After years of internal turmoil and flirtation with relegation to Ascenso MX, Guadalajara are on the verge of regaining their status as one of the top clubs in Mexico with a two-legged Liga MX final against Tigres this week. This will be the first league final for Chivas in just over 10 years.
After a rough start to the 2017 MLS season for both Giovani dos Santos and the LA Galaxy, the club are now unbeaten in their last four matches following Sunday’s 2-1 away win over Minnesota United — a run that has seen Dos Santos register three goals and an assist.
Barcelona’s 4-2 victory over Eibar was rendered meaningless by Real Madrid’s 2-0 win against Eibar, but the event-riddled match still provided plenty of highlights.
Luis Enrique’s final match in charge at the Camp Nou began disastrously. As news filtered through the stadium regarding Real Madrid’s early opener, Eibar scored a sensational goal of their own with Takashi Inui lifting a left footed half-volley into the roof of the net in the 7th minute.
With Real Madrid simply needing to avoid defeat to capture their first La Liga crown in five years, Barcelona held out slim hope that 11th place Malaga could use the friendly confines of Estadio La Rosaleda to play the perfect match and shock the side from the Spanish capital. That hope lasted for all of two minutes before Cristiano Ronaldo delivered Real Madrid their opener.
Arsenal’s run of 19 straight Champions League appearances came to an end on a Premier League Super Sunday that was loaded with goals but very little drama. Early goals from both Manchester City and Arsenal put a little pressure on Liverpool, but Georginio Wijnaldum, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana scored three goals in a ten-minute span bridging halftime to put the Reds into the 2017-18 Champions League playoff round at the expense of the Gunners.
With a victory against Genoa next Sunday, second place AS Roma will eclipse their highest-ever point total in Serie A with 87. However, Juventus’ 3-0 victory over Crotone today gave them 88 points on the season heading into the final match day, confirming them as Serie A champions for the sixth straight season. They’re simply untouchable in Italy.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a bad miss on Wednesday.
Of course, he also became the all-time leading scorer in Europe's top five leagues. His brace in Real Madrid's crucial victory against Celta Vigo gave him 368 goals in 460 apperances at both Manchester United and Real Madrid.
His missed opportunity at a hat trick also reminded us that even the greatest player's can still be humbled by the game.
Tigres, the 2016 Liga MX Apertura champions, are now on the verge of the 2017 Clausura Final after defeating top-seeded Tijuana 2-0 in the first leg of their Liguilla semifinal. Lucas Zelarayan opened the scoring with a sumptuous goal in the 42nd minute, and a visibly shaken Tijuana side gave up a second only three minutes later to Javier Aquino.
Juventus got back to winning ways, cruising past Lazio to earn their third consecutive Coppa Italia. The Old Lady are now the only team in Italy to achieve this feat.
Dani Alves is in the midst of one of the best seasons in his career, and he opened the scoring in the 12th minute off a beautifully orchestrated goalzo. Alves has constantly displayed how versatile he is throughout the pitch, and he's now scoring goals as if he were playing a number 9 role.
Behind a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid earned a 4-1 victory at Celta Vigo to move within a point of clinching La Liga.
Ronaldo opened the scoring with a stellar left-footed strike from 18 yards out, and he went to his left boot again in the 48th minute to extend Madrid's lead. His first goal, number 367 in league competition, made him the all-time leading scorer across all five major European Leagues.