Departure of Inter from the Cup, difficult victory for Bayern and fan run to Messi: the main events of the day in European football

Miracle Goal in Berlin and Holland's ball in the 95th minute

Bayern on Saturday took the next step towards becoming the champion of Germany for the eighth time in a row. The Munichers, despite the absence of disqualified Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski, defeated the Mönchengladbach Borussia, which was fighting for medals, at home: 2: 1.

Guests at the very beginning of the meeting were also left without one of the top scorers. Mark Turam was injured and was forced to ask for a replacement. Breel Embolo, who stepped onto the field instead of him, helped Jonas Hoffman distinguish himself several minutes later. However, the judge, after watching the replay, canceled the goal due to an offside position.

And in the middle of the first half, the goalkeeper of the guests Jan Sommer made a gross mistake. He sent the ball from the penalty line in the direction of Joshua Zirkze, and the 19-year-old striker from the Netherlands sent a shot into the empty target. For him, this goal was fourth in eight games of the current Bundesliga season.

Soon, however, Bayern responded with its own defense error. Benjamin Pavar sent the ball into his own goal, trying to break Patrick Herrmann's backache.

At the beginning of the second half, Borussia tried to build on its success, and the leader had a very difficult time. Nevertheless, in the very end of the “Bavaria” still managed to snatch three points. Pavar performed an assist on Leon Goretzka and thereby corrected for his own goal. A midfielder scored a goal in the second round in a row.

Thus, Bayern increased the continuous series of victories in the Bundesliga to ten and to 13 in all tournaments (total score - 40: 9). In order to guarantee their title, the Munich team in the next match is enough to beat the outsider Werder Bremen.

Bayern could have become unattainable to competitors as early as Saturday, as the main pursuer, Dortmund Borussia, almost lost points in the match against Fortuna. However, the black and yellow saved Erling Holland. A Norwegian recovering from an injury appeared on the field after the break and scored the winning and only goal in the fifth minute added. After the filing of the partner, the forward sent the ball to the target.

The joy of Borussia head coach Lucien Favre was so strong that he received a leg injury, celebrating a goal. Holland scored the 14th goal in 15 meetings for the Dortmund and simultaneously repeated the Bundesliga record. In the current season of the German championship, he scored six goals after substitutions in the second half. In the 2014/15 season, Niels Petersen set a similar achievement.

And in the confrontation between outsiders Paderborn and Werder Bremen, defender of the Paderborn Klaus Gyasula received the 17th yellow card in the current Bundesliga season and set a new tournament record. At the same time, an Albanian footballer has never been removed from the field.

The match itself ended with a major victory, “Bremen” - 5: 1. Bremen for the first time this season managed to beat an opponent with a difference of more than one goal and achieved the first defeat in the national championship in a year and four months.

Double midfielder from the Netherlands, Davi Klasen, marked the double. Now on his account in the current season of the German championship there are ten points for performance (6 goals + 4 assists). According to this indicator in the team he is second only to Milot Raszyce (7 + 5), who did not realize a penalty in the 19th minute. And the Japanese Yuya Osako scored the fifth goal of the season.

The victory allowed Werder Bremen to catch up with Fortuna. Now the teams share 16th place, giving the right to play in butt games for the right to stay in the Bundesliga. However, according to additional indicators, the difference between goals scored and goals conceded, Bremen are still inferior to the opponent.

Another defeat of the game day was recorded in the match “Hertha” and “Eintracht” - 1: 4. The Berliners opened an account in the middle of the first half, but the removal of central defender Ang Dedric Boya broke his game.

In the second half, the majority of the guests seized the initiative and scored four goals. The main character in their composition was Andre Silva. The Portuguese striker came on as a substitute in the second half and managed to get a double, as well as an assist. The first goal of the striker was especially beautiful. Silva with a heel closed the transmission of Daiti Kamada. The Japanese, on the way to the gate, beat three opponents.

High performance helped the striker become the 18th player in the current German championship draw, who overcame the ten-goal mark, and he scored six of them after the break. 

And here is another metropolitan team “Union” interrupted a long win-win series. Wards Urs Fischer away beat Cologne - 2: 1 and won their first victory in eight rounds. 

The only reason for the joy of the hosts was the 13th goal of John Cordoba. In the championship scorers' race, the Colombian is second only to Robert Lewandowski (30), Timo Werner (25), Jadon Sancho (17), Rowen Hennings (14) and Wouter Weghorst (14).

