Leading trio stroll in Spain, Arsenal held at bay
Sunday, January 17, 2016
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Atlético Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid scored 14 goals between them and Arsenal went top in England despite a draw. Paris Saint-Germain made it nine in a row.
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SUNDAY
Las Palmas 0-3 Atlético Madrid (Filipe Luís 17, Griezmann 68 89)
Diego Simeone's team still hold sway in Spain after a hard-fought victory, Filipe Luís enjoying their only real chance of the first half but registering with a superb finish. Las Palmas came close to levelling, yet Antoine Griezmann sealed the points as he took his Liga tally this term to 12 goals from 20 appearances.
Barcelona 6-0 Athletic Club (Messi 7pen, Neymar 31, Suárez 47 68 82, Rakitić 62)
Barcelona took advantage of an early red card for Athletic goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz to stay within two points of Atlético with a game in hand. Iraizoz was dismissed for a foul on Luis Suárez after just four minutes and FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi converted the penalty, but it was Suárez who eventually stole the show with his third Liga hat-trick for the club.
Real Madrid 5-1 Sporting Gijón (Bale 7, Ronaldo 9 18, Benzema 12 41; Ismael López 62)
Zinédine Zidane's strong start on the Madrid bench continued as his charges hit five goals for the second time in two games, with Cristiano Ronaldo this time getting in on the action with a double. The hosts' attacking trident of Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema did all the damage up front, though both Bale and Benzema had to leave the fray with injuries.
Stoke City 0-0 Arsenal
Missing Mesut Özil due to a foot injury, Arsenal struggled to break down their hosts and could not get past Jack Butland on the rare occasions when they did get a look at goal. Petr Čech was in similarly solid form for the Gunners, who returned to the Premier League summit ahead of Leicester on goal difference.
Roma 1-1 Verona (Nainggolan 41; Pazzini 61pen)
Luciano Spalletti was unable to get a first win on his return to the Roma dugout as the Giallorossi played out a third successive Serie A draw – and fifth in their last six league games. The point leaves Roma fifth, nine points off leaders Napoli.
Udinese 0-4 Juventus (Dybala 15 26pen, Khedira 18, Alex Sandro 42)
The Bianconeri scored four times in the first half for the first time since 2012 as they made it a tenth Serie A win on the bounce to stay two points off leaders Napoli. Udinese lost Danilo just 25 minutes in to a red card and Paulo Dybala's second from the resulting penalty took his league tally to 11 goals.
Gent 2-0 Anderlecht (Depoitre 10 89)
Laurent Depoitre got both goals to keep Gent three points clear at the top in Belgium. Third-placed Anderlecht had the chance to take over with a win, but Depoitre's seventh and eighth league goals of the season maintained the Buffalos' lead.
Feyenoord 0-2 PSV Eindhoven (Moreno 49, Narsingh 84)
Phillip Cocu's men remain three points off leaders Ajax after taking the spoils from their trip to the third-placed Rotterdammers, the win extending PSV's undefeated Eredivisie run to 12 games.
Chemitz 2-3 Wolfsburg (Frahn 12 Cincotta 61; Draxler 35, Schürrle 37, Caligiuri 51)
Back from their training camp in Portugal, Wolfsburg enjoyed a friendly success at third-tier Chemnitz despite falling behind. Julian Draxler, André Schürrle and Daniel Caligiuri got the goals as the Wolves warmed up for their Bundesliga trip to Frankfurt next Sunday.
SATURDAY
Chelsea 3-3 Everton (Costa 64, Fàbregas 66, Terry 90+8; Terry 50 og, Mirallas 56, Funes Mori 90)
A last-gasp backheel by John Terry on his 700th appearance in all competitions for Chelsea extended the Blues' undefeated record under Guus Hiddink to seven matches. Cesc Fàbregas's deflected effort was only his second goal of the season in all competitions and first since 16 September. The champions, who lost Diego Costa to injury, remain 14th in the Premier League.
Manchester City 4-0 Crystal Palace (Delph 22, Agüero 41 68, Silva 84)
Sergio Agüero led the way for title-chasing City. The Argentina forward took his top-flight tally to ten for the season before setting up David Silva to round things off late on.
Toulouse 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain (Ibrahimović 73)
Zlatan Ibrahimović headed in a David Luiz flick at the back post to earn the champions a narrow win and spoil the inauguration of the Stadium de Toulouse, a UEFA EURO 2016 venue, for the hosts. Laurent Blanc's side, now 30 Ligue 1 fixtures unbeaten, ended the weekend 21 points clear of second-placed Monaco.
Estoril 1-2 Benfica (Léo Bonatini 12; Mitroglu 52, Pizzi 67)
Benfica capitalised on Sporting CP's 2-2 draw with lowly Tondela on Friday as they closed to within two points of the Liga leaders. Pizzi's third goal in his last three outings sealed the Eagles' sixth successive victory in all competitions.
No game: Bayern München, Dynamo Kyiv, Zenit
