PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE TEXT)
Premier League players all had “Black Lives Matter” printed on the back of their shirts and took a knee prior to kick-off this week in a gesture that felt a lot more authentic than FIFA and UEFA’s half-hearted efforts of the past. An unbelievable mess ensued on the pitch once the action got underway as Sheffield United were denied a clear goal and three points first by Hawkeye and then by VAR. VAR did intervene correctly in the Spurs Man U game, however, to rule out a second penalty for the visitors, with the ref seemingly desperate to hand the Red Devils the spoils. The other big games of the week saw a classic David Luiz cameo, in which he gave away two goals before picking up a red card against City, whilst the Merseyside derby ended goalless, with Everton looking the more likely winners towards the end.

The Reds’ lead is now down to 20 points after City thrashed Burnley 5-0 with braces from Mahrez and Foden. Leicester remain third after a late Chilwell screamer was cancelled out by an even later Watford equaliser, whilst Chelsea came from behind to beat Villa to stay fourth. Wolves are looking good for Europe after winning at the London Stadium, but Sheffield United slipped to a surprise 3-0 defeat at Newcastle in which Joelinton finally ended his goal drought. Palace are level on points with Spurs after brushing aside the Cherries, who seem doomed to relegation with Fraser having played his last game for the club and a tough run-in ahead. The Canaries lost 3-0 at home to the Saints and for them it seems the drop is a case of when not if. Things are looking brighter for Brighton after they stunned the Gunners with a late comeback win, which prompted Guendouzi to grab Maupay by the throat. Inexplicably, the FA have opted not to take action. (TABLE)

LA LIGA (HIGHLIGHTS MATCHDAY 29 AND MATCHDAY 30)
Shockingly one-sided officiating handed Real top spot as the referee ruled time and time again in Madrid’s favour to gift them three points at the Anoeta, with Barca held by Sevilla. The Blaugrana’s Pique is in hot water for his comments on the official in question, but it’s hard to have much sympathy for a side that are so often given preferential treatment themselves. Getafe and Sociedad’s dramatic dip in form since the restart has allowed Atletico and Sevilla to move clear in the race for the Champions League. At the other end of the table, it’s looking increasingly likely that the bottom three now will be the three to go down with Espanyol, Leganes and Mallorca all looking woefully bereft of quality and form. Celta’s 6-0 demolition of Alaves after a battling point at Valladolid has allowed them to move four points clear of the drop and given them the insurance of an unassailable advantage in goal difference should their form drop off again. Elsewhere, Real Betis have already decided to part ways with their boss, “Rubi”, just three games after the restart. (TABLE)

SERIE A (COPPA ITALIA FINAL) (SERIE A CATCH-UP GAMES)
Napoli won their sixth Coppa Italia by defeating Juve on penalties. The Old Lady started the shootout disastrously with Dybala and Danilo both failing to convert, as Gattuso’s Napoli claimed a trophy from a season that seemed like it would best be forgotten a few months ago. In the Serie A catch-up games, Inter defeated Samp, La Dea picked up where they left off with a thrashing of Sassuolo, Torino and Parma drew, and Hellas kept their European ambitions alive with a win over Cagliari. (TABLE)

BUNDESLIGA (MATCHDAY 33 HIGHLIGHTS)
As expected, Paderborn were relegated in a defeat at Union Berlin, as the home side celebrated mathematical safety. Werder will probably join them in the 2. Bundesliga after a spirited defeat against Bayern was followed by a less than flattering loss to Mainz, who are now in the clear. To steal the relegation play-off place off Dusseldorf, who picked up an invaluable point with two late goals against Leipzig, Bremen will have to defeat Koln and hope the Flingeraner lose to Union. Unlikely. Dortmund made sure of second place by defeating Leipzig after a shock loss to Mainz. RB and the Foals look as though they will join them in the Champions League after Leverkusen fell to Hertha. Hoffenheim have booked their Europa place for next season after big wins over Augsburg and Union, as have Wolfsburg, who routed a sorry Schalke. It’s getting increasingly hard to imagine David Wagner in the Royal Blues’ dugout at the start of next season. (TABLE)

LIGUE 1
League finished. Winners: PSG / Champions League: Marseille, Rennes / Europa League: Lille, Nice, Reims / Relegated: Amiens, Toulouse / Promoted: Lens, Lorient (TABLE)

BUNDESLIGA (MATCHDAY 29 HIGHLIGHTS)
George Floyd’s death has, quite rightly, permeated every facet of society. In the Bundesliga, Jadon Sancho showed his solidarity by revealing a shirt calling for justice after scoring, Schalke’s Weston McKennie wore an armband with the same message, and Lilian Thuram took a Colin Kaepernick knee after netting for the Foals.

