Europe might’ve not had the absolute insane Saturday of the Premier League, but matches around Italy, Germany, and Spain sure managed to raise eyebrows.
[ MORE: Premier League schedule, hub ]
- Real Madrid put its hands even tighter around the steering wheel for La Liga’s title.
- Bayern Munich opened the door a crack for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga thanks to a clinical own goal.
- Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma refuses to quit on a wild race for fourth place in Serie A.
Here’s what you missed (and if you missed the Premier League action, check before the jump).
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Serie A: Mourinho’s Roma gets big win through Abraham
Jose Mourinho doesn’t need the ball that much when his center forward is finishing.
We know this, and ex-Chelsea man Tammy Abraham is finishing well for Mourinho’s Roma.
Abraham scored the only goal of Saturday’s big top-four match between Roma and Atalanta, won 1-0 by I Lupi, his 20th of the season powering sixth-place Roma level on points with fifth-place Atalanta. Roma has played one more match.
[ MORE: Serie A table, box scores, leaders ]
Credit to Abraham for the finish, but let’s also have a moment for Nicolo Zaniolo’s first touch of the long ball to lift the lid on Atalanta’s back line.
A Lazio win at Cagliari means there are four teams within four points of fourth place, including current No. 4 Juventus. The Old Lady hosts Spezia on Sunday, but the big tilt is No. 2 vs No. 3.
Inter Milan moved back into first-place on Friday with 58 points, but second-place Napoli and third-place AC Milan have 57 and tangle Sunday in Naples.
Elsewhere in Serie A...
Inter Milan 5-0 Salernitana -- Friday
Udinese 2-1 Sampdoria
Roma 1-0 Atalanta
Cagliari 0-3 Lazio
Genoa vs Empoli -- 6:30am ET Sunday
Fiorentina vs Hellas Verona -- 9am ET Sunday
Bologna vs Torino -- 9am ET Sunday
Venezia vs Sassuolo -- 9am ET Sunday
Juventus vs Spezia -- Noon ET Sunday
Napoli vs AC Milan -- 2:45pm ET Sunday
Tammy Abraham scores his 13th goal of the season! 🐺 pic.twitter.com/1N86VE8Vlg
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 5, 2022
Bundesliga: Bayern drops points, COVID postpones Mainz-BVB
Bayern Munich dropped two points to return Borussia Dortmund’s favor from last match week, but BVB won’t be able to capitalize Sunday with a match at Mainz postponed due in large part to a COVID-19 outbreak amongst the hosts.
Bayern’s lead atop the table is nine points with one further match played than Dortmund, the reigning champs drawing 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
[ MORE: Bundesliga hub for scores, stats, more ]
Niklas Sule put Bayern in front after just 18 minutes but a Thomas Muller own goal restored level terms after 36 minutes were played, and no one else found the goal over the final hour.
See Muller’s finish, which looks tasty if you don’t know he’s put the ball over the wrong goal line, below the scores.
Elsewhere in Bundesliga...
Arminia Bielefeld 0-1 Augsburg -- Friday
Bochum 2-1 Greuther Furth
Wolfsburg 1-0 Union Berlin
Hertha Berlin 1-4 Eintracht Frankfurt
RB Leipzig 1-1 Freiburg
Bayern Munich 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Stuttgart 3-2 Borussia Monchengladbach
Mainz vs Borussia Dortmund -- postponed from 9am ET Sunday
Koln vs Hoffenheim -- 11:30am ET Sunday
This own goal from Thomas Muller 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/bTYLR6Jc9f
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 5, 2022
La Liga: Real Madrid tightens its title grip
It was fun while it lasted, but Real Madrid’s fight to win back La Liga is now essentially a training exercise.
Real Madrid overcame an early penalty concession converted by Mikel Oyarzabal to thump Real Sociedad 4-1, scoring twice in each half.
Eduardo Camavinga and Luka Modric scored three minutes apart in the first half and Karim Benzema joined Marco Asensio in scoring -- wait for it -- three minutes apart in the second half in an absolute shellacking.
[ LIVE: La Liga stats, standings, scoreboard ]
The show of domination is perhaps best summed up in shot attempts: Real Madrid 18, Real Sociedad 1.
At least it went in. Real Madrid’s table lead over Sevilla is eight points with 11 matches left for both sides.
Elsewhere in La Liga...
Alaves 0-0 Sevilla -- Friday
Osasuna 1-0 Villarreal
Espanyol 2-0 Gerafe
Valencia 3-1 Granada
Cadiz vs Rayo Vallecano -- 8am ET Sunday
Elche vs Barcelona -- 10:15am ET Sunday
Celta Vigo vs Mallorca -- 12:30pm ET Sunday
Real Betis vs Atletico Madrid -- 3pm ET Sunday
Athletic Bilbao vs Levante -- 3pm ET Monday
CAMAVINGA, WHAT A STRIKE 😳 pic.twitter.com/VaOmQM3otU
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 5, 2022