What a weekend in European football! Barcelona bested eternal rivals Real Madrid in the latest Clasico to give themselves a potentially decisive lead in LaLiga's title race, while Arsenal put four goals past Crystal Palace to seize control in the Premier League before the international break. (Don't write off Man City yet, though, as Erling Haaland continues to score for fun and notched a hat trick against Burnley in their FA Cup quarterfinal.)
Elsewhere, we had talking points galore in the Bundesliga -- Sunday's VAR-aided defeat for Bayern Munich means Borussia Dortmund now hold pole position in the title race -- and with Man United, who benefited from Fulham's self-destruction to advance to the FA Cup semifinals.
Napoli won again in Serie A, Lazio and Roma put on a fiery derby and Chelsea found their recent run of form halted against Everton in the Premier League. Oh, and Paris Saint-Germain lost for the first time at home in Ligue 11 with Lionel Messi in the lineup, prompting plenty of questions about what's next for this club.
It's Monday, and Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the world of football.
Barcelona take a giant step towards LaLiga title with Clasico win
The broad rule: if the number of games remaining is equal or greater to your lead in the table, you can generally think about putting the champagne on ice. I haven't run the numbers on this -- I'd assume there are analytics types out there who have -- but it seems pretty reasonable.
It seems especially reasonable in Barcelona's case after their 2-1 win over Real Madrid on Sunday night, which means the gap is 12 points -- and not six -- with 12 games remaining. Barca still have to face the third-, fourth- and fifth-place sides in the table. But those matches -- against Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad and Betis -- are all at Camp Nou, where Barca have conceded just twice all season and won 11 of 13 games.
Barcelona are in decent shape on the injury front, too, with Pedri expected to make his return after the international break, which means Ousmane Dembele is the only starter sidelined for a significant period. And with no European football on the calendar -- unlike with Real Madrid -- it becomes easier to pace yourself.
On Sunday, Barca fell behind to Ronald Araujo's freak own goal, but nevertheless pressed on (as you'd expect) and got the equaliser via Sergi Roberto just before the break. A draw would not have been a bad result, yet they continued to look more menacing for a good chunk of the second half, until Carlo Ancelotti's substitutions put Madrid in the ascendancy. And sure enough, Madrid might have gotten the winner had VAR noted that Marco Asensio was fractionally offside. Instead, moments later, Barca went up the other way on the break and Franck Kessie got the winner.
Upshot? Had Asensio been less than an inch farther from the goal, Real Madrid would probably have won, the gap would have been six points and we'd be praising them for their patience and saying they deserved the victory. Instead, the gap is 12 points and yes, we can say Barca deserved the win. Because that's football. Goals (and goals not given) change games.
Xavi deserves credit for his defensive matchups, again putting Araujo at right-back to counter Vinicius and deploying Jules Kounde in the middle, where he frustrated Karim Benzema. Those were two of Real Madrid's most significant weapons tamed, if not neutralized, and it gave Barca a solid platform from which to operate. (Of course, every action has a counterreaction, and I suspect one of Ancelotti's regrets is not being able to exploit the matchups, especially Benzema in the air against Kounde. Benzema is a phenomenal header of the ball and several inches taller than Kounde, yet he didn't get that sort of service on the day.)
play
1:12
Nicol praises Saka's 'flawless' performance vs. Crystal Palace
Ancelotti's changes nearly did the trick at the end, but too often this is how Madrid has felt this season: they've been a team of moments and highlights, rather than a side capable of imposing themselves on a top opponent on the road.
Stranger things have happened in football, so you may not want to crown Barca just yet. But at this stage, nobody is going to take the 2022-23 LaLiga title from them -- they'd have to throw it away themselves.
Fulham's implosion propels Man United into FA Cup semifinals, but what a stinker
For an hour or so, Manchester United were tied up in knots by a Fulham side that deservedly took the lead at Old Trafford. United were at home against a side coming off back-to-back defeats and yet managed just five shots on goal, for a total xG of 0.40. They were also a goal down, having been outplayed by Fulham for long stretches.
Then it all fell apart for the visitors.