In turn, Weghorst scored twice in a match against Freiburg, but that did not help Wolfsburg win. Forward from the Netherlands twice scored already in the middle of the first half, keeping within 13 minutes. But shortly before the break, the opponent reduced the gap, and in the second half restored the status quo.

Three points for Messi's performance and Smolov’s offensive defeat 

In Spain, on Saturday, the first match after the resumption of the season was held by the leading Barcelona. The Catalans got the most convenient rival to the rivals - the outsider Mallorca. As a result, the favorite did not experience any problems and sent four unanswered goals into the opponent’s goal.

The main character of the match was Lionel Messi, who scored one goal and made two assists. On his account in the current draw Examples are exactly 20 goals and 14 passes. The Argentinean confidently leads both in the tournament scorers of the tournament and in the dispute of the best assistants. In addition, Messi became the first player in history to score 20 goals or more in 12 seasons. Examples in a row.

Also in the “Barca” should be noted Martin Brightwhite, who was in the starting lineup and scored a debut ball for blue garnet.

Not without a small oddity. At the very beginning of the second half, a fan appeared on the field. An unnoticed young man in a T-shirt of the Argentine national team with the tenth number on his back calmly went straight onto the lawn and headed for Messi. Only after a slight hitch the stewards brought him to the laughter of the players.

But “Celta” Fyodor Smolova lost at home to “Villarreal” with a minimum score. The meeting in Vigo went to a goalless draw, but in the first minute added to the second half, the guests pulled out three points. Substitute Manu Trigeros from close range sent the ball into the net with a rebound from the opponent.

As for Smolov, he remained in the reserve and replaced only in the 81st minute. For the time allotted to him, Fedor was remembered only by a soft canopy into the penalty area on Iago Aspas, who was interrupted at the last moment by the goalkeeper. 

The defeat of the Mallorca from Barcelona allowed Celta to remain in 17th place. In addition, he lost and Leganes, which could catch up with a competitor in the event of a home victory. The game with Valladolid ended with a score of 1: 2. This match was remembered by a beautiful action on the part of the hosts. They laid out T-shirts and flowers on the seats of an empty stadium in memory of fans who had died in the season, who had died in recent months.

Leganes have laid out shirts and flowers in memory of their season ticket holders who have died in recent months for their first La Liga match after the restart 💙 pic.twitter.com/WbqZqZESdl

Finally, Espanyol, closing the standings of the Examples, unexpectedly beat Alaves at home - 2-0. This victory was the first for the Catalans on February 9th. At the same time, guests were forced to act in the minority for more than 70 minutes after the removal of the main goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco. His successor, rented from West Ham Roberto, made his debut for the team, made seven saves, but still missed twice.

Mertens' record and Ericksen's goal with a direct hit from the corner  

And in Italy on Saturday the second semifinal match of the Cup of the country took place. Napoli hosted Inter. At the same time, in the first meeting, held in Milan in February, the Neapolitans celebrated the victory with a minimum score.

However, the “nerazzurri” in the second minute restored the status quo by the sum of two matches. Moreover, Christian Eriksen managed to distinguish himself with a direct shot from the corner. All the opponents missed the ball, and it flew between the legs of David Ospina.

This mistake turned out to be the first and last in this game for the Colombian goalkeeper. Subsequently, he repeatedly helped out his team, and in a couple of episodes he demonstrated the real wonders of the reaction.

“Inter” had the advantage, but “Napoli” at the very end of the first half took advantage of his only moment. The hosts fled in a counterattack, and Dries Mertens hit an empty net after the transfer of Lorenzo Insigne. The goal allowed the Belgian to become the top scorer in club history. With 122 goals in the asset, the striker beat Marek Gamshik (121). In third place is the legendary Diego Maradona (115).

In the second half, Inter, despite all efforts, failed to score. Thus, Napoli for the tenth time in history reached the final of the Italian Cup, where he will meet with Juventus, who won the trophy four times in the last five years.

Kudryashov's unbeaten run and Podolski's assist 

In addition to Smolov, on Saturday, Russian fans could cheer on Fedor Kudryashov. On Friday, the Turkish championship resumed, and the next day, Antalyaspor with a domestic defender in the away team met with the local grand Besiktas.

As a result, the guests managed to win a major victory - 2: 1. Kudryashov spent all 90 minutes on the field, playing in the tenth match of the local national championship in a row. In nine of them, his team does not know defeats (four draws and five wins). A series of successful results allowed Antalyaspor to rise to ninth place.

Also in the composition of the guests is Lukas Podolski. The 35-year-old striker again did not leave the field without a point for performance - he marked himself with an assist. This season, he has five points in seven matches of the Turkish championship (2 + 3).