Soccer Monday: Congrats Leverkusen, Napoli takes a knee and Liverpool gains
Kick the week off with all the news from this past weekend
Good morning and happy Monday!
The final weekend of the month featured some madness (to take a page out of the NCAA basketball tournament) with its own set of dramatic games.
Here’s a look at what made news this weekend:
3. Leverkusen on the cusp of history
Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel ceded the Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Bayern lost to Borussia Dortmund 2-0, putting them 13 points adrift of Leverkusen with seven games left to play.
Leverkusen, which is on a German record 39-game run unbeaten run across all competitions, needs just three more wins to capture the league for the very first time.
Asked if Bayern’s hopes were over, Tuchel told Sky Sport Germany, “Of course. After that game now, we can’t say anything. How many points is it now? Congratulations to Leverkusen.”
If Bayer Leverkusen does go on to win the title, it will be the first time since Dortmund won back-to-back titles in 2012 that a team other than Bayern has won the Bundesliga.
2. Napoli players support teammate
Napoli’s players took a knee on Saturday before their Serie A game against Atalanta in a public show of support for teammate Juan Jesus.
The move came just days after a judge ruled that Inter Milan defender Francesco Acerbi will not face sanctions for allegedly racially abusing defender Juan Jesus, who is Black, in a Serie A match because there wasn’t enough proof.
The alleged incident on March 17 was revealed when Jesus told the referee that Acerbi directed a racial slur at him. Acerbi has denied using the offensive word.
An Italian league sporting judge said last week that, while it was clear Acerbi had insulted Jesus, the “minimum level of reasonable certainty” had not been reached that it was of a racial nature.
Napoli, the defending league champions, lost at home to Atalanta 3-0, putting them in eighth place and effectively any chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
1. Liverpool gains an edge
Liverpool leads the way in the Premier League title race after Manchester City and Arsenal canceled each other out on Sunday with a scoreless draw.
A 2-1 comeback win against Brighton, however, left Jurgen Klopp’s team looking down on its rivals — two points ahead of second-place Arsenal and three clear of Man City in third — with nine games left to play.
“It is a great situation where the boys brought us,” Klopp said.
Even Man City manager Pep Guardiola admitted it’s in Liverpool’s hands now.
“Always who is first is favorites,” he said. “Second is Arsenal and we are third.”
In other news: Premier League side Everton reported losses of $112.5 million in its latest accounts. Its losses for the 2022-23 season went up from 44.7 million pounds in the previous campaign. The Merseyside club was docked six points earlier this season for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules and is waiting to learn if it will face more punishment. Everton is 16th in the Premier League, three points above the relegation zone. … Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain gave Marseille a lesson in clinical soccer and beat its rival 2-0 in Le Classique on Sunday despite playing with 10 men for more than half the game. PSG, which kept its 12-point lead at the top of the standings, had just three shots on target, but scored twice on the break with second-half goals from Vitinha and Goncalo Ramos. … Cristiano Ronaldo’s second-half hat trick helped Al-Nassr beat visiting Al-Tai 5-1 in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has a league-leading 26 goals for the Riyadh club. Al-Nassr, a nine-time champion, was 2-1 ahead at halftime.