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Serie A had an unexpected twist this weekend with Juventus Turin being penalized 15 points. In England, Arsenal and Manchester City continue to go toe to toe. On the other hand, in France, the championship marked a break because of the Cup.
Naples quiet, Juventus fight on the ground
The weekend of Juventus Turin began on Friday with a real blow: a withdrawal of fifteen points decided by sports justice for having recorded artificially high capital gains on the transfer market. With this penalty, Juve fell from 3rd to 10th place in Serie A. Enough to undermine their European ambitions.
If she decided to file an appeal, the Old Lady also decided to fight on the ground. Faced with now ex-competitors Atalanta Bergamo, Juventus snatched a draw after a spectacular match (3-3).
AS Roma won for its part Sunday at La Spezia (0-2) while the Neapolitan leader won the Campania derby against Salernitana (2-0) at the end of a first leg of the championship almost perfect where the leader dropped only seven points.
Inter Milan, Lazio Rome and AC Milan are playing at the start of the week.
Miraculous Sebastian Haller makes his Dortmund debut
Borussia Dortmund, with the first steps of Sébastien Haller, had to try four times to win Sunday at home against Augsburg 4-3, after a crazy match on behalf of the 16th day of the championship from Germany.
Thanks to this victory, Edin Terzic’s men move up to 6th place with 28 points, and take advantage of Bayern Munich’s draw in Leipzig on Friday evening (1-1) to return to seven points behind the leader of the Bundesliga, champion of winter and tenfold holder of the national title. In the 62nd minute, the match was marked by the debut of Sébastien Haller in the colors of Dortmund, six months after testicular cancer, diagnosed in mid-July in full summer preparation, just days after his transfer from the Ajax Amsterdam.
Eintracht Frankfurt of French vice-world champion Randal Kolo Muani moved into second place in the German championship, thanks to its victory against Schalke (3-0). Without being imperial, and even dominating part of the meeting, Eintracht proved to be realistic and clinical, to ensure the essential, a victory against the red lantern Schalke thanks to the achievements of Jesper Lindström (22nd), Rafael Borré (84th) and Aurelio Buta (90th).
With 30 points, Austrian Oliver Glasner’s men take second place in the standings thanks to a better goal difference over Freiburg, completely outclassed on the lawn of Wolfsburg (6-0), and Union Berlin, winner of Hoffenheim (3-1), Saturday afternoon. The trio are five points behind Munich.
Barça and Real continue to play in another category
The two greats of the Spanish championship, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, both won and continued their duel at the top of La Liga on Sunday during the 18th day.
Barça won without shining at home at the expense of poorly ranked Getafe (1-0) at the end of the afternoon, then in the evening Real went to win 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao, with a goal from his captain and Golden Ball Karim Benzema, author of a very good match.
The positions therefore remain unchanged at the top of the standings: Barcelona (1st, 44 pts) ahead of Real (2nd) by three points and Real Sociedad (3rd) by six. The astonishing Basque team, which has one game more than the first two, won 2-0 on Saturday at Rayo Vallecano (9th).
Behind this trio, off the hook, point Atlético Madrid (4th) and Villarreal (5th) with 31 points, seven less than Real Sociedad. Atlético beat Valladolid (3-0) in Madrid on Saturday and Villarreal dominated at home Girona 1-0 on Sunday.
Arsenal continue to keep Manchester City off
The duel of the upper spheres of the Premier League continues. Stammering their football somewhat since the resumption of the post-World Cup championship, the Citizens seem to confirm that the second half against Tottenham on Thursday, where they went from 0-2 to 4-2, with Haaland’s first goal in 2023, is the sign of a reboot. This time the goal machine scored a hat-trick against Wolverhampton who couldn’t do anything (3-0).
Faced with a combative Manchester United, Arsenal won in extremis a precious and deserved success at the end of a breathless match, won at the last minute thanks to a cannon shot from Nketiah (3-2). With 50 points, the Gunners regain a five-point lead over their immediate pursuer, with one game less, while the Red Devils remain 4th with 39 points.
Behind, in the convalescent match, Liverpool and Chelsea could not do better than a sad draw (0-0), while Everton were beaten again, at West Ham (2-0).
