The Euro Roundup: Fabregas makes Monaco bow, Real win in unfamiliar fashion
By Matt Addison
All you need to know from the previous weekend of European action, from Cesc Fabregas’ Monaco debut to a late Real Madrid winner from Dani Ceballos.
The Bundesliga is still yet to return from the winter break, but teams in the other three leagues — La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 — are back underway.
In Italy, this weekend saw a round of Coppa Italia games, but in Spain and France, the league is back, with the second half of the season already upon us.
Unfamiliar victory
Real Madrid had just 27 percent of the possession as they beat Real Betis 2-1 in Seville, but a late winner from Dani Ceballos was enough to seal the points.
Luka Modric had opened the scoring early on, before Sergio Canales equalized.
The result leaves Betis in seventh spot, while Real Madrid moved level on points with Sevilla, who lost 2-0 to Athletic Bilbao.
Inaki Williams scored two incredible goals for Athletic Bilbao — his first goals for over two years — and that looks to be the end of Sevilla’s faint title hopes.
At the summit, Barcelona won 3-0 against Eibar with Lionel Messi scoring in between two strikes from Luis Suarez.
Under-fire Philippe Coutinho assisted the first goal in what will be a boost for the Brazilian in Catalonia.
At the other end of the table, Celta Vigo fell to a 4-2 defeat at fellow relegation candidates Rayo Vallecano; Celta are now just two points above the drop zone.
The bottom two, Huesca and Villarreal, lost to Leganes and Getafe respectively, but it is very tight in the fight to avoid the drop.
No Italian cup shocks
Serie A remains paused for another week as the Coppa Italia ties played out this weekend.
On Saturday, Juventus saw off Bologna thanks to goals from Federico Bernadeschi and Moise Kean, with Lazio, Inter and Milan all prevailing in their games too.
Napoli beat Sassuolo 2-0, with Fiorentina overcoming Torino by the same scoreline.
With all the top sides comfortably making it through, the next round is nicely set up.
Roma face Virtus Entella, a third-tier side, on Monday evening, with the next round of the tournament to take place on January 30.
Fabregas’ start
Cesc Fabregas made his debut for Thierry Henry’s Monaco in a 1-1 draw with Marseille, impressing in the center of the park and adding much-needed experience.
Maxime Lopez opened the scoring for hosts Marseille before Youri Tielemans equalized before halftime.
Florian Thauvin thought he had scored what would have been the winning goal in the second half, but the strike was ruled out by the VAR.
PSG won comfortably against Amiens, 3-0, to move onto 50 points after 18 matches. Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe and Marquinhos scored the goals as Thomas Tuchel’s side strengthened their grip at the top.
Lyon drew 1-1 with Reims on Friday night, Strasbourg won at Toulouse on Sunday, while Dijon matched Monaco’s result at the bottom of the table by tying with Montpellier.