Leverkusen's staggering unbeaten run, Lewandowski finds form

It was a fun Saturday across European soccer, with talking points galore in the Bundesliga title race, LaLiga, Women’s Super League, English Premier League and Ligue 1. Bayer Leverkusen clinched a 2-1 win to further their lead at the top of the table, Barcelona edged Celta Vigo with a stoppage-time penalty and Manchester United vs. Arsenal broke the WSL attendance record.

Meanwhile, days after informing Paris Saint-Germain that he will leave this summer, Kylian Mbappé was benched for their match against Nantes, and came on in the 62nd minute to score.

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Here is your look back at yet another roller-coaster weekend in European football.

SATURDAY REVIEW

The lead: Leverkusen keep up title charge with yet another win

Following their magnificent win against nearest challengers Bayern Munich last weekend, Bayer Leverkusen kept up their title charge by beating minnows Heidenheim 2-1 on Saturday. The Bundesliga newcomers had remained unbeaten for eight games before hosting Leverkusen on Saturday, and while Heidenheim defended commendably against Leverkusen’s onslaught, they eventually had to concede against one of the best teams in Europe currently.

Leverkusen scored their go-ahead goal in first-half stoppage time when Amine Adli, who has been a revelation in recent weeks, assisted Jeremie Frimpong inside Heidenheim’s box. Frimpong’s shot flew past goalkeeper Kevin Müller thanks to a deflection from Jonas Föhrenbach‘s body.

32 – Bayer 04 Leverkusen are unbeaten in their last 32 consecutive competitive matches (W28 D4), equalling the record by a Bundesliga team, previously only achieved by Bayern Munich from 2019 to 2020 under Hansi Flick. Invincible. pic.twitter.com/tUWRX4ucY9

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) February 17, 2024

After the interval, Xabi Alonso’s side had to face a more intense press by the hosts, who were supported by a vociferous 15,000 fans inside the packed Voith-Arena. But despite struggling at times to break that press and create promising goal-scoring opportunities in the early stages of the second half, Leverkusen remained in control with relative ease and were never in danger of giving the win away. Eventually, they put a stamp on the game thanks to an Adli goal nine minutes before the end.

Getting past another tricky challenge means that Leverkusen are, for now, eight points ahead of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga standings, as Bayern will face VfL Bochum on Sunday. What’s more, Leverkusen are unbeaten for 32 games at this point, equalling a record Bayern set between December 2019 and September 2020. It is truly a historic season for Alonso, his players and Leverkusen as a whole.

While there is still a lot of football to be played, the praise for this team cannot be high enough. — Constantin Eckner

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Saturday talking points around the leagues

Lewandowski finds form for Champions League?

A Robert Lewandowski brace, including a twice-taken stoppage-time penalty, helped Barcelona beat Celta Vigo 2-1 on Saturday at Balaídos as they returned to winning ways ahead of Wednesday’s crunch Champions League meeting with Napoli.

Lewandowski’s 97th-minute spot kick was initially saved by Vicente Guaita, but he was handed another chance when VAR ruled the Celta goalkeeper had advanced off his line too soon. The Polish striker made no mistake with his second chance, earning Barça a confidence-boosting three points after last week’s horror show against Granada, when they drew 3-3. Lewandowski had earlier broken the deadlock with a well-taken finish before the break. Iago Aspas drew Celta level early in the second half, but Rafa Benitez’s side could not hold on and remains just three points above the relegation zones.

Barça coach Xavi Hernandez insisted the performance represented a “step forward” ahead of the midweek trip to Napoli for their Champions League round of 16 first leg. However, this was another grey display from the Catalans, although Lewandowski’s improved numbers do provide some optimism.

He has now scored four goals in his past three appearances and 17 in all competitions this season. His winning goal in Vigo was his 50th for Barça since his 2022 transfer from Bayern Munich, and he appears to be refinding his goal-scoring touch just in time for the return of the Champions League.

“The goals are arriving because he is playing better for the team,” Xavi explained. “Positionally he is better. He is not leaving his area so much, he is playing better and the goals are coming. There is no big secret.”

Barça, meanwhile, have now taken 10 points from 12 in the league since Xavi announced he will step down in the summer. Saturday’s win moves them within two points of second-placed Girona and seven of leaders Real Madrid, with both teams due to play later this weekend. — Sam Marsden

First-half errors prove costly for United at the Emirates

A Geyse 10th-minute own goal set the tone as Arsenal clashed with Manchester United in front of a record crowd of 60,160 at the Emirates on Saturday.

It was, on balance, a strange game that ended 3-1 to the Gunners. United had started the stronger, but after the own goal, ended up exposed twice more before the break. After Cloe Lacasse had been left unmarked to nod home at the back stick, Kim Little tucked a penalty away after Beth Mead had been fouled by Gemma Evans. Three goals to the good at the break, having had only two shots on target, Arsenal were cruising, but the game had lacked substance, devolving to a bitty, transitional affair.

