European roundup: Abraham strikes again for Roma, Delort strike sinks PSG
Tammy Abraham scored his 20th goal of the season to earn Roma a 1-0 win over Atalanta as José Mourinho’s side climbed their opponents and into fifth place. The forward slotted home from Nicolò Zaniolo’s pass in the 32nd minute, finishing off a clinical counterattack in style.
Atalanta’s disappointing afternoon was complete when Marten de Roon was sent off in stoppage time, receiving two bookings in quick succession for vigorously protesting a Roma free-kick. Henrikh Mkhitaryan was then also sent off for Roma, but by then the game was won.
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Lazio stayed a point behind their rivals after Ciro Immobile’s 20th league goal of the campaign set up a 3-0 win at struggling Cagliari. The Italy forward scored from the penalty spot after 19 minutes before Felipe Anderson set up Luis Alberto, then got on the scoresheet himself on the hour mark. Earlier, Udinese beat Sampdoria 2-1 in a match where all the goals were scored inside the first 13 minutes.
Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain suffered a 1-0 defeat at Nice, substitute Andy Delort scoring a brilliant winner two minutes from time to lift the hosts up to second place, 13 points behind Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Neymar lost possession in his own half, allowing Calvin Stengs to cross towards the far post, where Delort found the top corner with a clinical half-volley.
Andy Delort was the hero for Nice as they boosted their Champions League hopes. Photograph: Sébastien Nogier/EPA
In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich’s Thomas Müller scored a costly own goal as the Bundesliga leaders were held 1-1 at home by third-placed Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern took an 18th-minute lead when defender Niklas Süle pounced on a loose ball to score after two botched clearances following a dangerous corner from Joshua Kimmich.
Leverkusen levelled in the 36th with a fortuitous goal, Müller flummoxing his own goalkeeper Sven Ulreich and turning a free-kick from Kerem Demirbay into his own net. Bayern are still in charge of the title race, nine points clear of Dortmund whose trip to Mainz on Sunday was postponed due to a Covid outbreak among the home team.
Sasa Kalajdzic scored late as Stuttgart came from two goals down to beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 and repay coach Pellegrino Matarazzo’s faith after nine games without a win. Chris Führich and Wataru Endo also scored for Stuttgart, who had fallen behind to goals from Alassane Pléa and Marcus Thuram.
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Stuttgart are now just a point behind Hertha Berlin, whose miserable run of form continued with a 4-1 loss at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. Angeliño struck late on to earn RB Leipzig a home draw with Freiburg 1-1, Wolfsburg defeated Union Berlin 1-0, and Bochum enjoyed a 2-1 win over bottom-placed Greuther Fürth.
In La Liga, Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga struck scorching goals from outside the area as Real Madrid came from behind to beat Real Sociedad 4-1 and increase their lead at the top of La Liga to eight points.
Carlo Ancelotti celebrates with Luka Modric after the 4-1 win over Real Sociedad. Photograph: Emilio Naranjo/EPA
After his midfielders scored just before half-time to overturn an early spot-kick by Mikel Oyarzabal, Karim Benzema added a second-half penalty to put the result beyond doubt and take his league goal tally to 20. Marco Asensio then finished off the demoralised visitors, setting Madrid up nicely for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against PSG.
“This is the intensity that we need to have on Wednesday,” coach Carlo Ancelotti told a news conference. “We can replicate today’s game against PSG. It’s a performance that inspires and give us a lot of energy and confidence to fight back from the 1-0 loss that we suffered in the first leg.”
Valencia beat Granada 3-1 at the Mestalla to complete a positive week which saw them set up a Copa del Rey final with Betis next month. Gonçalo Guedes opened the scoring, with all four goals coming in the space of 14 second-half minutes. Elsewhere, Chimy Ávila scored the winner for Osasuna at home to Villarreal, and Espanyol saw off Getafe 2-0.