Barcelona forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his side’s third goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and FC Barcelona at the Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Tuesday, April 2, 2019.(AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Premier League
Manchester City reclaimed the lead at the top of the EPL table with a 2-0 win at home over relegation-bound Cardiff City on Wednesday. Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who finally seems back to full fitness after injury, scored in the sixth minute on a shot to the near post from a tight angle before Leroy Sane’s strike doubled City’s lead just before halftime.
Tottenham celebrated the opening of their new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Wednesday. In-form forward Heung-Min Son opened the scoring for Tottenham with his twelfth goal of the season in the 55th minute and Christian Eriksen added a second in the 80th minute. The win snapped a five-match winless streak for Tottenham and kept them a point ahead of Arsenal in third place.
Chelsea continued its push for a top-four finish, cruising to a 3-0 win over lowly Brighton Wednesday at Stamford Bridge. Highly touted teenager Callum Hudson Odoi earned his first start for the Blues and assisted Olivier Giroud’s opening goal in the 38th minute. Superstars Eden Hazard and Ruben Loftus-Cheek each scored brilliant long-distance goals to ensure all three points for Chelsea, which pulled them into a tie for fourth place with Arsenal.
Wolverhampton pulled off a 2-1 upset victory at Molineux Stadium over Manchester United on Tuesday after United defender Chris Smalling turned in a late own goal. Scott McTominay scored his first ever goal for the Red Devils to open the scoring in the 13th minute, but Diogo Jota equalized for seventh place Wolves in the 25th minute. United defender Ashley Young was sent off in the 57th minute after picking up his second yellow card and, nearly 20 minutes later, Smalling deflected in a loose ball in front of his own goal to give Wolves a late winner. After Chelsea’s win, United now sits outside the top four in sixth place.
Fulham became the second Premier League club this season to book its relegation after a 4-1 defeat at Watford on Monday. Fulham earned the majority of possession and held an advantage in shots yet gave up goals to four different Watford players. Fulham has amassed just 17 points this season and leads just last place Huddersfield in the standings.
La Liga
Goncalo Guedes struck in the first half and Ezequiel Garay scored in the 83rd minute to lead Valencia to a massive 2-1 victory over Real Madrid at the Mestalla Wednesday. The win pulled Valencia within a point of fourth-place Getafe while Real Madrid sits third and trails Atletico Madrid by five points.
Barcelona needed late goals from Leo Messi and Luis Suarez to steal a point at lowly Villareal. Messi scored an incredible free kick from just outside the box in the 90th minute before Luis Suarez equalized with a rebound strike off a corner kick three minutes later to earn first place Barca a draw. The Catalonian side led 2-0 early in the first half, but 17th place Villareal scored four unanswered goals and looked to have earned themselves a win that would have left them three points clear of the relegation zone. Barca hold an eight point lead over Atletico at the top of the table.
Story Salit is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus and can be reached via email at story.salit@uconn.edu.
