Cliff Notes – European soccer review: Barca can’t push Real Madrid out of title race
- Southampton has made history as the fastest team to be relegated from the Premier League, finishing with just 10 points after their loss to Tottenham Hotspur.
- Barcelona missed a crucial opportunity to extend their lead over Real Madrid in LaLiga, settling for a draw against Real Betis, leaving the title race wide open.
- Bayern Munich secured a 3-1 victory over Augsburg but suffered a significant blow with the injury of Jamal Musiala, who is likely to miss upcoming matches.
European soccer review: Barca can’t push Real Madrid out of title race
While Liverpool’s loss on Sunday was a setback in their run to what appears to be an inevitable Premier League title, Southampton have wasted no time in swiftly exiting the league as the fastest team to ever be relegated.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid’s loss this weekend left an opening for Barcelona to pull away further in the LaLiga title race, but Barcelona stumbled on Saturday, keeping the table close enough that it’s still anyone’s trophy.
In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich’s dominance continues, but at the hefty cost of a Jamal Musiala injury that the German powerhouse club probably can’t afford.
All that and more in this edition of Weekend Review as Luis Miguel Echegaray, Alex Kirkland and Constantin Eckner look across Europe for the big takeaways and highlights from the weekend.
Top takeaway: Southampton the fastest team to be relegated in history
We’ve covered Liverpool’s 3-2 loss to Fulham and the worst Manchester derby in years already, so let’s turn our attention now to the bottom of the table. Southampton have become the first club — and quickest in history — to suffer relegation after losing 3-1 to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
For Saints fans, not only do they now know they’ll be playing in the Championship next season, but they also have to come to terms with the possibility of earning the undesired record of statistically ending the campaign as the worst team in Premier League history. After their loss to Spurs, Southampton have 10 points after 31 matches, only one point behind the unwanted record held by Derby County back in 2007-08, when they managed only one victory.
With Ipswich Town (loss vs. Wolves) and Leicester City (host Newcastle United on Monday) also surely on their way back down, there is an argument to be made that there has never been a wider gap between newly promoted teams and the rest of the league.
Best match: Aston Villa 2-1 Nottingham Forest
A scintillating match at Villa Park between two strong teams gave us a tale of two halves.
The hosts took full control with a 2-0 lead after only 15 minutes thanks to Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen. At the break, Forest were down but not out knowing they are still fighting for a historic Champions League place, and they came out roaring, forcing Villa back at every opportunity. Jota Silva, who became the villain of the day against the Villans, teased and bothered at every turn and finally got his reward in the 57th minute.
The score became 2-1 and as Villa had to hold on, it was a totally different match. More drama arrived in stoppage time as Murillo smashed a tremendous effort that hit the crossbar, only to be followed by a Marcus Rashford attempt that was denied by goalkeeper Matz Sels.
In the end, Villa recorded their seventh straight win in all competitions, keeping alive their hopes of Champions League football for next season.
Best goal: Morgan Rogers vs. Nottingham Forest
A delicious goal that opened the scoring for Aston Villa against high-flying Forest in the 13th minute at Villa Park. There were three particular moments of beauty. First, Youri Tielemans fed the ball to Rogers from midfield with a wonderful ball. The English international then took it in his stride thanks to a slick first touch with the outside of his right foot, which placed itself for him to finish it with his left, putting the ball through Sels’ legs. A cold, cold finish.
Morgan Rogers 🥶 pic.twitter.com/sEHYHiwT12
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 5, 2025
MVP of the weekend: Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi (Fulham’s 3-2 win vs. Liverpool)
I’m handing out the award to two players this weekend because I think the MVP award rightly and equally belongs to the Nigerian internationals. Iwobi and Bassey were magnificent against the league leaders, helping Fulham earn a tremendous victory over Liverpool and ending their 26-match unbeaten run in the Premier League.
Iwobi scored and assisted, creating complete havoc against Arne Slot’s side. And what about Bassey? My goodness. It felt at times there were three of him on the pitch. The defender worked so hard to keep Mohamed Salah quiet — not exactly the easiest job — and did it wonderfully. He was so dedicated and fearless in protecting and even going forward in order to alleviate any kind of pressure. A gutsy, passionate, smart performance from both players, who epitomized Fulham’s work ethic Sunday. — Echegaray
Top takeaway: Barcelona miss chance to push Real Madrid further from title
Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat to Valencia on Saturday felt like the end of the LaLiga title race, until Barcelona’s 1-1 draw with Real Betis brought it back to life. A gap which could have been six points between leaders Barça and second-placed Madrid is now just four. There are eight games left, and there’s still a Clásico to come, although given how those have gone this season, that’s little consolation for Madrid.
Madrid’s performance against Valencia wasn’t all bad — Kylian Mbappé was a threat, contributing six of Madrid’s 21 shots, with the team generating an expected goals (xG) of 3.47 compared to the visitors’ 0.76 — but they weren’t exactly convincing, either. Vinícius Júnior had a penalty saved and was whistled by some of the crowd. Madrid were underpowered in midfield, despite the best efforts of Federico Valverde, and defended both of Valencia’s goals poorly.
“We still have a chance,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said, and later on Saturday, Barça’s draw with Betis proved him right.
Betis are demanding opponents, even without the suspended Isco, but Barça were far from their best, personified by Robert Lewandowski, who had just 23 touches and one shot in 90 minutes. After Gavi’s early opener was cancelled out by Natan’s header, Barça weren’t able to create another really clear chance, as much as they pushed. Raphinha ended the game so frustrated that neither Hansi Flick, nor Marc-André ter Stegen, were able to calm him down.
