Madrid run riot as Barça, Atleti slip
Another topsy-turvy weekend of European football is in the books, and there are talking points galore across the big leagues.
Atletico Madrid slumped to a shock defeat at Leganés and Barcelona could only manage a draw against Getafe. That left the door open Real Madrid and Los Blancos duly obliged; smashing four past Las Palmas and shifting into top spot in LaLiga in the process.
In England, Tottenham Hotspur‘s season went from bad to worse, shipping three goals against a previously toothless Everton, while Justin Kluivert inspired AFC Bournemouth to a surprise win at Newcastle United.
Elsewhere, there were stunning goals from Tim Kleindienst and Javier Puado, and Romelu Lukaku made sure that Napoli‘s Serie A title charge wasn’t derailed by the departure of “Kvaradona.”
Sam Tighe, Alex Kirkland and Constantin Eckner take a look at what you might have missed this weekend.
Top takeaway: Brilliant Bournemouth stake Champions League claim
Toon fans have been on cloud nine lately — nine wins in a row, Alexander Isak scoring in eight straight games, a dominant midfield combination and clean sheets aplenty — but they were brought hurtling back to earth on Saturday as AFC Bournemouth dismantled Newcastle United 4-1 at St. James’ Park.
It was an astonishing performance from the Cherries, who remain in the thick of a chase for the UEFA Champions League places despite being racked by injuries. They have quite literally run out of right-backs, forcing a central midfielder to deputise there, and their bench consisted of six teenagers, a 20-year-old, a 21-year-old they recalled from loan last week, and a goalkeeper. For them to continue to play with such fluency, aggression and confidence was remarkable; that they overcame an opponent in such good form, at such an imposing stadium, almost defied belief.
Some conversation has since ensued over manager Andoni Iraola’s achievements and where that might lead him in the near future: A “big six” club? A top European club? He’ll rightly dismiss anything of the sort and focus on the here and now, of course, but it’s fair to say he (and his team) are starting to get some richly deserved recognition.
Best match: Everton 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur
To put it bluntly, Everton’s attack this season has been downright anemic, so to watch them race into a three-goal lead by half-time against Spurs was quite the eyebrow raiser. Spurs battled back with a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes, forcing the Toffees to hold their nerve in order to see out a first win under new (old) boss David Moyes.
Best goal: Dejan Kulusevski vs. Everton
The scene that preceded Kulusevski’s strike against Everton was carnage: A mad scramble in the box, goalkeeper off his line and a defender on the line.
What do players usually do in that scenario when the ball lands at their feet? Smash it as hard as they can.
What did the Spurs winger do? Deftly guide the ball into the top corner with the utmost care, accuracy and precision. A beautifully calm moment of play from inside a maelstrom.
MVP of the weekend: Justin Kluivert
There were plenty of top performances across the league, but nothing beats a hat trick of goals from open play. We make the “open play” distinction because Justin Kluivert scored a hat trick in December consisting solely of penalties, causing some to dismiss it. However, there’s no dismissing this effort.
Three great goals (particularly the last one) provided the cutting edge that converted Bournemouth’s excellent performance into an excellent, comprehensive win. — Tighe
JUSTIN KLUIVERT COMPLETES HIS HAT TRICK WITH A BELTER. 💥🎩#NEWBOU pic.twitter.com/FdVrJ0MAne
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) January 18, 2025
Top takeaway: It’s advantage Real Madrid, again, in topsy-turvy title race
It’s hard to keep track of who’s in crisis in LaLiga this season.
Is it Real Madrid, after their 5-2 thrashing to Barcelona in the Supercopa final? No, there they are now, at the top of the table thanks to Sunday’s 4-1 win over Las Palmas.
Surely it isn’t Barça themselves, having just won that trophy so emphatically? Well, they’ve now dropped points in seven of their last eight league games, a historically bad run — the latest being Saturday’s disappointing 1-1 draw at Getafe.
As for Atletico Madrid, having just won a club-record 15 consecutive games, they were beaten 1-0 at Leganés, with star forward Antoine Griezmann missing a penalty as his side squandered their advantage at the top of the table.
None of these teams are anything close to perfect, and that’s what makes this season’s LaLiga title race so gloriously unpredictable. Barcelona had 78% possession against Getafe but couldn’t make it count. Atletico created three big chances at Leganés, for an xG of 2.42, but weren’t clinical enough. And Madrid were ultimately convincing against Las Palmas, but still managed to concede after just 26 seconds, highlighting the defensive issues that have plagued them all season.
The end result: Madrid are two points clear at the top with Atletico chasing in second, and Barcelona seven points behind. But there’s no guarantee that next week, all that won’t change.
Best match: Real Madrid 4-1 Las Palmas
Real Madrid going behind early at the Santiago Bernabéu tends to be a recipe for a highly entertaining spectacle, and that’s exactly what happened on Sunday. Fábio Silva put the visitors ahead in the first minute before Madrid, led by an irrepressible Kylian Mbappé, turned on the style. Mbappé levelled from the penalty spot, Brahim Díaz made it 2-1, Mbappé added a third, and Rodrygo increased their lead to 4-1.
Mbappé was denied a hat trick by VAR, and both Jude Bellingham and Fede Valverde had late goals chalked off for offside, too.
