A round-up of Saturday's action in the LaLiga, Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Mbappe scores twice as Real scrape past Leganes
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe struck twice to help his side come from behind to claim a hard-fought 3-2 home win over relegation-threatened Leganes on Saturday to move the second-placed reigning champions level on points with leaders Barcelona.
Real have 63 points from 29 matches along with Barca, who host Girona on Sunday.
Third-placed Atletico Madrid dropped points in a 1-1 draw at Espanyol earlier on Saturday and are now six points off the pace with 57.
"It was difficult match. After the international break it's always difficult," Mbappe told RMTV.
The hosts made a dominant start and opened the scoring after 32 minutes when Mbappe coolly chipped in a penalty, awarded after Oscar Rodriguez brought down Arda Guler.
However, Leganes responded almost immediately as Diego Garcia tapped in a loose ball at the far post to equalise in the following minute before Rodriguez set up Dani Raba to slot past goalkeeper Andriy Lunin in the 41st.
Real midfielder Jude Bellingham brought the scores level two minutes after the break, sliding the ball into the net after a rebound off the crossbar. Mbappe then bagged the winner with a brilliant curled free-kick in the 76th minute for his second.
"We know what we always have to do: win. We started well, in the opposition half, and we scored a goal. Then we didn't play well for 20 minutes and conceded two goals," said Mbappe.
"But we know that if we play well we'll score and in the second half we scored two goals. We won the game and we're very happy.
"We worked on (the set piece) a few weeks ago with the staff. I knew I could shoot this way, I saw the space. I asked the others to let me shoot and it worked out well."
Leganes pushed for an equaliser but fell to a third consecutive defeat to sit 18th on 27 points, level with Alaves who are one place higher in the safety zone on goal difference.
"We have done a tremendous job. We leave with our heads held high because we were fighting until the end to score here," Leganes striker Garcia said.
"Ultimately, it was down to the details that they took it. We played a very serious game and now we have to think about next week."
Puado penalty helps Espanyol hold Atletico
Atletico Madrid suffered a major blow in the LaLiga title race when they were held 1-1 at relegation-threatened Espanyol on Saturday after Cesar Azpilicueta's first-half strike was cancelled out by the home side's captain Javi Puado.
Third-placed Atletico are winless in three league games after drawing with Espanyol for the fourth time in a row as they sit six points below leaders Barcelona, who have played a game less.
The hard-earned point moved 15th-placed Espanyol two points clear of the relegation zone.
Atletico's Antoine Griezmann, making his 521st LaLiga appearance to break Lionel Messi's record of being the most capped foreigner in the league, found the net three minutes in but the off-side flag was up.
However, Frenchman Griezmann made up for his early disappointment when he helped set up Atletico's breakthrough goal in the 38th minute.
Marash Kumbulla's headed attempt to clear Griezmann's cross reached Azpilicueta outside the box, whose calm right-footed shot swung out of a diving Joan Garcia's reach to find the net near the post.
Atletico almost doubled their lead just three minutes later from another mistake by Kumbulla, whose attempted clearance was intercepted by Conor Gallagher but the English midfielder's shot from inside the box went wide of the far post.
Espanyol, who had only 39% possession in the match, were not having much success with their attack, but the home fans in the Stage Front stadium soon roared back to life when Clement Lenglet brought down Leandro Cabrera near the edge of the box.
Puado made no mistake from the spot to make it even in the 71st minute.
PSG on verge of Ligue 1 title with rout of Saint-Etienne
Unbeaten Paris St Germain moved within touching distance of the Ligue 1 title with a 6-1 win away to second-from-bottom Saint-Etienne on Saturday, boosted by a double from Desire Doue.
PSG sit top on 71 points, 21 clear of second-placed AS Monaco, who beat fourth-placed Nice 2-1 on Saturday, with seven game remaining. They can wrap up a fourth straight Ligue 1 title with at least a point at home to lowly Angers next week.
