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Rediff.com  » Sports » Footballers of the weekend: Jamie Vardy shines in Europe

Footballers of the weekend: Jamie Vardy shines in Europe

May 09, 2016 09:57 IST
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In England, the celebrations went on at Leicester City as they marked their fairytale Premier League success with another win while champions Juventus' long unbeaten streak in Italy came to an end.

Bayern Munich sealed a record fourth successive Bundesliga title triumph at the weekend while PSV Eindhoven retained their Dutch crown.

In Spain, Barcelona remain in pole position but old foes Real Madrid can still cash in if they falter on the last weekend of La Liga.

Check out the top footballers of the weekend…

Vardy ensures winning coronation for champions Leicester

Jamie Vardy

IMAGE: Jamie Vardy of Leicester City kisses the Premier League Trophy. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images.

Leicester City marked their sensational Premier League triumph in fitting style, lifting the trophy amid jubilant scenes at their King Power Stadium as Jamie Vardy scored twice in a celebratory 3-1 win over Everton.
At the other end of the table, Sunderland look favourites to avoid relegation after another Jermain Defoe goal helped them sink Chelsea 3-2.

Norwich City and Newcastle United look poised for the drop, the Canaries losing 1-0 to a Juan Mata goal for Manchester United while the Magpies drew 0-0 at relegated Aston Villa.

Second-placed Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 2-1 at home by Southampton, leaving them two points ahead of old rivals Arsenal going into next Sunday's final round of matches after the Gunners drew 2-2 at Manchester City.

Suarez on fire as Barca rout Deportivo 8-0

 Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona celebrates

IMAGE: Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona celebrates. Photograph: Alex Caparros/Getty Images.

The title race will go down to an exciting, and not unfamiliar, two-team race on the final day with Barcelona in pole position to pip old foes Real Madrid in La Liga.

Barca are one win away from a 24th title following a 5-0 derby thrashing of Espanyol, featuring yet another double from Luis Suarez and goals from Lionel Messi, Rafinha and Neymar.

Real are a point behind after a familiar Cristiano Ronaldo double helped them beat Valencia 3-2. If Barcelona fail to win at Granada next week, Zinedine Zidane's side can lift the title with victory at Deportivo La Coruna.

If they finish level on points, Barca will prevail because of their superior head-to-head record. Atletico Madrid blew their chance with a shock 2-1 defeat at relegated Levante.

Lewandowski's twin strike earns Bayern win

Bayern Munich

IMAGE: Bayern Munich's players celebrate after match. Photograph: Michaela Rehle/Reuters.

Bayern Munich clinched a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga title after Robert Lewandowski's two goals earned a 2-1 win at Ingolstadt 04.

Second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who face Bayern in the German Cup final on May 21, lost 1-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt as Bayern celebrated their first silverware of 2016 in coach Pep Guardiola's final season, four days after their Champions League semi-final exit scuppered their treble hopes.

Borussia Moenchengladbach are almost certain of a fourth- place finish and a spot in the Champions League qualifying round after defeating Bayer Leverkusen 2-1.

PSV retain title as Ajax falter on dramatic final day

PSV Eindhoven

IMAGE: PSV Eindhoven players celebrate. Photograph: Twitter.

PSV Eindhoven retained the title after their great rivals Ajax Amsterdam blew their chance when they failed to beat second-bottom De Graafschap in a dramatic final round of matches.

PSV won 3-1 at PEC Zwolle to move to 84 points from 34 games, lifting the title by two points from Ajax who were held to a 1-1 draw when victory would have made them champions on goal difference.

Luuk de Jong netted twice for PSV to take his season's tally to 26 goals, one behind AZ Alkmaar's Vincent Janssen at the top of the charts, after Juergen Locadia had given them an early lead.

While PSV manager Phillip Cocu and his men celebrated, it was a painful day for Ajax who had led the league for most of the season only to falter against De Graafschap, a team they had beaten in every match for the last 16 years.

Juventus stunned

Champions Juventus were stunned 2-1 by bottom club HellasVerona as the retiring Luca Toni marked his final match by scoring a first-half penalty.

Federico Viviani added a second to end Juve's 26-gameunbeaten streak and hand Massimiliano Allegri's side their first league defeat since October.

The race for the second automatic Champions League spot willgo to the final day as Napoli beat Torino 2-1 and AS Roma cruised past Chievo 3-0 with substitute Francesco Totti receiving an emotional reception on his 600th league appearance.

Napoli are second on 79 points with Roma two points behind. Frosinone were relegated after losing 1-0 at home to Sassuolo.

Players again vote Ibrahimovic as Ligue 1's best

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year on Sunday, after he won the vote of his fellow professionals in the French game for the third time in the last four years.

The 34-year-old Swede becomes the first man ever to win the UNFP award three times after another stellar season in which the Paris St. Germain striker was the league's top marksman, scoring 35 goals in 29 games.

His brilliant form was instrumental in helping PSG to their fourth consecutive title, which they clinched in record time.

Ibrahimovic, whose contract ends this summer, previously wonthe award in 2013 and 2014, but lost out to Olympique Lyonnais striker Alexandre Lacazette last season.

This season, he saw off competition from fellow nominees Lassana Diarra, of Olympique de Marseille, Hatem Ben Arfa, of Nice, and team mate Angel Di Maria.

Ibrahimovic and Di Maria are among eight PSG players whoalso made the Ligue 1 Team of the Year, while their title-winning boss Laurent Blanc was named Coach of the Year during the awards ceremony in Paris on Sunday.

Ousmane Dembele, of Stade Rennes, won the Young Player prizewhile the Goalkeeper of the Year award went to Marseille's Steven Mandanda, who claimed the title for the fourth time.

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