So Barça, four points clear, are still favorites to win the league. But there’s just enough doubt to keep things interesting.
Best match: Real Mallorca 1-2 Celta Vigo 2
We’ve already praised Valencia’s win at the Bernabéu — their first in 17 years — so let’s highlight another 2-1 away win, for Celta Vigo at Mallorca. The home side went ahead early, but Celta responded with two classy second-half strikes from Alfon González and Fer López to go seventh in the table, and provide more evidence of their status as one of the most fun teams to watch in Spain.
Best goal: Lucien Agoumé vs. Atletico Madrid
Sevilla midfielder Lucien Agoumé, 23, had never scored a senior goal, ever. Sunday’s thumping finish against Atletico Madrid — one moment of quality in an otherwise underwhelming game which Atleti won 2-1 late on — was a good place to start.
MVP of the weekend: Giorgi Mamardashvili, Valencia
Goalkeeper Mamardashvili made eight saves against Real Madrid, including stopping a Vinicius Junior penalty, and — in particular — one fierce effort from Mbappé. Mamardashvili’s star turn continued in the mixed zone afterwards, when he told ESPN that he’d bet Vinícius 50 euros that he’d save the forward’s spot kick. “He hasn’t paid me yet,” the keeper said. — Kirkland
Top takeaway: Bayern move to closer to title win but lose Musiala
Augsburg have made their name in recent times as an almost unconquerable defensive side, with goalkeeper Finn Dahmen at one point keeping clean sheets for over 11 hours across games. But Dahmen and his back line succumbed to Bayern Munich’s relentless pressure on Friday, although Dimitris Giannoulis scored the lead for Augsburg after a quickly taken free kick where he escaped the attentions of Konrad Laimer.
What turned out to be a rather comfortable 3-1 away win came at a huge cost, because playmaker Jamal Musiala, who equalized Giannoulis’ goal before the half-time break, had to leave the field helped by two of the Bayern medical staff in the 54th minute and will likely not be available for Bayern’s UEFA Champions League clash with Internazionale on Tuesday. Vincent Kompany’s team had already been injury-ridden after both Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies suffered season-ending knee injuries during the most-recent international break.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen tried to bounce back from a disappointing loss to third-division side Arminia Bielefeld in the German Cup semi-final last Tuesday where Xabi Alonso’s team did not look like a serious title contender. They didn’t really set the world on fire away at Heidenheim, and it looked like the game may end up in a goalless draw, but Emiliano Buendía, currently on loan from Aston Villa, scored in stoppage time, keeping the Bundesliga title race alive for the moment.
Best match: SC Freiburg 1-4 Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund have historically performed well against Freiburg, and the hosts ended up being a nice sparring partner for the Schwarzgelben who will face Barcelona in the Champions League in a few days. English midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka got his first start for Dortmund and scored the 2-0 shortly after the interval.
Best goal: Jamal Musiala vs. Augsburg
This goal showed the 22-year-old’s genius. He received a pass from Leroy Sané into the box and found himself surrounded by three defenders. Even though Musiala stumbled, he still retained the ball to then arrow a beautiful shot past Dahmen.
MVP of the weekend: Stuttgart’s Ermedin Demirović
Demirović contributed three goals to Stuttgart’s 4-0 win over Bochum. It was a perfect day for the Bosnian striker who hadn’t had the easiest time in recent weeks. But Bochum’s back line became the victim of Demirović, who was signed to fill Serhou Guirassy’s large shoes. — Eckner
What else you missed this weekend
Leeds are in danger of bottling promotion to the Premier League
Leeds United have fallen out of the direct promotion zone of the EFL Championship after yet another disappointing result. The Daniel Farke-led side looked like the best team in the league only a couple of weeks ago. But ever since beating Sheffield United away in February, The Whites have dropped off in performance quite significantly. Some points were lost because goalkeeper Illan Meslier committed crucial mistakes, but in general it seems as if Leeds have lost their ways, and Farke is unable to reinvigorate his group of players.
On Saturday, Leeds only drew with relegation-threatened Luton Town, while Burnley won their game at Coventry, thus overtaking Leeds. The first two places, currently occupied by Burnley and Sheffield, grant automatic promotion to the Premier League while the third promotion spot is decided in a four-team play-off. Even though Leeds remain still closely behind Burnley and Sheffield, the trend is not their friend, having only won one out of six games since said game against Sheffield. — Eckner
Wrexham and Birmingham City shine in League One
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have much to be happy about these days as League One’s Wrexham AFC currently hold second place and automatic promotion to the Championship.
This past Saturday, the Welsh side won 3-0 against Burton Albion and coupled with third-place Wycombe Wanderers’ 1-0 loss to Reading, it gives the Red Dragons a six-point lead over Wycombe albeit with an extra game played with five matches left. It would be quite an incredible achievement as it would mean three consecutive automatic promotions.
The idea of Wrexham playing in the Premier League is not as far-fetched as it once appeared when Reynolds and McElhenney took over.
Meanwhile, Birmingham City destroyed Barnsley 6-2 and maintained their lead at the top with 92 points, 11 more than Wrexham, having played two games less. One more victory for Birmingham City guarantees them a return to the second tier of English football.
There is an obvious impact that comes with star-led money and marketability, which is not something that everyone in lower league football can boast about so I wouldn’t necessarily say these are quintessentially-pure Cinderella stories but regardless, despite the influx of cash and star-power, the football still has to be played and results are ultimately determined on the pitch and in that regard, both these clubs have more than delivered. — Echegaray
