Bayern Munich lost further ground in the Bundesliga title race when they were ambushed 3-2 by Bochum 24 hours after pacesetters Bayer Leverkusen opened up an eight point cushion atop the standings by taming stubborn Heidenheim 2-1 via goals from Jeremy Frimpong and Amine Adli. The Bavarians third consecutive loss following reverses to Leverkusen (0-3) and Lazio (0-1) is the first time in nine years the Allianz Arena outfit has lost three games on the bounce.
Stuttgart strengthened their Champions League qualification credentials by outlasting basement club Darmstadt 2-1 thanks to goals from Mahmoud Dahoud and Serhou Guirassy, whose 18th Bundesliga goal of the season is next to only Harry Kane’s 25 goal haul. Borussia Dortmund remain fourth despite being held to a one-all draw by Wolfsburg. The Signal Iduna Park side have now accumulated 41 points, one more than RB Leipzig who were 2-0 winners over Borussia Moenchengladbach.
The result of the weekend in England took place at Etihad Stadium where Chelsea held champions Manchester City to a one-all draw. 16-goal Premier League top scorer Erling Braut Haaland missed a hatful of chances before Raheem Sterling opened the scoring on return to his former hunting ground. It took an 84th minute leveller for Rodrigo Cascante Hernandez to rescue a draw for the reigning titlists.
There were no such problems for leaders Liverpool who clobbered Brentford 4-1 with Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo all getting on the score sheet. Liverpool remain two points ahead of Arsenal who underlined their title ambitions by wiping the floor with Burnley 5-0 to take their goals tally in the last five EPL games to an astonishing 21.
Aston Villa moved above into fourth place by seeing off Fulham’s determined challenge 2-1 via an Ollie Watkins brace whereas Ange Postecoglu’s Tottenham Hotspur fell 1-2 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers thanks to goals from January Brazilian recruit Joao Gomez.
In Italy, Inter Milan moved closer to winning the Scudetto when their closest pursuers failed to respond to the Nerrazzuri’s 4-0 whitewash of Salernitana. Juventus fell nine points off title pace by drawing 2-2 at struggling Hellas Verona while third placed AC Milan were hammered 4-2 at Monza. There were no such problems for Atalanta who won their sixth game in seven outings by dismissing Sassuolo 3-0.
Across the Adriatic sea, Liga Santander pacesetters Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Rayo Vallecano but they still extended their points advantage because closest challengers Girona will only play their game tonight at Athletic Bilbao. Barcelona rode their luck to outlast Celta Vigo 2-1 thanks to a Robert Lewandowski brace while Atletico Madrid rested star Antoine Greizmann but still eviscerated Las Palmas 5-0 to remain in fourth place.