Serhou Guirassy’s late winner gave Borussia Dortmund a tense 2-1 victory at Wolfsburg on Saturday to provisionally cut Bayern Munich’s lead at the top of the Bundesliga to three points.
A fifth consecutive league victory moved Niko Kovac’s side to within a victory of erstwhile runaway leaders Bayern, who can restore their six-point cushion with a win at in-form Hoffenheim on Sunday.
After a record-breaking start to the season, the champions are winless in their last two games, giving Dortmund the chance to dream of a first title since 2012 with 13 games to go.
It was not a vintage display by Dortmund, who suffered a blow pre-match with the news that captain Emre Can will be sidelined for another month.
But they ground out victory against a Wolfsburg team who have won only once since the turn of the year, thanks to goals by Julian Brandt and Guirassy, each side of a Konstantinos Koulierakis leveller for the hosts.
Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal scored as Barcelona eased to a comfortable 3-0 win over Mallorca on Saturday to move four points clear at the top of La Liga.
The champions extended the gap to Real Madrid in second before Alvaro Arbeloa’s side visits Valencia on Sunday, with Marc Bernal also on target late on at the partially reopened Camp Nou stadium.
Mallorca target man Vedat Muriqi came close early on as he slid in at the back post but hit the side netting, while Jan Virgili’s shot was saved by Joan Garcia.
Marcus Rashford added some urgency into Barca’s game after a slow start, curling inches wide of the far post after cutting in from the left.
Arsenal moved ever closer to a first Premier League title for 22 years as a 3-0 win over Sunderland took the Gunners nine points clear at the top of the table.
Martin Zubimendi’s long-range drive just before half-time settled the nerves of the home crowd at the Emirates Stadium before Viktor Gyokeres struck twice to quieten his critics.
Manchester City can reduce the gap at the top back to six points should they end a wait since 2003 to beat Liverpool at Anfield in front of a crowd on Sunday.
But after three consecutive second-placed finishes, it appears a matter of when, not if, Mikel Arteta’s men will finally be crowned champions.
Defeat dented Sunderland’s dream of European football on their first season back in the top flight.
Manchester United profited from Tottenham captain Cristian Romero’s red card to stretch their perfect start under Michael Carrick to four games with a 2-0 win at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Saturday.
Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes ended an eight-game winless run against Spurs for the Red Devils, who cemented their position in the Premier League’s top four.
United close to within two points of third-placed Aston Villa and open up a five-point cushion over Liverpool in sixth.
A place in the top five is likely to secure a place in next season’s Champions League due to the strong performance of English sides in European competition.
Spurs’ hopes of qualifying for the Champions League through their league position have long since disappeared as another damaging defeat for Thomas Frank leaves Tottenham in 14th.
Cole Palmer scored a first-half hat-trick to inspire Chelsea to a 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Saturday, making Liam Rosenior the second English manager to win his first four Premier League matches.
The hosts’ woes started early. Inside 15 minutes, João Pedro was fouled by Matt Doherty in the box, allowing Palmer to convert the resulting penalty and give Chelsea the lead.
Wolves’ goalkeeper José Sá denied further damage from Enzo Fernández and Malo Gusto, but the damage was done.
Wolves compounded their troubles when Yerson Mosquera fouled Pedro again in the area. Palmer calmly dispatched the second penalty, marking his 50th goal in 100 competitive appearances for Chelsea.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said he is relishing a fresh challenge after signing for Scottish giants Celtic until the end of the season on Saturday.
The former Liverpool and Arsenal midfielder has been a free agent since leaving Turkish side Besiktas in August.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, 32, will bolster Celtic’s bid to reel in Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership with the club having the option to extend the deal for another season.
Celtic have won 13 of the last 14 Scottish Premiership titles but trail Hearts by six points at the top of the table.
The Glasgow giants also face Stuttgart in the Europa League play-off round and host Dundee in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup later on Saturday.
Nigeria’s Falconets on Saturday secured a slim first-leg advantage in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers, defeating Senegal 1-0 at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena, Abeokuta, Ogun state.
Both teams showed determination, but neither could find a breakthrough before the interval, leaving the score at 0-0 at halftime.
Substitute, Kindness Ifeanyi scored the decisive goal in the second half , heading home from a corner kick in the 50th minute to separate both sides.
She came close to doubling the advantage in the 66th minute, but the Senegalese goal keeper stretched full length to push her effort away.
The Falconets maintained their lead through disciplined defending and controlled play, with head coach Moses Aduku’s second-half substitutions helping the team sustain momentum and see out the encounter.
Nigeria’s striker Janet Akokoromowei was forced off in the first period due to injury.
Ifeanyi was later named player of the match for her match-winning performance.
The return leg is scheduled for 14th February in Senegal, where Nigeria will seek to consolidate their advantage and advance to the next round.
The Niger State Sports Commission has threatened to withdraw Niger Tornadoes Football Club from the ongoing Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) over alleged unfair and unjust treatment by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).
The Chairman of the sports commission, Abdullahi Masu, made the threat while briefing journalists in Minna, condemning the federation’s decision to reschedule Niger Tornadoes’ home matches to other states, describing the move as politically motivated, personal, and driven by selfish interests, and calling for its immediate reversal.
According to him, the reason cited by the NFF—poor camera viewing angles at the Bako Kontagora Memorial Stadium—could be resolved within one week, stressing that the stadium is better equipped than several others currently approved for league matches across the country.
Masu warned against politicising sports administration, noting that such practices are detrimental to football development in Nigeria, and urged the NFF to put its house in order to ensure fairness and equity in the league.
Marathoners from Plateau State emerged champions in the male and female categories of the 6th Senator Douye Diri National Marathon held on Saturday in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
James Gang, who came second last year, led the pack of 207 participants in this year’s race, breasting the tape in the elite male category in 30:58.75 secs, closely followed by Francis James, also from Plateau, in 32:05.87 secs.
Ishmael Sadjo from Cross River finished in third place in 32:14.31 secs.
In the elite female category, Plateau runners dominated, with Akusho Lydia-Thomas coming first in 38:30.37 secs ahead of compatriots Vivian Obadiah (38:52.78 secs) and Tanko Iyanj (38:54.84 secs) in second and third positions respectively.
In the teens male category, Andrew Richards of Bishop Dimieri Grammar School, Yenagoa, came first, while Okenema Samuel of Community Secondary School, Okutukutu, came second and Chinedu Deindein, also of BDGS, was third.
The teens female category saw Igbeita Innocent of Divine International School, Yenagoa, Alex Sunshine and Yebiboh Favour finish first, second and third respectively.
Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, who presented prizes to the winners, announced an increase in the prize money across all categories from the next edition.
Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen scorched to victory in the men’s Olympic downhill in Bormio on Saturday, winning the first gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Winter Games.
Reigning world champion Von Allmen hit speeds of 145km/h (90mph) to clock a winning time of 1min 51.61sec down the testing Stelvio course.
The 24-year-old Swiss racer broke the hearts of the home nation, finishing ahead of the Italian pair of Giovanni Franzoni, who was 0.20sec behind, and Dominik Paris (+0.50).
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