Another exciting weekend of football across Europe did not disappoint. Here are the Winners and Losers in Europe from the weekend. You can bet on European football here.
Winners
Lyon
Olympique Lyon inflicted the first defeat of the season on Ligue 1 leaders Paris St-Germain on Sunday with an impressive 2-1 win. Despite going ahead in the seventh minute through Angel Di Maria, the reigning champions couldn’t cope with the hosts. Lyon have now strengthened their grip on the third spot, three points behind second-placed Lille. The home side’s win also meant that they have lost only once in ten games.
Leonardo Jardim
Newly re-appointed manager Leonardo Jardim delivered Monaco’s first home win of the season when they defeated Toulouse 2-1. It was Cesc Fabregas who clinched the important win when he scored just past the hour mark. The win now lifts the former Ligue 1 champions to 18th and the promotion-relegation spot. Jardim will now look to string a run of wins and get to safety as the season enters the crucial stage.
Napoli
Napoli recovered from the earlier Coppa Italia exit to defeat Sampdoria 3-0 to keep Juventus within their sights. With Juventus struggling with a host of injuries, this was a good chance for the Partenopei to cut the almost unassailable lead of the champions at the top. With no distractions after Champions League and Coppa Italia exit, Carlo Ancelotti’s men can now focus on catching the leaders, who failed to beat Parma at home.
Losers
Last season’s champions
Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich faltered over the weekend due to unconvincing and sloppy performances. If it were not for the heroics of Lionel Messi, the Blaugrana would have suffered defeat against Valencia. Instead, the Argentine snatched a point for Barca, who were unable to find the winner. Juventus failed to bounce back after suffering elimination from the Coppa Italia, conceding a stoppage-time goal to Parma. Reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern’s run of seven straight league wins was ended by Bayer Leverkusen, who defeated them 3-1, a blow to their title hopes. Along with PSG’s defeat at Lyon, it was a poor weekend for the title holders.
Luciano Spalletti
Spaletti’s Inter Milan suffered their third consecutive defeat in all competitions following Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Bologna. Spalletti, whose team was knocked out of the Champions League in December, also went out of the Coppa Italia after a penalty-shootout loss to Lazio on Thursday. Spaletti’s boys have now failed to score in two straight league games. Pressure is certainly mounting on him. He was jeered by a section of the supporters but he remains positive the Nerazzurri will rediscover their form.
Over 2.5 Goals bettors
Whether it’s stingy defences or struggling attackers, goals were hard to come by this past weekend in some of Europe’s top leagues. In the Premier League, only three games out of nine produced Over 2.5 goals while in Germany, five games played on Saturday failed to produce more than three goals. All Serie A matches played on Sunday failed to produce Over 2.5 goals, a massive blow to the punters’ favourite market.