nick Woltemade vs. Wolfsburg
It took Stuttgart over 70 minutes to break the deadlock against Wolfsburg. A few moments after Woltemade came on for Deniz Undav, the surprisingly technical tall striker scored the goal of the weekend.
The 23-year-old made a brilliant run towards the penalty area, where he weaved his way past multiple Wolfsburg defenders and then found the bottom corner with a precise strike. It was not enough for Stuttgart, though, because Sebastian Hoeneß’s side conceded two goals in the aftermath.
MVP of the weekend: Georgios Masouras, Bochum
Some might say: “Who?” when hearing of Masouras, and that is completely understandable considering the former Olympiacos winger has yet to full establish himself in European football. Before going on loan to Bochum at the end of the January transfer window, Masouras had played his entire career in his native Greece, including five-and-a-half years for Olympiacos.
At 31, he wanted to try something else and help Bochum to avoid relegation. He certainly did his part in Bochum’s stunning 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, as Masouras scored both goals within two minutes in the first half. — Eckner
What else you missed this weekend
Santiago Giménez‘s hot start at Milan
Giménez has enjoyed a fantastic start to life in Serie A following his €32 million move from Feyenoord to AC Milan on January’s transfer deadline day. He has netted two in two, easing the pressure such a big move creates, and leading his team to six points against Empoli and Hellas Verona.
His goal on Saturday was genuinely wonderful, finishing off a flowing team move with a poacher’s finish from close range. In the buildup, Rafael Leão produced an acrobatic, flicked assist, and there’s no doubt manager Sérgio Conceição will be thrilled with how his star winger and his new striker are already pairing up.
Milan face an uphill task to qualify for the Champions League again in 2025 — the gap to fourth is five points — but if Giménez continues in this vein of form, a late surge up the table could be on. — Tighe
Ajax extend their lead in the Eredivisie
Going into Matchday 23, PSV Eindhoven were on quite a downslide, having won only one out of their past five league games. It put the club from Eindhoven and Ajax on par in terms of points, though Ajax had one more game remaining and were back atop of the Eredivisie standings for the first time since November 2022.
PSV failed to keep pace with Ajax with a win on Saturday with Peter Bosz’s side only managing a 2-2 draw with Utrecht at home. The Boeren secured a point thanks to a stoppage-time goal by 19-year-old Isaac Babadi, but the trend seems to continue. This allowed Ajax — a club that had been in disarray last season — to retake the lead on Sunday by beating 15th-placed Heracles. And Francesco Farioli’s players delivered as expected, winning 4-0 at Johan Cruyff Arena.
The dry spell for the history-rich club from Amsterdam has ended. It had been the fourth-longest period without being on top of the league during which Ajax saw five coaches leading the team before former Nice boss Farioli, the first Italian to manage Ajax and first foreign manager since 1999, finally brought back success. — Eckner
