Spain: Mbappé and Real have fun against Las Palmas
Under the leadership of a sparkling Kylian Mbappé and author of a double, Real Madrid overthrew and then corrected Las Palmas (4-1) on Sunday to regain first place in the Spanish championship standings ahead of their historic rivals Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona.
Five months after his debut with “the club of his dreams”, Mbappé may be holding his benchmark match. With a renewed boost and a big offensive involvement, the French striker confirmed his return to form by delivering a huge performance, rewarded with a double (18e on penalty, 36e).
Bilbao puts pressure on Barça
Involved in Brahim Diaz's other two goals (33e) and Rodrygo (57e), the N.9 Merengue, already decisive in the Copa del Rey against Celta Vigo (5-2) and in the Spanish Super Cup final against Barça (5-2 defeat), even believed to score his first hat-trick under the white jersey. But his third goal was ultimately refused for an offside position at the start of the action (43e), just before his recovery from the right at the end of the first half hit the post (45e+2).
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The captain of the French team, a little less visible in the second half, was still entitled to several ovations from the public at the Santiago Bernabéu, more and more under his spell after his 17e et 18e achievements of the season in all competitions.
Earlier in the afternoon, Athletic Bilbao (4e39 points), carried out the good operation of this 20e day by winning (2-1) against Celta Vigo (13e24 points) to come back to the level of FC Barcelona (3e39 points).
The results of the 20th day
Espanyol 2-1 Valladolid
Gérone 1-2 Sevilla FC
Leganes 1-0 Atlético de Madrid
Betis Sevilla 1-3 Alaves
Getafe 1-1 FC Barcelona
Celta Vigo 1-2 Bilbao
Real Madrid 4-1 Las Palmas
Osasuna – Vallecano
Valence – Real Sociedad
England: in Manchester, City smiles and United cries
Manchester City enjoyed themselves at Ipswich (6-0) on Sunday in the Premier League, for the final trial run before the clash against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in the Champions League. The reigning four-time English champions further push back the memory of a completely failed first half of the season and move up to fourth place with 38 points, six lengths behind third Nottingham Forest.
In 2025, they have scored twenty goals in four matches. The schedule was certainly accommodating, with West Ham, Salford (4e division) in the Cup, and promoted Ipswich among the last opponents. But all the lights are green before Wednesday's match at the Parc des Princes, decisive for the European future of both teams.
Rest for executives
Phil Foden, named man of the match, scored a second double in a row, five days after that at Brentford (2-2). Another executive who has faltered this season, Kevin De Bruyne regained his splendor on Sunday, with a hat-trick of assists. He served Foden (27e42e) but also Jérémy Doku (49e).
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The latter, very restless on the left side, became a decisive passer for Erling Haaland (57e), before a final goal from incoming James McAtee (6-0, 69e). Pep Guardiola, who also found his defender Ruben Dias, absent since mid-December, was able to remove Foden, Haaland and De Bruyne from the 63e ahead of the match against PSG.
Earlier in the day, Manchester United fell back into their failings against Brighton (3-1), but shares their miseries with Tottenham, falling to an unworthy 15e place after a defeat at Everton (3-2).
“The worst team in history”
At Old Trafford, where the memory of former Scottish striker Denis Law (1940-2025) was honored, the flaws of Red Devils showed themselves in great style, whether in defense or in midfield. Even goalkeeper André Onana, regular savior of his team, committed an incredible hand error on a harmless cross, and French striker Georgino Rutter took advantage of it to close the score (3-1, 76e).
“We are perhaps the worst team in the history of Manchester United. I know you want headlines, but I say it because we have to recognize it and change that,” said Ruben Amorim, Manchester United coach, at a press conference.
Nottingham Forest also conceded two, Sunday against Southampton (3-2), but that does not take away from their happiness.
Nuno Espirito Santo's team, third, comes back to level with Arsenal (2e44 pts).
The results of the 22nd day of the Premier League
Newcastle 1-4 Bournemouth
Brentford 0-2 Liverpool
Leicester 0-2 Fulham
West Ham 0-2 Crystal Palace
-Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa
Everton 3-2 Tottenham
Manchester United 1-3 Brighton
Nottingham 3-2 Southampton
Ipswich 0-6 Manchester City
Germany: Union Berlin reassures itself a little
At the gates of the red zone before the 18e Bundesliga day, Union Berlin raised its head on Sunday by winning at home against Mainz, contender for European places this season.
After a goal from Benedict Hollerbach in the first seconds of the match (1-0, 1re), the players of the Capital conceded a penalty a few minutes later, which Nadiem Amiri was responsible for transforming (1-1, 5e).
But 20 minutes later, Robert Skov in turn scored a penalty (2-1, 24e) to give the Berliners a definitive advantage. In the ranking, the Union is 13e while Mainz remains at 6e place.
At the end of the afternoon, Augsburg dominated Werder Bremen (2-0) thanks to a double from former Avranches, Pau and Caen player Samuel Essende.
The results of the 18th day of the Bundesliga
Frankfurt 2-0 Dortmund
Bayern Munich 3-2 Wolfsbourg
Bochum 3-3 Leipzig
Heidenheim 0-2 Saint Pauli
Like 1-3 Hoffenheim
Stuttgart 4-0 Freiburg
Leverkusen 3-1 Monchengladbach
Union Berlin 2-1 Mainz
Werder Bremen 0-2 Augsburg
Italy: Fiorentina will bite their fingers
Dominant and in numerical superiority for an hour, the Fiorentina players finally shared the points with Torino (1-1) on Sunday in Florence, and saw the first five places in Serie A slip away.
Gineitis destroys the hopes of the Viola
Five minutes after the exclusion of Ali Dembélé, the former Parisian Moïse Kean gave the advantage to the Viola (1-0, 38e), but the Lithuanian Gvidas Gineitis reset the counters to zero in the last 20 minutes (1-1, 70e).
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In the other matches of the day, Cagliari crushed Lecce (4-1) while Parma could not do better than a draw against Venice (1-1), although relegated.
The results of the 21st day of Serie A
Roma 3-1 Genoa
Bologna 3-1 Monza
Juventus 2-0 AC Milan
Atalanta 2-3 Naples
Fiorentina 1-1 Turin
Cagliari 4-1 Lecce
Parma 1-1 Venice
Hellas Verona – Lazio Rome
Inter – Empoli