Willian blocked Jadon Sancho's goal-bound shot with his arm, like a keeper might. VAR went to a review and awarded a penalty and a red card, as per the rules. Aleksandar Mitrovic reacted by putting his hands on the referee, manager Marco Silva wandered angrily out of the technical area, and both were sent off. Bruno Fernandes converted the penalty and two minutes later Marcel Sabitzer scored his first United goal to make it 2-1, before Bruno added a third in garbage time.
play
1:20
Conte blasts Spurs in sensational post-match conference
As self-destruction goes, this one was entirely unnecessary. Maybe Willian's act was instinctive or uncoordinated; the irony is that had his arm not extended away from his body, he might have intercepted Sancho's shot anyway, but the reaction of Mitrovic and Silva, both experienced operators, is hard to forgive. The video evidence was obvious, and there was no point in venting your fury at referee Chris Kavanagh -- he's not the one who asked VAR to intervene.
At 1-1, even a man down, you were still very much in the game given how well Fulham were playing. With nine men, there was no shot.
From United's perspective this was a poor outing. Thankfully for them, it was overshadowed by the result and Fulham's shenanigans, otherwise it might have been a talking point over the international break.
Inter's Inzaghi, furious with VAR over Juventus defeat, might want to look at his own team instead
Inter manager Simone Inzaghi has had a rough ride of late, mainly from his own fans. Last week, he said folks shouldn't mistake his "good manners" for "a lack of intelligence" and that he'd speak up and get a few things off his chest when he felt like it. Unfortunately for him, he felt like it on Sunday, at the wrong time, following a 1-0 home defeat to Juventus.
Inzaghi was unhappy that the VAR did not disallow Filip Kostic's goal. There were three potential handballs in the buildup -- two from Dusan Vlahovic, one from Adrien Rabiot -- yet one wasn't punishable, as Vlahovic's arm was tight to his body, and the other two were far from clear-cut, according to the VAR. Frankly, watching it time and again, you tend to agree with him.
What was clear-cut, however was Inter's horrendous defending on Kostic's goal, especially by Denzel Dumfries. Equally clear-cut was Inter's lack of discipline in the second half when they took a ton of shots, most of them chaotic, desperation attempts.
As for Juve, this was nowhere near the dominating performance some make it out to be. They went a whole half-hour without a single attempt at goal. They didn't create much but they held fast when it mattered -- including guys like Federico Gatti, who was savaged by the pundits after some poor early season performances -- and now it's 10 wins, one draw and one defeat in their past 12 games.
Were it not for the points penalty -- which could yet be overturned -- they'd be in second place, while they also have a Europa League quarterfinal and Coppa Italia semifinal to look forward to. It doesn't mean Max Allegri is suddenly a genius again and the long-term answer, but it does mean he has been a steady hand after a turbulent start.
Arsenal's win was routine, sure, but no less special
play
1:03
What was missing for Chelsea in their draw vs. Everton?
Sunday's 4-1 win over Crystal Palace was, perhaps, predictable. Palace had just fired Patrick Vieira and had not won a game since 2023. Arsenal are top of the table. And yet in some ways games like these -- after getting knocked out of the Europa League, before an international break -- are when you can slip up and drop points, but it's obvious this Arsenal side have their eyes firmly on the prize.
Buoyed by an in-form Bukayo Saka -- two goals and an assist while waiting to put pen to paper on his new contract -- Arsenal were in charge beginning to end. The gap is up to eight points with 10 games left, though City have a game in hand and, of course, there's the head-to-head at the Etihad on April 26. But every small step takes Arsenal closer to their first league title in nearly two decades.
Two VAR penalties push Bayern Munich out of top spot
The two VAR penalties, both converted by Exequiel Palacios, dominated the headlines from Sunday's game, but that's only part of the story. Against a lively Bayer Leverkusen, well marshalled by Xabi Alonso -- they now have five wins on the spin -- Bayern struggled for long stretches despite taking the lead.
Barcelona take a giant step towards LaLiga title with Clasico win
Fulham's implosion propels Man United into FA Cup semifinals, but what a stinker
Inter's Inzaghi, furious with VAR over Juventus defeat, might want to look at his own team instead
Arsenal's win was routine, sure, but no less special
Two VAR penalties push Bayern Munich out of top spot