Suárez shines for Barcelona, Arsenal leave it late
Sunday, February 14, 2016
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Luis Suárez hit a hat-trick for Barcelona and Arsenal struck in added time to defeat Premier League leaders Leicester, on a weekend when Juventus took over at the Serie A summit.
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SUNDAY
Arsenal 2-1 Leicester (Walcott 70, Welbeck 90+5; Jamie Vardy 45pen)
Danny Welbeck made an instant impact on his return from injury with a last-gasp winner as third-placed Arsenal moved to within two points of Premier League leaders Leicester. The England international, making his first appearance since 26 April 2015 for the hosts, came off the bench to nod Mesut Özil's free-kick past Kasper Schmeichel in added time. Jamie Vardy's first-half penalty had given the visitors the lead before the Foxes were reduced to ten after the interval, losing Danny Simpson to a second bookable offence. Theo Walcott struck nine minutes after entering the field to level the scores before Welbeck secured a dramatic late victory.
Barcelona 6-1 Celta Vigo (Messi 28, Suárez 59 75 81, Rakitić 84, Neymar 90+1; Guidetti 39pen)
Luis Suárez moved clear of Cristiano Ronaldo as top scorer in the Liga with a hat-trick in a comfortable victory for Barcelona. Lionel Messi got the hosts on the move with a fine free-kick, but they were pegged back by John Guidetti until Suárez notched his 21st league effort this term – and the Uruguay forward registered two more goals, including a tap-in from Messi's audacious penalty. Ivan Rakitić and Neymar added late efforts as Barça returned three points clear in first.
Getafe 0-1 Atlético Madrid (Torres 2)
Having brought up a century of Atlético goals with a late effort last weekend, Fernando Torres struck early on this time to help keep the Colchoneros within three points of Liga frontrunners Barcelona – though they have played one game more. It was not all good news for Diego Simeone's men, however, as they lost Yannick Carrasco to an ankle injury early in the second half.
Manchester City1-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Iheanacho 74; Kane 53pen, Eriksen 83)
Manuel Pellegrini's side, in fourth, are now six points off the Premier League top spot after losing two consecutive home league matches for the first time since December 2008. Harry Kane's 15th league goal in 17 outings and Christian Eriksen's late strike, on his 24th birthday, earned second-placed Spurs a fifth league win in a row and dealt a blow to Manchester City's title hopes in the process. Sky Blues captain Vincent Kompany made his first appearance since 26 December 2015.
Augsburg 1-3 Bayern München (Bobadilla 86; Lewandowski 15 62, Müller 78)
Robert Lewandowski netted his fourth double in 2016 as Bayern returned to winning ways in the Bundesliga to remain eight points clear. Lewandowski struck his 20th league goal in the first half before notching his 31st in all competitions after the break. Thomas Müller sealed the success, while David Alaba played alongside Joshua Kimmich at centre-back after Holger Badstuber was ruled out for three months following ankle surgery.
NEC Nijmegen 0-3 PSV Eindhoven (De Jong 16, Locadia 67, Van Ginkel 75)
On-loan midfielder Marco van Ginkel scored for the second week running as Eredivisie leaders PSV eased to a seventh successive league win. Luuk de Jong notched his 17th in the league this term before the visitors lost Jorrit Hendrix on 24 minutes after an aerial collision. Jürgen Locadia doubled their advantage after the interval, netting for the first time in seven outings, and Van Ginkel added a third. Phillip Cocu's men remain one point above Ajax at the summit.
Litex Lovech 1-1 Dynamo Kyiv (Garmash 24og; Sydorchuk 19)
Andriy Yarmolenko returned from injury for Dynamo as they recorded a draw with Bulgarian opponents Litex in a friendly in Spain, and it was the Ukraine forward's corner that was turned in by Serhiy Sydorchuk on 19 minutes. Victory proved elusive, though, with a Denys Garmash own goal quickly levelling the scores.
SATURDAY
Chelsea 5-1 Newcastle United (Diego Costa 5, Pedro Rodríguez 9 59, Willian 17, Traoré 83; Townsend 90)
Chelsea's biggest Premier League win of the campaign was tempered by an injury to captain John Terry, who was replaced by Abdul Baba Rahman seven minutes before half-time. On target in an FA Cup tie last month, Bertrand Traoré, 20, opened his league account for the Blues, now 12 unbeaten since the departure of José Mourinho.
Juventus 1-0 Napoli (Zaza 88)
Substitute Simone Zaza settled the Serie A summit meeting in Juventus' favour with a fine left-footed strike from outside the penalty area. The Bianconeri's 15th straight league victory means they are top of the table for the first time this season, a point ahead of their opponents, who had won their previous eight. The Old Lady, however, lost centre-back Leonardo Bonucci to a knee injury early in the second half, a possible blow ahead of their first leg against Bayern München on 23 February.
Paris Saint-Germain 0-0 LOSC Lille
Lille halted Paris' run of 16 consecutive victories in all competitions. Laurent Blanc rested Zlatan Ibrahimović, Maxwell, Thiago Motta and skipper Thiago Silva ahead of the visit of Chelsea on Tuesday. Javier Pastore (calf) and Marco Verratti (groin), out since 16 and 31 January respectively, made their returns from injury.
Real Madrid 4-2 Athletic Club (Ronaldo 3 87, James Rodríguez 37, Kroos 45; Eraso 10, Elustondo 90)
The hosts took their tally to 37 goals in their last seven home Liga fixtures, Cristiano Ronaldo's double bookending the Madrid scoring. The Whites are six undefeated under Zinédine Zidane.
Wolfsburg 2-0 Ingolstadt (Draxler 29, Knoche 39)
Wolfsburg recorded their first win in six matches in all competitions but remain eighth in the Bundesliga. Robin Knoche, making only his second senior appearance this term after overcoming a long-term ankle problem, scored his first goal since 30 November 2014.
FRIDAY
Benfica 1-2 Porto (Mitroglou 18; Herrera 28, Aboubakar 65)
Porto closed to within three points of second-placed Benfica with victory in Lisbon. The Eagles came into O Clássico on a run of eight successive league wins and unbeaten in their previous 14 Liga games but were defeated despite Kostas Mitroglou scoring for the sixth straight top-flight fixture.
Carpi 1-3 Roma(Lasagna 61; Digne 56, Džeko 84, Salah 85)
Lucas Digne fired the Giallorossi ahead from distance, but Serie A strugglers Carpi levelled through Kevin Lasagna's tap-in. Edin Džeko poked in Mohamed Salah's cut-back to edge Luciano Spalletti's men in front once more, and the Egyptian international sealed the capital club's fourth successive win a minute later after Radja Nainggolan had been thwarted.
Gent 2-0 Mouscron-Péruwelz (Boussoufa 85, Milicevic 90+1)
Mbark Boussoufa, who left Gent for Anderlecht in 2006 but returned to his first senior club at the start of February on loan from Lokomotiv Moskva, came on in the 27th minute for the injured Moses Simon and made the late breakthrough. Danijel Milicevic rubber-stamped matters after the visitors had been reduced to ten men by Noe Dussenne's second booking.
No game: Zenit