St Etienne took a surprise early lead on Saturday through Lucas Stassin's header, but PSG levelled before the break with a Goncalo Ramos penalty after he was fouled by Florian Tardieu.
The visitors dominated the second half, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia firing home five minutes in before Doue got their third three minutes later from Bradley Barcola's assist.
PSG continued to attack and Joao Neves added a fourth in the 62nd minute before Doue scored his second four minutes later.
The hosts, on the brink of relegation, thought they could pull a goal back when Nuno Mendes collided with Lucas Stassin in the box, but the penalty was overturned after a VAR review.
Substitute Ibrahim Mbaye, on for Ramos, completed the rout with the sixth goal of the night shortly before the final whistle.
Tudor period begins at Juventus with win over Genoa
Igor Tudor's first game in charge of Juventus ended with a 1-0 home win against Genoa in their Serie A clash on Saturday, with Kenan Yildiz scoring the only goal of the game.
Juventus remain fifth in the standings on 55 points, moving back to within one point of fourth-placed Bologna who won 1-0 at Venezia earlier on Saturday. Genoa stay 12th on 35 points.
Tudor was appointed last Sunday to replace Thiago Motta. The Croatian, who spent most of his playing career at Juventus and was later Andrea Pirlo's assistant for one season, has been tasked with securing a Champions League spot for next season.
Motta was sacked after two heavy defeats, 4-0 at home to Atalanta and 3-0 at Fiorentina, came hot on the heels of Juve's exits from both the Champions League and Coppa Italia.
As expected, Tudor made immediate changes, switching to three at the back, and dropping forward Randal Kolo Muani in favour of Dusan Vlahovic who had only played 23 minutes from the bench in the last three games.
Juventus did begin on the attack but Genoa had the early chances. Morten Frendrup hit a volley which almost crept under the bar before Michele Di Gregorio got back to save. Frendrup later hit a weak effort which never troubled the goalkeeper.
After Teun Koopmeiners wasted a good Juventus move, sending his shot high and wide, the hosts went in front in the 25th minute thanks to a solo goal from Yildiz.
The 19-year-old forward collected the ball well outside the area and drove forward into the box, rounding a defender before finishing with a powerful shot from a narrow angle which beat goalkeeper Nicola Leali.
Neither side created much for the rest of the opening half, but Genoa had a chance to level shortly after the break with Andrea Pinamonti sending a volley just wide.
The hosts' only real opportunity to double their lead came in stoppage time but Timothy Weah scuffed his shot which Leali easily saved and the game ended with a much-needed, if unconvincing, win for Tudor's side.
Bayern battle past St Pauli with Sane's second-half double
Bayern Munich's Leroy Sane scored twice in the second half as the Bundesliga leaders were made to work hard for a 3-2 win over visitors St Pauli on Saturday to restore their six-point gap at the top going into the last seven matchdays.
Bayern, who face Inter Milan in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on April 8, have 65 points, with second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, 3-1 winners at home to VfL Bochum on Friday, on 59.
"We have to continue and we are one game closer. We have to win another seven games," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.
But there was some bad news for the league leaders with defender Hiroki Ito, who came on in the 58th minute, suffering a foot injury late in the game. The Japan defender broke the same foot back in July and had only recently come back.
Bayern are already without injured defenders Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies.
The hosts took a 17th-minute lead when Harry Kane tapped in from a Michael Olise cross.
Kane, who is the league-leading scorer with 22 goals, has now netted against all 19 clubs he has faced in the Bundesliga, the second best all-time record behind retired Miroslav Klose.
The visitors, who had hit the crossbar earlier, levelled 10 minutes later from Elias Saad's clever flick and gave Bayern a run for their money before Sane took action.
Bayern, looking for their first win in three Bundesliga matches, struck in the 53rd from yet another superb Olise cross for Sane to drill in.
Jamal Musiala saw his 69th minute effort tipped onto the bar but Sane did better two minutes later, finishing off a quick move after a Kane cutback. St Pauli's Lars Ritzka unleashed an unstoppable shot in stoppage time to cut the deficit.
© 2025