Another chaotic weekend for European football is approaching, with plenty of talking points across the major leagues.
Atletico Madrid suffered a heavy defeat at Leganes, while Barcelona could only draw with Getafe. This opens the door for Real Madrid white people Fitting duty; beating Las Palmas in four games and rising to the top of La Liga in the process.
In England, Tottenham Hotspur's season went from bad to worse, scoring three goals against a previously hopeless Everton side, while Justin Kluivert led a surprise Bournemouth side Defeated Newcastle United.
Elsewhere, Tim Kleindienst and Javier Puado both had stunning goals as Romelu Lukaku ensured Napoli's Serie A title would not end with 'Kvara' Dona's departure.
Sam Tighe, Alex Kirkland and Constantin Eckner take a look at what you might have missed this weekend.
Toon fans have been on cloud nine of late - nine wins in a row, Alexander Isak scoring in eight games in a row, a dominant midfield duo and plenty of clean sheets - but on Saturday, with AFC Bo Enmouth dismissed Newcastle United and they were brought back to reality. 4-1 at St James' Park.
It was an astonishing performance from the Cherries, who remain in contention for a Champions League spot despite being hampered by injuries. They have indeed been depleted at right-back, forcing a midfielder to take their place, and they have six teenagers on the bench, a 20-year-old and a 21-year-old recalled from loan last week , and a goalkeeper. . It's remarkable that they continue to play so smoothly, aggressively and confidently. It's almost unbelievable that they beat opponents in such superb form in such a majestic stadium.
There has since been some discussion about what coach Andoni Iraola has accomplished and where that might lead him in the near future: A "Big Six" club? Top European clubs? Of course, he would rightly dismiss any such thing and focus on the here and now, but it's fair to say that he (and his team) are starting to get some well-deserved recognition.
Frankly, Everton's attack has been lackluster this season, so it was surprising to see them leading Tottenham by three goals at half-time. Spurs scored twice in the final 15 minutes, forcing the Toffees to keep their cool as they looked to secure their first win under new (old) manager David Moyes.
The scene before Kulusevski's goal against Everton was a carnage: a frantic scramble in the box, the goalkeeper running off the line and a defender on the line.
In this situation, what do players typically do when the ball falls at their feet? Crush it as hard as they can.
What did the Tottenham winger do? Deftly guiding the ball into the top corner with utmost care, accuracy and precision. It was a beautiful peaceful moment in the whirlpool.
There are plenty of top performances in the league, but nothing beats a hat-trick in an aerial battle. We differentiate between "open games" because Justin Kluivert's hat-trick in December only included penalties, leading some to frown upon it. However, we cannot deny this effort.
Three great goals, especially the last, provided the cutting edge to transform Bournemouth's outstanding performance into a superb overall victory. ——Tiger
Justin Kluivert completed his hat-trick with the belt. 💥🎩#NEWBOU pic.twitter.com/FdVrJ0MAne
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) January 18, 2025
It's hard to keep track of who's in crisis in La Liga this season.
Is it Real Madrid after their 5-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Super Cup final? No, they are now top of the table thanks to Sunday's 4-1 win over Las Palmas.
Surely it wasn't Barcelona themselves who had just won the trophy so powerfully? Well, they have now dropped points in seven of their last eight league games in a historically poor run of form - the most recent being Saturday's disappointing 1-1 draw with Getafe.
As for Atletico Madrid, they had just set a club record 15 consecutive wins, but they suffered a 1-0 defeat at Leganes. Star forward Antoine Griezmann missed a penalty and the team squandered their advantage at the top of the standings.
None of these teams are perfect, which is why the race for the La Liga title this season is so unpredictable. Against Getafe, Barcelona had 78% of the ball but failed to make a difference. Atletico Madrid created 3 great chances at Leganes and had an expected goals ratio of 2.42, but were not clinical enough. Real Madrid finally looked convincing against Las Palmas but still conceded after just 26 seconds, highlighting the defensive issues that have plagued them all season.
Final result: Real Madrid lead by two points, Atletico Madrid are just behind, and Barcelona are seven points behind. But there's no guarantee that next week, nothing will change.
Real Madrid falling behind early at the Santiago Bernabeu tends to make for a highly entertaining spectacle, and that's exactly what happened on Sunday. Fabio Silva gave the visitors the lead in the first minute before Madrid started the game in style, led by the unstoppable Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe equalized with a penalty kick, Brahim Diaz made it 2-1, Mbappe scored another three points and Rodrigo extended the lead to 4-1.
Mbappe's hat-trick was denied by VAR, while late goals from Jude Bellingham and Fede Valverde were also ruled out for offside.