Best goal: Javier Puado vs. Real Valladolid
Arguably LaLiga’s biggest result of the weekend came on Friday, as relegation candidates Espanyol beat fellow strugglers Real Valladolid 2-1. Espanyol’s opening goal, from Javier Puado, was a masterpiece of flawless technique, as he took one touch to control a difficult ball into the box, and a second to volley left-footed into the net. If Espanyol are to survive this season, they’ll need more goals like this from Puado.
MVP of the weekend: Kike Garcia
There’s only one candidate for LaLiga’s MVP this weekend: Alavés’ Kike García, who scored a brilliant hat trick in their much-needed 3-1 win at Real Betis on Saturday.
García, 35, is more talented journeyman than star and scored just three goals for Alavés in all of last season. Here he matched that tally in one game, with three predatory finishes. His first, an unstoppable penalty; his second, an instinctive, one-touch strike; and his third, a bullet header. — Kirkland
Top takeaway: Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt are worlds apart
The big story going into the first matchday of the Rückrunde (as the second half of the season is called) was the move of Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush to Manchester City. It became clear that the 25-year-old Egyptian would not play against Dortmund on Friday evening while he and his representatives finalized the move. Meanwhile, a report in respected German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung stated that Dortmund manager Nuri Şahin could be sacked before the UEFA Champions League game at Bologna on Tuesday.
Those two events made this game the perfect time for Dortmund’s players to beat a possibly disappointed Frankfurt side and save their manager’s job. Instead, they laid an egg once again in a 2-0 defeat, their third consecutive league loss since the end of the Christmas break.
Dortmund’s back five was disorganized against a reworked Frankfurt attack in which Hugo Etitiké, Marmoush’s former partner up front, played as a lone striker supported by a “double 10” in Mario Götze and Ansgar Knauff. Dortmund could barely stop any effective passing plays that Frankfurt created from the wings and half-spaces.
While the Schwarzgelben can show glimpses of promise in possession, they fall behind on the scoreboard far too often, which stops them becoming a confident, dominant possession side. Şahin certainly has the right ideas of how to transform this Dortmund team and give them an identity, but being in the lower half of the standings is so far away from the club’s expectations that the 36-year-old manager might not have much time left in the job.
Best match: Bochum 3-3 RB Leipzig
Marco Rose’s side scored three goals during the first half away to struggling Bochum, and everything seemed fine for the visitors until Myron Boadu — with the help of Gerrit Holtmann, who came on at halftime — and a couple of others staged a memorable comeback. Boadu scored three goals within 13 minutes, leaving Leipzig in shock as each side took home a point for their efforts.
Best goal: Tim Kleindienst vs. Bayer Leverkusen
The goal was essentially worthless, coming in second-half stoppage with the hosts leading 3-0, yet it was beautiful all the same. Gladbach were down and out at BayArena when, with seconds remaining, Luca Netz used a one-two to break through on the wing before finding Kleindienst with a lateral pass inside the penalty area. The Germany international directed the ball towards the goal with one touch, hitting the lower edge of the bar.
MVP of the weekend: Myron Boadu
At one time, Boadu was poised to break through given his elite talents. After his breakout season at Dutch Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar in 2020-21, he signed with AS Monaco, where he scored just 10 goals in two-and-a-half years. Even after moving to Bochum on loan last summer in a bid for more playing time, Boadu remained an afterthought. Bochum manager Dieter Hecking was not hesitant to criticize the 24-year-old for his performances in training, indicating that Boadu lacked the fitness to play in the Bundesliga.
“[Hecking] was a bit angry, I was a bit angry,” Boadu said after his three-goal performance against Leipzig on Saturday. Maybe we just witnessed a pivotal point in the young striker’s career. — Eckner
Napoli could barely have asked for a tougher fixture to face in the immediate wake of star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia leaving the club for Paris Saint-Germain, but in beating Atalanta 3-2 away from home, they laid the gauntlet back down for their title rivals. It’s fitting that Romelu Lukaku scored the winner for Napoli late on, too. Not only is he a symbol of Antonio Conte’s best version of football, but he’s clearly the figurehead of this team now. Even before “Kvara” left, much of the play was funnelling through the burly target man, which means he’ll now be an even more important part of what Naples hopes can still be a Scudetto chase. (They lead Inter by five points with 17 games remaining.) You know Conte; he won’t relent and clearly neither will his team, who passed a huge test on Saturday evening in Bergamo. — Tighe Former greats are desperately trying to get back to the Bundesliga, while smaller clubs want to achieve the upset. That sums up the current state of affairs in the 2. Bundesliga, Germany’s second division. The first matchday after a month-long break culminated in a clash between FC Cologne and Hamburg on Saturday evening. However, the supposed top-of-table game remained lackluster for the majority of the 90 minutes. Playing in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at Volksparkstadion, Hamburg created more chances than the previous table leaders and eventually got the deciding goal thanks to Ransford Königsdörffer. With that, Hamburg have taken the lead in Germany’s second division where an extremely close race for the promotion spots could unfold in the next few months. At the moment, 12 teams are within six points, with the first two being promoted directly to the Bundesliga and the third-placed team qualifying for the promotion playoffs, where they would face the 16th-ranked team from the Bundesliga. — Eckner
What else you missed this weekend
Napoli pick up tough win without “Kvaradona”
The 2.Bundesliga promotion race in Germany is as close at it gets
