Arsenal reiterated their title aspirations by eviscerating Nottingham Forest 5-0 on the back of two goals from Reis Nelson to recapture a precious two point advantage atop the Premier League standings. A Kevin de Bruyne expertly executed free kick had given Manchester City a hard fought 1-0 victory over Leicester City, briefly catapulting the reigning champs to the summit.
Tottenham Hotspur retained third place after fighting back from two goals down to outsmart Bournemouth 3-2 in the dying embers of the match. The result of the weekend came at the Amex Stadium where Graham Potter’s Chelsea succumbed to a 1-4 pummeling at the hands of former side Brighton Hove Albion. The loss saw the west Londoners drop to sixth, three points behind high flying Newcastle United, 4-0 winners over Aston Villa, and two points off record champions Manchester United, who edged West Ham United 1-0 courtesy of a Marcus Rashford header.
Across the English channel, Paris Saint Germain maintained a five point cushion atop the Ligue One standings by battling to a 4-3 victory over Troyes in a game which witnessed the Parisians’ fabled front three of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Lottin Mbappe all score. Racing Lens stayed second, propelled by a Lois Mpenda hat trick in a 3-0 whitewash of Toulouse. Rennes are third thanks to a 3-0 win over hapless Montpellier.
Union Berlin got perilously close to surrendering their slender Bundesliga lead, requiring a 97th minute clincher to see off Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1, to maintain a one point cushion over Bayern Munich who had trampled upon Mainz 6-2 a day earlier. Freiburg stay third, a point ahead of Borussia Dortmund after overcoming newcomers Schalke 2-0. The Signal Iduna Park outfit outlasted Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1.
In Spain, Toni Kroos was sent off for the first time in his career as Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly Girona. The stalemate, coupled with Barcelona’s 1-0 victory over Valencia at the Mestalla means Los Blancos’ lead over Blaugrana is down to a solitary point. Atletico Madrid hang on to third despite falling 2-3 to relegation threatened Cadiz because Real Sociedad, who could have overtaken Diego Simeone’s side, fell 0-2 to Real Betis.
Napoli increased their chances of winning their first Serie A title since 1990 by clobbering Sassuolo 4-0, with Nigerian power forward Victor Osimhen bagging a hat trick. Partenopei boast a commanding five point advantage over Atalanta, 2-0 winners at Empoli, while AC Milan dropped to third following their 2-1 defeat at Torino. Lazio had skipper Sergej Milinkovic Savic sent off in a 1-3 home defeat to Salernitana but are fourth, level on points with Inter Milan, who had no problem disposing of Sampdoria 3-0.
