League Action from the Weekend

With the transfer window now shut, teams whether they did any business or not now have to live with it till May and have games coming fast with the Champions League coming back in less than two weeks. Anyway, here are the major stories from the weekend. 

City cut gap to two points

Manchester City have put the pressure on Liverpool as they have cut the gap two points after the defending champions beat Arsenal 3-1 on Sunday at the Etihad. An error from Alex Iwobi led to City's first goal in less than a minute with Sergio Agüero scoring. Laurent Koscielny shocked the Etihad scoring an equalizer to keep the Gunners in the game for about 30 minutes but Agüero scored again before halftime. City's dominance and exploitation of the flanks were too much for the Arsenal defence with Agüero scoring a hat-trick to seal the win and will wait to see how Liverpool play as they play tonight against West Ham.

Chelsea hammer Huddersfield 

Gonzalo Higuaín scored twice in his debut at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea from their heavy defeat against Bournemouth to destroy Huddersfield Town 5-0 on Saturday. It took the Argentine sixteen minutes to open his scoring account which set the tempo of the game. His link-up play with Eden Hazard was on show as the Belgian looked devastating scoring before halftime. He scored again in the second half before Higuaín scored a beauty of a second goal from distance. David Luiz scored the fifth as Chelsea score 4+ goals for the first time since October remain 4th in the table. Two points ahead of Manchester United. 

Messi gives Barça a point

Lionel Messi managed to bail Barcelona out of trouble by scoring twice as Barcelona were held to a 2-2 draw against Valencia at the Camp Nou on Saturday. Los Che scored from a counter attack with Kevin Gameiro converted. Valencia got their second from the penalty spot which Dani Parejo scored leaving Barcelona in trouble. Barcelona were awarded a penalty before halftime as Lionel Messi scored to bring Barça back in the game. Messi scored again in the second half to put Barça back in level. A good game with chances for both sides, the game would end 2-2 as Barcelona dropped points and gave an opportunity for Atlético Madrid to capitalize.

Betis shock Atléti 

Speaking of Atlético Madrid, they were unable to capitalize on Barcelona dropping points after losing 1-0 to Real Betis yesterday at the Benito Villamarín. Àlvaro Morata made his debut for Los Colchoneros but Jan Oblak was called upon to make a save in the first two minutes. Atléti didn't seem to get some big chances in the game, having a penalty shout rejected by the referee. Betis were awarded a penalty after the break as Sergio Canales scored past Oblak. Atlético were unable to respond and lose for the first time in 19 league games keeping the gap between them and Barcelona at six points. 

Leverkusen throws a spanner at Bayern 

Bayer Leverkusen gave a big blow to Bayern's chances in the title race inflicting a 3-1 defeat to the Bavarians on Saturday at the BayArena. Both sides created some opportunities in the first half but Bayern Munich scored first from Leon Goretza who has scored 4 goals in his last three games. In the second half, Leverkusen upped their game, equalizing from a wonderful free-kick from Leon Bailey. Kevin Volland scored the second as Bayern were unable to clear a ball from a set-piece. With Bayern pushing hard for the equalizer, Leverkusen gave the killer third goal from Lucas Alario after a decision was overruled by VAR. This is Leverkusen's first win against Bayern in 8 games and could be a big result in the title race.

Dortmund and Frankfurt share the points

Borussia Dortmund increased the gap between them and Bayern Munich to seven points with Bayern losing and getting a 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt in Saturday at the Commerzbank-Arena. The league leaders went in front in 22 minutes from captain Marco Reus, who has scored his 13th league goal of the season. However, nine minutes before halftime, Frankfurt equalized from Luka Jović, who has leading the line for Frankfurt with 14 goals in the Bundesliga. Both sides were unable to find a winner but it was a positive result for BVB extending their gap at the top of the table while Frankfurt are 5th, five points behind 4th placed RB Leipzig.

Six goals thriller in Turin

Juventus were in a six goal thriller with The Old Lady getting a 3-3 draw against Parma on Saturday at the Juventus Stadium. Juventus had a chance that hit the Ed woodwork from Sami Khedira before Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring. Daniele Rugani scored Juve's second in the second half but Parma got one back from Antonino Barillà but Ronaldo scored again to restore Juve's two goal lead. Former Arsenal winger Gervinho scored cut it to 3-2 but getting an equalizer deep in added time to snatch a point in Turin in a pulsating game. 

Player of the Weekend: Sergio Agüero

Arsenal just couldn't handle the threat of Sergio Agüero as the Argentine put in a fine performance. Scoring a hat-trick with his four shots going on target. He also made 43 touches, 2 dribbles, was fouled twice and 92.6% pass accuracy.