Real and Barcelona seesaw La Liga lead
Week 31 in La Liga saw Real Madrid and Barcelona tied at 68 points apiece with the Merengues taking the lead due to best head-to-head record with the Cules. The lead has seesawed with each successive match since the teams have tied on points with the Cules playing the first game and the Merengues reacting thereafter.
In this round, Monday saw Villarreal draw 2-2 at home with Sevilla while Granada held hosts Leganes to a 0-0 tie. On Tuesday, Levante lost 0-1 to visiting Atletico Madrid, Barcelona obtained a last-gasp win at home 1-0 over Athletic Bilbao, and Real Valladolid were held to a 1-1 home draw by Getafe. On Wednesday, Alaves lost 0-1 to visiting Osasuna, Real Sociedad did the same with visiting Celta Vigo and Real Madrid won 2-0 over lowly Mallorca in a game that saw the hosts take the lead early and squander multiple scoring chances until Sergio Ramos’ splendid free-kick settle the match. Today, Eibar shocked visitors Sevilla with a 1-0 win while Real Betis pulled off a 1-0 home win over Espanyol.
The table at round’s end had Atletico Madrid with 55 points and Sevilla with 53 following the lead of Madrid and Barcelona, and rounding out the Spanish direct Champions League slots.
The scorers’ table remained unchanged with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi as leader with 21 goals, followed by Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema at 17 goals, then Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno at 12 goals and five players at 11 goals apiece.
Elsewhere
While La Liga maintained its suspense, Liverpool made its 23-point-lead finally count in the Premier League as they won their first championship title in 30 years and added the league trophy to their UEFA Champions League (won 2-0 over Tottenham with a second-minute penalty goal from Egyptian Mohamed Salah and a 87-minute goal from Belgian Divock Origi) and FIFA Club World Cup (won over Brazilian club Flamengo 1-0 with Brazilian striker’s 99th minute goal).
On June 16th, Bayern Munich won their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title extending their haul to 29 and doing so with games to spare. Their final lead was ten points over second-place Borussia Dortmund.
The Italian Serie A is still ongoing with Juventus at the lead four points ahead of Lazio, eight ahead of Inter Milan and twelve ahead of fourth-place Atalanta with eleven games to go.
In France, PSG, with a game in hand, holds a 12-point lead over second-place Marseille and an 18-point lead over third-place Stade Rennes, with 10 rounds to go.
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