Second-placed Borussia Dortmund twice squandered the lead as they drew 2-2 at Schalke 04 in the Ruhr derby on Sunday, allowing leaders Bayern Munich to move closer to another Bundesliga title. A gem from Shinja Kagawa and an odd goal from Matthias Ginter put Dortmund ahead but the hosts hit back each time through Leroy Sane and a Klaas-Jan Huntelaar penalty. Bayern, who won 3-1 at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, are seven points clear of Dortmund with only five matches left to play. Schalke are seventh with 45 points, behind Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen and Mainz on goal difference. Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel made eight changes to the line-up that drew 1-1 with Liverpool in the Europa League on Thursday as he rotated his side. There was little excitement in the first half where the best chances fell to Schalke as Sane struck the post from 20 metres and Junior Caicara fired a shot across the face of the goal, leaving Huntelaar waiting and furious in the middle. But the game dramatically came to life after the break.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich were made to work extremely hard for a 3-1 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday that sent them eight points clear at the top of the table with five games left.
A solid defence helped Schalke 04 secure a 1-0 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday that lifted them above their rivals into third spot in the Bundesliga in the battle for Champions League places.
Cristiano Ronaldo marked his 600th league appearance with his 20th Serie A goal of the season as Juventus beat Spezia 3-0 on Tuesday to move within three points of second-placed AC Milan.
The Turin-based club have suffered in recent weeks with three of their players having tested positive for the virus -- forward Paulo Dybala, defender Daniele Rugani and midfielder Blaise Matuidi.
IMAGES from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Holders Sevilla maintained their Europa League challenge with a 1-0 win over Rijeka in a winner-takes-all clash on Thursday.
The Bundesliga was hit by another ball-over-the-line controversy on Saturday after Nuremberg were disallowed a goal in their 3-1 defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Liverpool laboured to a 2-0 win over Denmark's Midtjylland on Tuesday as a goal from Diogo Jota and a Mohamed Salah penalty secured a hard-fought Champions League Group D victory at Anfield.
It is just a matter of time before Sergio Aguero's goal-scoring ability earns him individual honours, his Manchester City team mate John Stones has predicted.
Bayern Munich, already crowned Bundesliga champions last week, lifted the league trophy in an empty stadium on Saturday after crushing hosts VfL Wolfsburg 4-0 on the final matchday. Bayern can win more silverware next week with the German Cup final against Bayer Leverkusen. They are also still in the Champions League.
Robert Lewandowski's hat-trick helped give coach Carlo Ancelotti a flying start to his first Bundesliga campaign as Bayern Munich cruised to an easy 6-0 win over Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena on Friday.
Here is a round-up of results from the European League matches played on Friday.
The Bundesliga season will restart on May 16 after a suspension of more than two months, the German Football League (DFL) said on Thursday, becoming the first European league to resume amid the coronavirus pandemic. The DFL said the season would restart under the terms of a strict health protocol that bans fans from the stadium, with six games on Saturday, including the high-profile Ruhr valley derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04.
Barcelona's fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings on 14 points after 10 games, 12 points behind leaders Atletico.
Bayern Munich scraped past Hertha Berlin 1-0 on Saturday.
Teenager Curtis Jones grabbed a 58th-minute winner as an injury-hit Liverpool qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam at Anfield on Tuesday.
Holders Bayern Munich beat Bayer Leverkusen 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw to move into the German Cup semi-final and stay on course for a treble of titles on Wednesday.
A Romelu Lukaku hat-trick in a 4-1 win for Everton at Young Boys and a thrilling 3-3 draw between Celtic and Inter Milan.
With sports events around the world suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, football clubs and leagues have been discussing pay cuts with players to help them make it through the crisis.
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Bayern Munich scraped past Hertha Berlin 1-0 courtesy of an Arjen Robben goal to stretch their lead at the top of the table to 10 points and extend their unbeaten Bundesliga run to 16 games over two seasons.
Barca had the chance to go top after Real drew a fourth consecutive game in all competitions for the first time in over a decade but they were rattled by rampant Celta
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri's decision to consign 40 million euro ($44.16 million) forward Paulo Dybala to the substitutes' bench appears to have backfired after his side's failure to score in their last two games.
Pep Guardiola will return to the Nou Camp in the Champions League group stage after his new club Manchester City were drawn against his former Barcelona team on Thursday. The two sides were drawn in Group C alongside Borussia Moenchengladbach and former European champions Celtic in one of the toughest of the eight sections. Spanish coach Guardiola, who won the Champions League twice with Barca, faced the Catalans when he was in charge of Bayern Munich two seasons ago and suffered a 5-3 defeat in the semi-finals.
Images from matches played across top football leagues in Europe.
From cardboard cut-outs of real fans to an app allowing supporters to influence the volume of noise piped into stadiums, people are developing ideas for how to put some matchday atmosphere back into the stadiums -- though whether their ideas are accepted is a different matter.
Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski took the honours as the league's top scorer with 30 goals after netting in the champions' 3-1 victory over already-relegated Hanover 96.
Holders Sevilla swept into a second consecutive Europa League final.
Schalke 04 striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar could not have dreamt of a better comeback after five months out when he scored the opening goal in his side's 3-0 victory at Hamburg SV on Sunday.
Manchester City cannot afford another defeat on Tuesday at home to Barcelona, who thumped them 4-0 two weeks ago, having taken just one point from their last two Champions League Group C matches.
Borussia Dortmund completed their spectacular implosion this season, losing 2-1 at struggling Werder Bremen.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona forwards Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi fired the Catalans to a confidence-boosting 2-0 win at in-form Sevilla on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann has turned to experience for next month's Copa America Centenario on home soil, but said he had to make some "very close, tight decisions" before announcing his 23-player squad on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Bayern Munich slumped to their first defeat for three months when the Bundesliga leaders suffered a shock 2-1 reverse at home to Mainz 05 on Wednesday.
Borussia Dortmund scored three times in the last 10 minutes to rally from a goal down and beat 10-man Hoffenheim 3-1 on Sunday, allowing them to maintain their lone pursuit of runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes fired home a late penalty to rescue a point for the visitors in a lively 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Friday.
Holders Bayern Munich struck either side of the break to beat second division Eintracht Braunschweig 2-0 on Wednesday and advance to the German Cup quarter-finals.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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