Lamine Yamal scored the first hat-trick of his career as Barcelona beat visitors Villarreal 4-1 on Saturday to move four points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. Barcelona have 64 points while second-placed Real are on 60 points before they host Getafe on Monday. Villarreal remain a distant third on 51.
Lamine Yamal put the hosts ahead in the 28th minute after Fermin Lopez robbed Pape Gueye and slipped a pass down the right for the 18-year-old to finish low inside the left post. He doubled the lead nine minutes later with a dazzling solo run, controlling a long ball on the right wing before cutting inside past Sergi Cardona and Alberto Moleiro to curl an unstoppable shot into the top corner.
Gueye pulled one back from close range in the 49th minute, but Villarreal missed chances to equalise and paid the price as Lamine Yamal completed his hat-trick in the 69th minute with another counter attack. Robert Lewandowski came off the bench to add a fourth in added time, tapping in from Jules Koundé’s low cross from the right.
Werder Bremen finally ended their 13-game run without a win in the Bundesliga by beating relegation rivals Heidenheim 2-0 in their bottom-of-the-table scrap. Bremen missed a host of chances before Jovan Milosevic scored from Romano Schmid’s cross in the 57th minute, and an own goal from Hennes Behrens in stoppage time confirmed Bremen’s first win after three defeats under their new coach, Daniel Thioune. It was enough to lift Bremen above Wolfsburg into the relegation playoff place. Wolfsburg, who haven’t won any of their past six games, visit Stuttgart on Sunday.
Heidenheim remained bottom, nine points from safety after St Pauli held on for a 1-0 win at high-flying Hoffenheim. Mathias Pereira Lage scored for St Pauli before the break, lifting the Hamburg-based club out of the relegation zone after its third win from four games.
Kevin Diks scored a stoppage-time penalty for Borussia Mönchengladbach to beat Union Berlin 1-0 and end Galdbach’s seven-game winless run. Jarell Quansah scored late for Bayer Leverkusen to salvage a 1-1 draw with Mainz, canceling Sheraldo Becker’s second-half volley for Mainz. But the draw is a blow to Leverkusen’s hopes of reaching fourth place in the race for Champions League qualification. Leverkusen remained sixth, and both Stuttgart and Leipzig could pull further away. Leipzig visit Hamburg on Sunday.
Later on Saturday in Spain, Atlético Madrid, in fourth, travel to bottom-placed Oviedo.
In the big game in Germany, Bayern Munich could all but end the title race when they travel to the Westfalenstadion, as victory would move them 11 points clear, but Borussia Dortmund – stunned in the Champions League in midweek – will be desperate for a win that would leave them five points off the pace.
Inter’s lead in Serie A is already up to 10 points and can stretch that to 13, albeit having played a game more, by winning at home against Genoa. Second-placed Milan visit Cremonese on Sunday.
In France, Paris Saint-Germain travel to Le Havre seeking to extend their one point lead at the top after second-placed Lens were held 1-1 at Strasbourg on Friday night.
PSG’s Ligue 1 match against Nantes next month has been delayed to give the Champions League holders more rest between the two legs of their last-16 tie with Chelsea. PSG were due to face struggling Nantes on the weekend of 13-15 March, between their first leg against Chelsea on 11 March and the return match at Stamford Bridge on 17 March. Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea will play a difficult Premier League match against Newcastle three days before the second leg.
