EBPL: Liverpool Soaring Higher
By Tanko Bauka
Liverpool FC has continued to set the pace in the English Barclays Premier League with yet another convincing 4-1 win against Ipswich Town at Anfield stadium with goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Mohammed Salah and a brace from Gody Gakpo to sit atop the league on 53 points.
Six points ahead of their closest rival, Arsenal, whose pursuit of the Arne Slot boys received a major boost with a hard-earned one-goal win scored by Riccardo Calafiori against Wolverhampton Wanderers at a Molineux stadium, a very tricky place to visit for any team.
Manchester City’s momentum continue to gain ground as Pep Guardiola continues to build his team after the near disaster that befell the Etihad landlord.
Manchester City deservedly dispatched Chelsea FC 3-1 to climb up into the top four positions in the league table, while Chelsea dropped to the sixth position.
AFC Bournemouth posted a five-star performance against Nottingham Forest spanking their visitors 5-0 to also boast their chances of a European place next season while Manchester United survived Fulham’s onslaught and ran away with the three points at stake with Martinez’s deflected goal at Craven Cottage, with the result Ruben Amorim Manchester United climb up to the fifteen position.
Newcastle United over the weekend compound further the problems of Southampton by defeating them 3-1 to further plunge them into the relegation battle while Leicester City on the other hand, climbed out of the relegation position after beating inconsistent Tottenham Hotspur 2-1
In Spain, Real Madrid opened up a four-point gap at the top of the league table beating Real Valladolid 3-0 with all three goals scored by Kylian Mbappe as Atletico Madrid in second position were held to a one-all draw by Villarreal, FC Barcelona demolished Valencia 7-1, a result which pushes Valencia deep into the relegation zone.
Getafe, Rayo Vallacano and Real Betis all won their weekend Fixtures, respectively.
In the Italian Serie A, the league leader Napoli continued their dominance as they defeated Juventus 2-1 to boost their chances of reclaiming the league from Inter Milan, while Atalanta beat their host Como by Two goals to one.
AC Milan came from behind to beat Parma by three goals to two at the San Siro, while Lacce lost four zeros to Inter Milan, with Udinese falling 2-1 to the firing power of AS Roma.
In the German Bundesliga, Bayern Munich defeated SC Freiburg 2-1 as Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund were held to a two-all draw by RB Leipzig and Werder Bremen, respectively.
Results across Europe
English Barclays Premier League
Bournemouth 5- Nothingham 0
Brighton Albion 0- Everton 1
Liverpool 4- Ipswich Town 1
Southampton 1- Newcastle 3
Wolves 0 Arsenal 1
Manchester City 3- Chelsea 1
Crystal Palace 1- Brentford 2
Tottenham 1- Leicester 2
Aston Villa 1- West Ham 1
Fulham 0- Manchester United 1
Spanish LA Liga
Las Palmas 1- Osasuna 1
Mallorca 0- Real Betis 1
Atlectico Madrid 1- Villarreal 1
Sevilla 1- Espanyol 1
Real Valladolid 0- Real Madrid 3
Rayo Vallacano 2- Girona 1
Real Sociedad 0- Gatafe 3
Athletic Bilbao 0- Laganes 0
FC Barcelona 7- Valencia 1
Italian Serie A
Como 1- Atalanta 2
Napoli 2- Juventus 1
Empoli 2- Bologna 1
AC Milan 3- Parma 2
Udinese 1- AS Roma 2
Lacce 0- Inter Milan 4
Lazio 1- Fiorentina 2
German Bundesliga
RB Leipzig 2- Leverkusen 2
Mainz 05 2- Stuttgart 0
SC Freiburg 1- Bayern Munich 2
FC Augsburg 2- Heidenheim 2
Dortmund 2- Werder Bremen 2
Monchenglabach 3- VFL Bochum 0
Hoffenheim 2- Eintrach Frankfurt 2
FC St Pauli 3- Union Berlin 0
Meanwhile, the last group matches for the new format of the UEFA Champions League will be played across various venues in Europe with teams with the first 8; teams gaining automatic qualifications while teams from the ninth position down to twenty-five, will go into a playoff on home and away basis to join the already qualified teams into the round of 16.
Fixtures for the UEFA Champions League
Wednesday
Aston Villa vs Celtic
FC Barcelona vs Atalanta
Bayern Leverkusen vs Sparta Praha
Stade Bretois vs Real Madrid
Dinamo Zagreb vs AC Milan
Bayern Munich vs Slovan Bratislava
Girona vs Arsenal
Inter Milan vs Monaco
Burussia Dortmund vs Shakhar Donetsk
Juventus vs Benfica
Lille vs Feyenoord
Manchester City vs Club Brugge
PSV vs Liverpool
Salzburg vs Real Madrid
Sturm Graz vs RB Leipzig
Stuttgart vs PSG
Young Boys vs Crvena Zvezda
