Borussia Dortmund warmed up for Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Chelsea by edging RB Leipzig 2-1. The Signal Iduna Park side’s club record tenth consecutive victory of 2023 briefly dislodged champions Bayern Munich from the Bundesliga summit, only for the rekordmeister to recapture their position by overcoming Stuttgart by a similar margin 24 hours later. Union Berlin stayed third despite being held to a goalless draw at home by Cologne.
Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez grabbed a brace apiece as Liverpool obliterated old foes Manchester United 7-0 to move within three points of a direct Champions League qualification position. Arsenal still rule the roost but only just. The Gunners fought back from 0-2 down to topple Bournemouth 3-2 at Emirates Stadium to remain five points clear of Manchester City, 2-0 winners over Newcastle United.
Across the English channel, Kylian Mbappe Lottin became Paris Saint Germain’s all time record scorer with 201 goals to his name after his strike helped the Parc des Princes outfit to a 4-2 victory over stubborn Nantes. Igor Tudor’s Olympique Marseille are second, a point ahead of Monaco and Racing Lens, following a hard fought 1-0 win at Stade Rennes. Monaco could only draw 2-2 at second from bottom Troyes while Lens were held 1-1 by Lille Metropole.
In Italy, Napoli fell 0-1 at home to former boss Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio to see their advantage atop Serie A cut to 15 points by Inter Milan, who dismissed Lecce 2-0 with minimum fuss. Lazio leapfrogged outgoing champions AC Milan, as a result of the Milanese 1-2 setback at Fiorentina. Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma are fourth after battling to a 1-0 victory over Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus.
Across the Mediterranean Sea, Barcelona edged beleaguered Valencia to open up a nine point cushion ahead of Real Madrid, who could only draw 0-0 at Real Betis. At the Wanda Metropolitano, Memphis Deepay and Alvaro Morata both scored twice as Atletico Madrid eviscerated Sevilla 6-1 to strengthen their grip on third place. Jorge Sampaoli’s five time Europa League winners are trapped in a relegation dogfight along with 2002 and 2004 Liga Santander titlists Valencia.
