The final week of January saw some great action from around Europe with many cup competitions making their way to the headlines. In Spain, Copa Del Rey action was followed by the La Liga this weekend while Premier League action took a break after some League and FA Cup fixtures throughout last week.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Bundesliga is back with Bayern Munich and Leipzig picking up important victories. The Serie A saw Juventus beat AC Milan 2-1 to extend their lead over their long-time rivals.
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The biggest clash of Sunday was between Paris St. Germain who took on Monaco who is on top of the table in France. A draw sees Nice and Monaco as joint leaders with 49 points while PSG is now only 3 points away. All this and more as here are the best 5 moments from Europe this week:
#1 Bernardo Silva’s late goal keeps Monaco on top
Monaco took on PSG is a mouth-watering clash in the Ligue 1. The Parisians haven’t had their usual dominant season after many important players like Lavezzi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic left the club for work in China and England respectively and the team yet to gel under new boss Unai Emery
With Monaco playing away from home, the expected scenario was for PSG to win the game, taking them to the second spot on the table with 48 points just one behind Mario Balotelli’s Nice. The home fans thought they had the game in the bag after Edinson Cavani converted his penalty after Julian Draxler was pulled back from Djibril Sidibe.
However, there was a twist in the tale as the villain from 10 minutes ago, Sidibe himself assisted Bernardo Silva in the 92nd minute to send the ball past Areola into the net. Certainly a huge moment in terms of the title race in France.
#2 Bastian Schweinsteiger scores for Manchester United
Perhaps one of the most loved players in Europe, probably even around the world, Bastian Schweinsteiger’s move to Manchester United has been anything but a hit. After signing for the Red Devils under Louis Van Gaal, the German midfielder’s poor fitness saw him make very limited appearances for Manchester United.
Upon Jose Mourinho’s arrival, it was revealed to Bastian that he wasn’t part of Jose’s plans and could leave the club if he liked. However, unlike most players, Bastian decided to stay and fight for his sport and prove his manager wrong. Fast forward six months, Bastian is back and scores a goal in the Red jersey.
Certainly, this man is a clear example of what a fighter looks like. His goal sent the footballing world wild and certainly put a smile on the faces of football lovers.
#3 Sutton United stun Leeds United in the FA Cup
Certainly, this is a news that not many of you might have heard of, but remember Leeds United? Yes, The 1975 Champions League runners-up and three-time First Division winners from Yorkshire. Leeds United who plays in the Championship entered this game as the clear favourites against a literally unknown Sutton United.
Haven't heard of Sutton United? They are a little club that from South London where they play in the National League, the league that lies one tier below League 2. Sutton Town beat a team that plays three divisions above them by 1-0, which makes this a fantastic achievement. To put it into perspective, Leeds United is a staggering 83 league places above Sutton United.
The South Londoners now continue their dream run in the FA Cup as they move into the 5th round.
#4 Celta Vigo knock out Real
Real Madrid’s fantastic unbeaten streak came to an end at the hands of Sevilla last week and the week that followed for the Los Blancos is perhaps their poorest week in over 10 months. In the first leg of the quarter-final tie of the Copa Del Rey between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu, Celta came away with a 1-2 victory over Real Madrid.
With two crucial away goals, Madrid knew they had their a herculean task to knock Celta Vigo out of the Copa Del Rey. A Danilo own goals in the 44th minute saw Celta take a 3-1 lead in the tie with Real Madrid needing at least 3 goals to advance. Cristiano Ronaldo delivered for his team with a sublime freekick in the 62nd minute.
Just when Real were looking dangerous Daniel Wass’ goal from a beautiful play all but knocked Real Madrid out. The tie ended 2-2 on the day as Celta advanced into the semifinals.
#5 Liverpool knocked out from two competitions in a week
Liverpool went into their League cup tie with a one goal deficit against Southampton and knew that a victory could see them set up a mouth-watering final against Manchester United. However, Southampton had other plans after they had a fantastic back line to hold Liverpool for the whole game. A last minute goal from Shane Long saw Liverpool tumbling out of the League Cup.
Only three days later, they faced Wolverhampton in the FA Cup. While this time certainly seemed a bit easier on paper, Liverpool was outclassed yet again by a spirited Wolverhampton outfit. After two first half goals from Wolves, Liverpool needed three goals to go through to the next round of the FA Cup.
However, they could only manage one in the second half, which saw them knocked out of both the domestic cup trophies this season.
