The Euro preview: Real Madrid have week off, Juve pulling away
Barca look to close the gap in La Liga as Real Madrid have the week off; RB Leipzig finally falter in Germany; Juve threatening to run away with Serie A.
La Liga
League leaders Real Madrid have the week off as they were away on FIFA Club World Cup duty Thursday. Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo scored as Real beat Club America 2-0, securing a spot in the final. It was Ronaldo’s 500th career club goal; he received his fourth Ballon d’Or on Monday.
Real Madrid currently have a six point lead atop La Liga; they beat Deportivo La Coruna 3-2 last Saturday. Real do not play another league match until after the winter break when they face Granada on Jan. 7.
Second-place Barcelona will look to cut Real’s lead to three points as they take on ninth-place Espanyol on Sunday (2:45 p.m. ET, beIN Sports). Espanyol are currently on a better league streak than Barca: They’re undefeated in their last six, winning four. Barcelona are also unbeaten over the same stretch, but have only won three of their last six.
Messi scored a brace against Osasuna on Saturday as Real won 3-0. One of the goals was this ridiculous lesson in close control:
Luis Suarez also scored; he signed a new contract with Barca to keep him at Camp Nou through 2021.
Third-place Sevilla are only one point behind Barcelona as they get set to take on 11th-place Malaga on Saturday (2:45 p.m. ET, beIN Sports). Vicente Iborra proved to be a super sub for Sevilla on Sunday, scoring a hat-trick after coming on at halftime against Celta Vigo.
Bundesliga
RB Leipzig finally stumbled in league play, losing away to Inglostadt 1-0 last Saturday. Bayern Munich completed a 5-0 thrashing of visiting Wolfsburg the same day, allowing them to tie Leipzig on points, and take top spot on goal difference. The big names were on target for Munich as Robert Lewandowski scored a pair while Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller each chipped in with a goal apiece.
RB Leipzig will look to return to winning ways this weekend, but have a tough matchup with third-place Hertha Berlin (who will be without USA international John Brooks for a second consecutive match) at home on Saturday (9:30 a.m. ET, FS1). Bayern Munich will expect to extend their winning streak to four as they travel to last place Darmstadt on Sunday (9:30 a.m. ET, FS2)
The congestion below the top two continues in the Bundesliga table with only two points separating third-place Hertha Berlin and sixth-place Borussia Dortmund. BVB have an opportunity to move up the table — a move that could be made bigger if Hertha falter against Leipzig — as they travel to fourth-place Hoffenheim on Friday (2:30 p.m. ET, FS1).
American Christian Pulisic didn’t feature for Dortmund in their 1-1 draw away to FC Koln last Saturday. He hasn’t sat out two consecutive games for BVB this season so expect him to see the field at some point.
Serie A
Gonzalo Higuain scored two goals as Serie A leaders Juventus dispatched Torino 3-1 on the road. Juve are currently four points clear of Roma, who secured a huge 1-0 victory over third-place AC Milan in Rome on Monday thanks to this fantastic strike from Radja Nainggolan:
The top two sides in Serie A meet in Turin on Saturday (2:45 p.m. ET, beIN Sports). Roma desperately need some kind of result to ensure Juve don’t completely run away from the rest of the pack.
AC Milan will also be very keen to get points on Saturday against Atalanta (Noon ET, beIN Sports). They only lead Napoli (fourth place) and Lazio (fifth place) by one point; both clubs have won three of their last four league matches. Napoli host eighth-place Torino on Sunday (9 a.m. ET, beIN Sport) while Lazio host seventh-place Fiorentina.
Next: In search of Watford Football Club
Goal of the Week
Here’s Ronaldo’s 500th, which he scored in stoppage time against Club America:
Congrats Cristiano!