Villarreal dig deep, Dortmund stay on track
Sunday, March 20, 2016
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Villarreal showed resolve to deny Barcelona, Dortmund won again and Sparta Praha beat neighbours Slavia as the UEFA Europa League quarter-finalists returned to league action.
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Villarreal posted the weekend's most eye-catching result among the UEFA Europa League quarter-finalists as they battled back to hold Liga leaders Barcelona.
The Yellow Submarine found themselves two goals down at the break against Barça but rattled their visitors after the restart to claim a 2-2 draw, Cédric Bakambu continuing his fine run of form ahead of a Jérémy Mathieu own goal. That helped Marcelino's men tighten their grip on fourth spot in Spain, with UEFA Europa League holders Sevilla losing 4-0 at Real Madrid.
Sevilla's quarter-final rivals Athletic also lost, 2-1 at Espanyol – in contrast to Dortmund, who are yet to suffer defeat in 2016. Thomas Tuchel's charges beat Augsburg 3-1 to remain five points behind pacesetters Bayern München, while last-eight opponents Liverpool squandered a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss at Southampton. Elsewhere, Sparta Praha downed city neighbours Slavia 3-1 to claim the Prague derby spoils.
SUNDAY
Espanyol 2-1 Athletic
Southampton 3-2 Liverpool
Villarreal 2-2 Barcelona
Augsburg 1-3 Dortmund
Sparta Praha 3-1 Slavia Praha
Real Madrid 4-0 Sevilla
Braga 2-0 União
SATURDAY
Metalurh Zaporizhya c-c Shakhtar Donetsk (Shakhtar awarded victory)