Arguably the biggest result of the La Liga weekend came on Friday as relegation candidates Espanyol beat fellow struggling Valladolid 2-1. Espanyol's first goal, scored by Javier Puado, was a masterpiece of technical perfection. He controlled a difficult ball into the penalty area with one touch and fired a second left-footed volley. Access the network. If Espanyol are to survive this season, they will need more goals like this from Puado.
There is only one candidate for La Liga MVP this weekend: Alaves' Quique Garcia, who scored a stunning hat trick in Saturday's 3-1 win over Real Betis.
Garcia, 35, is more of a talent than a star, scoring just three goals for Alaves all last season. Here he tied that record with three predatory finishes in one game. His first goal was an unstoppable penalty; his second was an instinctive strike; his third was a bullet header. ——Kirkland
Big events happen on first match day second half of season (as the second half of the season was called) was Frankfurt forward Omar Marmouche's move to Manchester City. It has become clear that the 25-year-old Egyptian will not feature in Friday night's game against Borussia Dortmund, with a transfer already finalized by him and his representatives. Meanwhile, a report in leading German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung claimed that Borussia Dortmund coach Nuri Sassin could be sacked ahead of Tuesday's Champions League match in Bologna.
Those two games make this game the best chance for Dortmund players to beat a potentially disappointing Eintracht Frankfurt side and keep their job as manager. Instead, they laid eggs again and lost 0-2, their third consecutive league defeat since the end of the Christmas break.
Facing a redesigned Frankfurt attack, Dortmund's back five looked disorganized, with Mamouche's former partner Hugo Etitic playing a double-ten in Mario Gotze and Ansgar Knaff. Support as lone striker. Dortmund could barely stop any of the effective passes Frankfurt created on the wings and in the half-space.
Although black and yellow While they showed a glimmer of promise with the ball, they often trailed on the scoreboard, preventing them from becoming a confident, dominant team. Sassin certainly has the right ideas about how to transform this Borussia Dortmund team and give them an identity, but being in the bottom half of the table is a far cry from the club's expectations and the 36-year-old manager may not have much time left on the job .
Marco Rose's side scored three first-half goals against struggling Bochum and all seemed fine for the visitors until Myron Boadu - who came on half-time With the help of Gerrit Holtmann - and several others staged a memorable comeback. Boadu shocked Leipzig with three goals in 13 minutes, leaving both sides with a point.
The goal was essentially worthless, scored with the home side leading 3-0 in second-half stoppage time, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Gladbach were in trouble at the Bayern Arena and with seconds remaining Luka Nets broke through with a one-two on the wing before finding Kleindienst with a lateral pass inside the penalty area. The Germany international took one touch and fired the ball towards goal, hitting the underside of the crossbar.
Boadu was once expected to break through due to his elite talent. After his breakthrough with AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie in the 2020-21 season, he signed with Monaco, but he only scored 10 goals in two and a half years. Even after joining Bochum on loan last summer to get more playing time, Boadu remained an afterthought. Bochum boss Dieter Hecking did not hesitate to criticize the 24-year-old's performance in training, suggesting that Boadu lacks fitness for Bundesliga games.
"(Hecking) is a little angry and I'm a little angry," Boadu said after Saturday's three-goal win against Leipzig. Perhaps we have just witnessed a pivotal moment in the young forward's career. ——Ekner
Napoli could hardly have asked for a tougher game after star winger Hvitsa Kvaratschlija left the club to join Paris Saint-Germain, but they beat Atalanta 3-2 away. Challenged the championship opponent.
It was fitting that Romelu Lukaku also scored the late winner for Napoli. Not only is he a symbol of Antonio Conte's best football, but he is now clearly the figurehead of this team. Even before 'Kvara' left, most of the games were played through the burly target man, meaning he will now become an even more important part of the team Napoli hope to still be. Serie A catch up. (They are five points ahead of Inter Milan with 17 games remaining.)
You know Conte; he won't budge and clearly neither will his team, who passed a huge test in Bergamo on Saturday night. ——Tiger
The great teams of the past are desperately trying to get back into the Bundesliga, while the smaller clubs are hoping to pull off an upset. That sums up the current state of Germany's second-tier Bundesliga.
The first game after a month-long break culminates in Saturday night's clash between Cologne and Hamburg. However, what should have been a table-top match remained lackluster for much of the 90 minutes. Playing in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at the Volksparken, Hamburger SV created more chances than the previous leaders in the table and finally scored through Ransford Königsdörffer The decisive goal.
At this point, Hamburg has taken the leading position in the German second division, and the competition for promotion places will be extremely fierce in the coming months. Currently, there are 12 teams with a points gap within 6 points. The first two teams advance directly to the Bundesliga, and the third place advances to the play-offs. They will face the 16th-ranked team in the Bundesliga. ——Ekner