Ousmane Dembélé struck twice as Paris Saint-Germain blew away bitter rivals Marseille on Sunday, reclaiming top spot in Ligue 1 with a crushing 5-0 victory at the Parc des Princes.
Dembélé opened the scoring after just 12 minutes and added a second before half-time as PSG delivered a real statement of intent going into the crucial months of the season.
Facundo Medina’s own goal made it 3-0 just past the hour before substitutes Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Lee Kang-in got in on the act as PSG avenged their 1-0 defeat at the Velodrome earlier this campaign. Luis Enrique’s side have now won seven straight league matches, though they remain under pressure from surprise challengers Lens, who briefly moved top on Saturday and sit just two points behind.
Luis Díaz hit a hat-trick as Bayern Munich thrashed 10-man Hoffenheim 5-1 on Sunday to restore their six-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.
Borussia Dortmund’s shaky win at Wolfsburg on Saturday drew the chasers to within three points but Díaz, unplayable at times, was the difference maker as Bayern delivered an emphatic response.
Harry Kane converted two Bayern penalties, both won by Díaz, to move up to 24 league goals for the season and 38 in all competitions. “There was a lot of noise around the team after two winless games. It was important to stay calm,” Kane said to DAZN. “We’re heading towards the end of the season, a stage where every three points matters. We saw the gap can be cut quickly – the real season starts now.”
Relegation battlers last campaign, third-placed Hoffenheim came to Munich as the Bundesliga’s form team, with 11 wins and just one loss in their past 14 games.
In Italy Federico Dimarco laid on a hat-trick of assists as Inter thumped 10-man Sassuolo 5-0 to open up an eight-point lead at the top of the Serie A table with a commanding performance in Reggio Emilia.
Inter have 58 points from their 24 games and top the table from city rivals Milan, who have played one game fewer. Sassuolo lie 11th in the table with 29 points from 24 games.
Dimarco had a hand in goals for Yann Bisseck, Marcus Thuram and Manuel Akanji, while Lautaro Martínez and Luis Henrique were also on the scoresheet as Inter overwhelmed their hosts. Sassuolo might have had a goal inside the opening minute but Ismaël Koné’s shot was cleared off the line by Dimarco, who was effective at both ends of the pitch. The home side finished with 10 men when Nemanja Matic received a second yellow card for dissent.
Juventus staged a dramatic comeback from 2-0 down to snatch a share of the spoils in Turin. Goals either side of the half-time break put visitors Lazio in control despite Juve’s domination up to that point. The hosts had a goal by Teun Koopmeiners chalked off due to an offside against Kephren Thuram on 26 minutes.
Former Spain international winger Pedro opened the scoring in first half added-on time following a mistake by Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli. Almost straight after the restart, Danish forward Gustav Isaksen finished smartly from the right-hand side to double Lazio’s lead.
Juventus kept pushing and US international midfielder Weston McKennie reduced the arrears just before the hour mark. And Frenchman Pierre Kalulu saved the day with virtually the last kick of the match.
Real Madrid stayed within one point of La Liga leaders Barcelona with a 2-0 win at Valencia as second-half goals by Alvaro Carreras and Kylian Mbappé settled a largely uneventful contest.
Real dominated possession but found chances hard to come by, with Valencia keeper Stole Dimitrievski rarely called into action as the visitors struggled to turn control into threat. The deadlock was broken in the 65th minute when left back Carreras profited from a scramble in the box, reacting quickest after a deflection to drive a low shot into the bottom-left corner.
Mbappé sealed the points in added time, meeting a low cross from substitute Brahim Díaz on the counterattack to finish first time from close range.