The second half was more of the same: Arsenal the better team going forward, but rather than enjoying the rub of the green, the hosts consistently found their efforts blocked by a mix of bodies, Mary Earps‘ gloves and the woodwork. United, to their credit, managed to actually put something on target and even grabbed a stoppage-time consolation goal through Lucía García, but as the game wore on, the visitors looked even less of a cohesive unit.

The game, despite the goals and crowd, was a bit of a non-event, the context of the result to keep Arsenal within three points of the top two, with a seven-point drop to United in fourth the important outcome for the hosts. For United, who had come away with a snatch-and-grab win on their trip to the Emirates (en route to finishing above Arsenal) last season, this match wasn’t just a dent in their top-three hopes for this campaign but spoke to a deeper regression and only furthers the pressure on manager Marc Skinner. — Sophie Lawson

Mbappé benched then secured another PSG win

Kylian Mbappé was on the bench when PSG kicked off their Ligue 1 game at Nantes on Saturday evening. Four days after telling his club that he will be leaving at the end of the season, this wasn’t a punishment, just some rest time given by coach Luis Enrique. The France captain didn’t seem happy when he got off the bus before the game, but he came on in the second half, just after Paris’ first goal scored by Lucas Hernández after a deflection, with a big smile on his face.

Mbappé was cheered by the PSG ultras who travelled to Nantes in the first public reaction from the fans after the big announcement. And when he scored his team’s second goal, his 21st in the league this season, on a penalty, all the celebrations seemed genuine.

Ousmane Dembélé was also left out of the starting lineup before making his entrance at the same time as Mbappé. Without their two best players, the French champions were once again open defensively, conceding opportunities that Nantes didn’t take. The outcome could have been much different had the hosts been more clinical, and now PSG are running away with the title.

They are 14 points clear of Nice in second place and 15 on Lille and Monaco (who have a game in hand). PSG are still unbeaten away from home in Ligue 1 this season and have lost only once, against Nice at the Parc des Princes back on September. — Julien Laurens

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Americans abroad: Aaronson scores winner, Sargent on a hot streak

On loan from Leeds United, Brenden Aaronson scored his first Bundesliga goal for Union Berlin after 18 appearances, and what a goal it was. Goalless until the 84th minute, the 23-year-old stepped up to provide a clinical finish in a superb counter-attack against Hoffenheim. Union Berlin now sit in 12th place, and Aaronson will hope it’s the first of many goals to stay away from the relegation zone and keep in form ahead of this summer’s Copa América.

Josh Sargent‘s brace for Norwich City against Cardiff takes his goal tally to 10 for the season, his second best across his career in Europe after scoring 13 times last campaign. What’s more, the 23-year-old has found the net in four straight games for the Canaries, who sit in seventh place in the Championship table. Will we see the same Sargent for the USMNT this summer?

Elsewhere, both Giovanni Reyna and Matt Turner were left on the bench for Nottingham Forest in their 2-0 win over West Ham. With Turner now the No. 2 goalkeeper and Reyna having made the loan move from Dortmund, both are in need of playing minutes to stay sharp.

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News of the day

• Liverpool suffered a trio of injuries in Saturday’s 4-1 victory at Brentford, with Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota facing potentially significant injuries while striker Darwin Núñez was substituted with a “small” issue at half-time. The win cements their place at the top of the Premier League for at least the remainder of the weekend. However, Jurgen Klopp’s side must now do without key players Jones and Jota, while Núñez’s issue is not yet known. Klopp confirmed that Jones was using crutches after the match. They join an injury list that already included Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak, Joël Matip, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alisson.

• The Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA), the union that represents officials working in MLS, the NWSL and the USL, rejected a proposed new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) put before it by the union’s executive board, and negotiated with the Professional Referees Organization (PRO), the referees’ employer. The vote took place over Thursday and Friday, and in response, PRO is now saying it will lock out the referees starting at midnight ET on Saturday and begin the season with replacement officials.

• Pep Guardiola has insisted Erling Haaland was not to blame for Manchester City dropping points against Chelsea despite having nine shots without scoring. City and Chelsea drew 1-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to slip behind Liverpool and Arsenal — who both won earlier in the day — in the Premier League title race. “It’s good to have nine shots and next time he’s going to score,” said Guardiola. “I was a football player for 11 years and scored 11 goals. I’m not a proper man to give advice to strikers. We create the chances, he had the chances and next time he’s going to score. I don’t blame him. It’s football, it’s human beings.”

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And finally on Saturday …

After netting his first goal of 2024 and 18th for the season, Serhou Guirassy became the first Stuttgart player to score so many goals after 22 matchdays. The last player to be so prolific for the club in a single season was Mario Gómez, who scored 24 in 2008-09. Guirassy is now in second place behind Harry Kane (24) for most goals in the Bundesliga this campaign, and his club trails Bayern Munich by four points. If the 27-year-old Guinean continues to deliver, top clubs across Europe will be clamoring for his signature come the summer transfer window.

Goal machine @Guirassy_19 back up and running! 🎯#VfB | #SVDVfB | 0-1 pic.twitter.com/xg6F9EVMz9

— VfB Stuttgart_int (@VfB_int) February 17, 2024