The Euro Roundup: Juve come from behind to win, Monaco’s troubles continue

All you need to know from the latest weekend of European soccer action, as Juve and PSG won again, but Monaco were beaten.

As January comes to a close, Europe’s major leagues are taking shape: for some, title races are out of the question, but a chase to the finish for Europe or to avoid relegation will ensue, while in others, the excitement at the top is set to go down to the wire.

This weekend, there were wins for all four league leaders in La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, with none of the teams at the summit showing signs of feeling the pressure.

At the other end of the standings, it was another tough week for the likes of Monaco and Villarreal, two famous sides who face the prospect of relegation.

As you were at the top

All of the top four won in La Liga this weekend, starting with Sevilla, who lost to Real Madrid last week, but this week responded by beating Levante 5-0.

Wissam Ben Yedder opened the scoring before Andre Silva, Franco Vasquez, Pablo Sarabia and Quincy Promes netted.

Atletico Madrid beat Getafe 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from Antoine Griezmann and Saul Niguez, while league leaders Barcelona won by the same scoreline away at Girona.

Real Madrid won 4-2 away at Espanyol with Gareth Bale among the scorers in that game. Raphael Varane was sent off, but Real maintained the three-point gap to Sevilla in fourth spot.

Elsewhere, Athletic Bilbao narrowly overcame Real Betis 1-0, Valencia hammered Villarreal 3-0, Leganes and Eibar drew 2-2 and Alaves host Rayo Vallecano on Monday.

Juve survive scare

Juventus made it 19 wins from 21 matches and remain unbeaten in Serie A despite being given a scare by Lazio.

An Emre Can own-goal gave the hosts something to hold onto, but substitute Joao Cancelo equalized moments after coming on and then a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty in minute 88 gave the champions the points.

The previous day, second-placd Napoli had been held to a goalless draw at AC Milan, so Juve’s lead at the top has been extended to 11 points.

Third-place Inter Milan also slipped up, losing 1-0 against Torino, while sixth-place Sampdoria gained ground on fifth-place Roma, beating Udinese 4-0 as Eusebio Di Francesco’s side drew 3-3 with Atalanta.

There were goals galore at bottom side Chievo, who lost 4-3 to mid-table Fiorentina, and Parma, as they lost 3-2 against SPAL.

Frosinone and Bologna had a huge six-pointer at the bottom of the table, but hosts Bologna were demolished 4-0, with the visitors now just a point behind them in the relegation scrap.

Empoli, who currently occupy the spot just above the drop zone, will have the chance to move six points clear of 18th place when they host Genoa on Monday night.

Naldo the villain

The weekend of Ligue 1 action began in Marseille, as the hosts lost 2-1 against Lille. Florian Thauvin was sent off around three-quarters of the way through the game with the scoreline at 0-1.

However, it took until the fifth minute of added time for Lille to force what proved to be the winner through Nicolas Pepe as Mario Balotelli, making his Marseille debut, scored a consolation in the sixth minute of added time.

Monaco’s dismal run continued even after the sacking of Thierry Henry as Naldo was sent off the second time in three matches since he signed for the club in their 2-0 defeat at Dijon.

Returning manager Leonardo Jardim, who was sacked and replaced by Henry in October only to be reinstated this week, will not have liked what he saw, even if Guingamp lost 1-0 against Reims and Caen also lost at Montpellier, with Lyon beating Amiens.

Nice won 2-0 at home to Nimes, while PSG won their 18th game of the Ligue 1 season despite Neymar’s absence through injury, convincingly dispatching of Rennes 4-1. Edinson Cavani scored two with Angel di Maria and Kylian Mbappe also on the scoresheet.

Sancho helps Dortmund win again

Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund beat Hannover 5-1 at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday, with Marco Reus scoring and assisting in that game for the hosts.

Jadon Sancho was again excellent for Lucien Favre’s team as they briefly went nine points clear at the top of the table before Bayern Munich beat Stuttgart 4-1 on Sunday.

Leon Goretzka, now completely settled into life at the Allianz Arena, was on the scoresheet, netting his fifth Bundesliga goal of the season.

Borussia Monchengladbach in third place also won, beating Augsburg 2-0, while RB Leipzig went to Fortuna Dusseldorf and won by four goals to nil.

On Friday night, Liverpool loanee Marko Grujic finished off a stunning counter-attack from Hertha Berlin in their 2-2 draw with Schalke, while Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt tied with the same scoreline.

Hertha’s dropped points allowed Julian Nagelmann’s Hoffenheim to climb above them in the chase for a Europa League spot as they beat Freiburg 4-2.