Man City take big step towards English trophy, Napoli’s title party on hold after home draw

ANKARA

Manchester City have taken a big step towards the English Premier League title after a 2-1 win at Fulham, while Italian Serie A leaders Napoli’s championship celebrations were put on hold after a 1-1 home draw on Sunday.

Back-to-back English champions Manchester City, who previously beat title contenders Arsenal 4-1 in the league, became the English leaders after an away win at Craven Cottage, London.

Manchester City beat Fulham 2-1 to top the Premier League with 76 points.

Norwegian superstar Erling Haaland, who scored against Fulham, is spending a dream season at Manchester City, as the 22-year-old scored 50 goals in 44 appearances.

Haaland scored an early penalty at Craven Cottage, as it was his record-equaling 34th Premier League goal in a single season. He leveled with Andrew Cole in the 1993-94 and Alan Shearer in 1994-95 season.

Arsenal, who were the English leaders for a long time this season, are now in the second spot, as the Gunners have collected 75 points in 33 matches. Leaders Manchester City have a game in hand and will face West Ham United on Wednesday.

Meanwhile Arsenal will play against Chelsea on Tuesday at London’s Emirates Stadium.

On Sunday third-place Newcastle United beat Southampton 3-1 to cement their position in the league. The Magpies have 65 points.

Manchester United are fourth with 63 points following a 1-0 win against Aston Villa.

The Premier League will end after the matchday 38 on May 28.

Salernitana spoil Italian leaders Napoli’s party

Italian Serie A leaders Napoli will have to wait at least a few days to secure their long-awaited domestic title.

Salernitana on Sunday denied Napoli an early Serie A title celebration by holding on to a 1-1 draw.

Napoli fans were ready to celebrate the 2022-23 Serie A championship in week 32, when Mathias Olivera netted for the hosts in the 62nd minute at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

But Salernitana forward Boulaye Dia scored a late equalizer to delay Napoli’s joy.

Napoli are still on the verge of celebrating their first Italian title since 1990.

On Sunday runners-up Lazio lost 3-1 to Inter Milan in another week 32 game in Milan, giving a chance to Napoli to extend the gap.

Napoli sit atop of the Serie A standings with 79 points, while Lazio are behind with 61 points and Juventus are placed third with 60 points.

The leaders will visit Udinese on Thursday. Lazio will take on Sassuolo in Rome on Wednesday.

The Serie A will conclude after the matchday 38 on June 4.

Bayern Munich move back to top of Bundesliga

Bayern Munich took the lead in the German Bundesliga after a 2-0 win against Hertha Berlin in Munich on Sunday.

Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman were the scorers.

The title race between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are still tight as only four weeks are remaining to the end of the season.

Borussia Dortmund had a 1-1 draw at Bochum on Friday.

Bayern Munich have 62 points in 30 matches. Second-place Borussia Dortmund have 61 points and will have to look for a mistake of the leaders.

Third-place Union Berlin and fourth-place Freiburg have collected 56 points each.

Barcelona keep 11-point lead in Spanish La Liga

Barcelona hammered Real Betis 4-0 in a Saturday league match to keep a 11-point lead in the Spanish La Liga.

Barca have 79 points in 32 matches to get closer to the league title with each passing week.

Second-place Real Madrid took a home win over Almeria on Saturday. French star Karim Benzema’s hat-trick led the Whites to a 4-2 win in Madrid.

Third-place Atletico Madrid are 13 points behind Barcelona. Atletico took a 5-2 win at Valladolid on Sunday.

Leaders PSG stunned by Lorient

French Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain lost to Lorient 3-1 on Sunday in Paris.

The hosts were 10 men on the pitch since PSG’s Moroccan midfielder Achraf Hakimi was sent off in the 20th minute. Kylian Mbappe was the only scorer for PSG.

Enzo Le Fee, Darlin Yongwa and Bamba Dieng scored for Lorient at Parc des Princes.

Defending champions PSG have 75 points in 33 matches to stay on top.

Second-place Olympique Marseille beat Auxerre 2-1 to narrow the gap to five points against PSG.

Third in standings, Lens have 66 points and have a game in hand.

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