 "How the title race stands in Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1")
The weekend featured multiple title contenders in action in Europe’s top-five leagues - the English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1. Manchester City hosted Arsenal in a crucial fixture at the top of the order. Liverpool hosted Brighton. In La Liga, Real Madrid faced a tricky proposition in Athletic Bilbao. Bayern Munich hosted Borussia Dortmund in ‘Der Klassiker’ while attempting to keep abreast Bayer Leverkusen. AC Milan took on Fiorentina with aim to slimmer the gap with Inter Milan. Lastly, in France, PSG played Olympique Marseille in ‘Le Classique’.
English Premier League
Arsenal’s trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Man City may have failed to live up to expectations but a 0-0 draw leaves a three-way Premier League title race still tightly poised.
Liverpool are the new league leaders with nine games to go after they recovered from going a goal down against Brighton after just 85 seconds to win 2-1. The Reds lead Arsenal by two points and City by three.
Liverpool - 67 points
Jurgen Klopp remains on course for a fairytale end to his time in charge at Anfield as Liverpool took advantage of both their title rivals dropping points.
The Reds have the relative comfort of hosting bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United in midweek before their run-in ramps up with a visit to Manchester United next weekend.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsA local derby away to Everton could also prove tricky, while they face Champions League chasing Tottenham and Aston Villa in two of their final three games.
Arsenal - 65 points
The Gunners’ eight-game winning run came to an end at the Etihad but a point was still enough to show the massive strides Mikel Arteta’s men have made over the past 12 months.
A year ago Arsenal were thrashed 4-1 away to City as Arteta’s young side stumbled down the home straight in the title race after leading for much of the season.
A year on, they look more mature and have a deeper squad to cope with the pressure of trying to win a first title in 20 years.
Luton should pose little threat at the Emirates on Wednesday, but a series of tough away games lie ahead at north London rivals Tottenham, Manchester United, Brighton and Wolves.
Manchester City - 64 points
Man City are aiming to become the first side to win four consecutive English top-flight titles.
After the draw with Arsenal, manager Pep Guardiola admitted his side are now third favourites as they need favours from both Liverpool and Arsenal in the run-in.
The defending champions are coming towards the end of a defining month with fourth-placed Villa to visit the Etihad on Wednesday.
But should they remain in striking distance, City will be confident of reeling in the leaders with a trip to Tottenham on paper the only tricky fixture in their final eight games.
La Liga
Real Madrid maintained their 8 point lead at the top of the La Liga standings with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao courtesy a brace by Rodrygo Goes. On Saturday, Barcelona had applied pressure on their historic rivals with a slender, but comfortable, 1-0 win against Las Palmas .
With eight games left in the season, Barcelona manager Xavi vowed to keep fighting to defend their title. “We want and believe we can fight for it. We can put pressure on Real Madrid," he had said ahead of the Las Palmas win.
El Clasico, on 21st April at the Bernabeu, could shift the momentum of the title race should Barcelona pick up a win. Other than that, an away trip to San Sebastian to face Real Sociedad and journey to Villarreal appear to the other two stumbling blocks for Los Blancos.
For Barcelona, meanwhile, challenging fixtures include a visit by Valencia, a short trip to city-rivals Girona, who up until January were in the title mix. Should the season still be in the balance, a final day trip to Sevilla could be decisive.
Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen, the only unbeaten team this season in Europe’s top-five leagues, are cruising towards the Bundesliga title. The Xabi Alonso-managed side are 13 points clear and need just three wins to bag the German title.
A come-from-behind 2-1 win against Hoffenheim put the pressure on chasing Bayern Munich on Saturday. The Bavarians, though, buckled and lost 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund - their first defeat at home in the fixture since 2014.
With seven games remaining, Bayern Munich’s out-going manager Thomas Tuchel conceded defeat and sent “congratulations to Leverkusen”. Asked if the title race was over, Tuchel replied “of course”, saying “it’s self-evident, clear”.
Serie A
With eight games to go, Serie A title race appears to be done and dusted with Inter Milan on the verge of a first title since 2021-22. Inter are 11 points clear of city rivals AC Milan with a game in hand. They host Empoli to further their push towards a Scudetto.
On Saturday, AC Milan had strengthened their grip on second place with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Fiorentina . Juventus, in third and 17 points behind Inter, suffered a defeat at the hands of Lazio.
Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain are on course to win their 10th Ligue 1 title in 12 seasons after a 2-0 away win to bitter rivals Marseille . Brest are 12 points adrift in second place after a 1-0 win at Lorient.
Marseille, who had been unbeaten at home this season, have not beaten PSG since November 2011.
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