Although the league seems irrelevant in comparison, much was decided in an entertaining double game week in Germany. Bayern will stroll to the title after winning 1-0 at their closest rivals Dortmund, although they have VAR to thank for not flagging Jerome Boateng’s handball in the box. Bayern’s other rivals also dropped points midweek to end any uncertainty. All four managed to bounce back with big wins on the weekend, but it’s too little too late.

At the bottom, there’s now precious little hope for Paderborn, who were thumped by Dortmund after three creditable draws. Werder have found a new lease of life, however, taking 7 from the last 9 and could move out of the drop zone if they win their match in hand against Eintracht. It’s shaping up to be a titanic tussle at the bottom, as Dusseldorf’s good form up until their drubbing by Bayern has dragged Mainz, Union and Augsburg into real danger. Even the Eagles are not yet safe.

Union have been on a desperate run without the support of their fans, as have Koln, but neither have matched the plight of Schalke, who have lost four from four, leaving David Wagner under increasing pressure. At the other end of the spectrum are a Bruno Labbadia inspired Hertha, who are loving life without fans. They’ve taken 10 from 12 and, after Bayern, are the league’s form team. (TABLE)

LA LIGA
Fixtures have now been published for the first two rounds of fixtures. The Seville derby will get proceedings underway on the 11th, before Barca begin at Real Mallorca and Real host Eibar. League officials have promised there will be football every day until the planned end of the season on 19th July. (TABLE)

PREMIER LEAGUE
17th June is the restart date for the Premier League, although fixture details have not yet been announced. What is clear is that the make-up games (Man City vs Arsenal and Villa vs Sheff U) will be played first, which probably reflects the gamble that restarting represents. Should the season need to be called off, at least all clubs will have played the same number of games. (TABLE)

SERIE A
Serie A is slated to return 3 days later on the 20th, but there have been no announcements regarding fixtures. As Serie A was the first league to close down, they have the most fixtures to make up. There are concerns this could leave players exhausted with next year’s season just around the corner. (TABLE)

LIGUE 1
League finished. Winners: PSG / Champions League: Marseille, Rennes / Europa League: Lille, Nice, Reims / Relegated: Amiens, Toulouse / Promoted: Lens, Lorient / Legal Action: Lyon, Amiens (TABLE)

PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Reds close in on the title. Ole’s double delight. Foxes tear through Villa. Chelsea win the battle of the Blues. Seagulls snatch a point from Wolves. Blades’ consistency checks Canaries’ revival. Clarets settle for a point against turgid Tottenham. Gunners emerging from Spurs’ shadow. Hornets crash back down to earth. Maximin adds a goal to his attacking menace. (TABLE)

LA LIGA WEEK 27 HIGHLIGHTS
The leadership changed hands yet again this week as a Messi penalty and a late winner for Betis meant victory for Barca over Sociedad and defeat for Real. Just below there were draws as Valencia gained a point at Alaves and Getafe were held by Celta at home; Atletico and Sevilla also ended up all square, as did Levante and Granada . Things are getting tight at the bottom, with Mallorca getting an away win at Eibar and Leganes stunning Villarreal at the Ceramica. Valladolid are very much back in the relegation mix after a heavy home defeat to Athletic, but Espanyol have been cut adrift after losing at El Sadar. (TABLE)

SERIE A WEEK 26 HIGHLIGHTS (PARTS I AND II)
There will be no more action in Italy until April, as the government seeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The postponed Week 26 fixtures were completed this week behind closed doors with the Derby d’Italia ending in a victory for the Old Lady that could well have ended Inter’s title challenge. The other fixtures were from the other end of the table, as Genoa, Samp and SPAL all picked up key wins over higher-ranked sides to leave the relegation battle extremely tight. It was not such good news for bottom side Brescia, who lost in Sassuolo, or for Udinese and Fiorentina, who shared a draw that leaves them both precariously poised. (TABLE)

BUNDESLIGA WEEK 25 HIGHLIGHTS
The Lewandowski-less Bayern juggernaut rolled on past Augsburg this week; familiar foes Dortmund now seem the only side capable of stopping them after they won the battle of the Borussias. Leipzig dropped more points at the Volkswagen Arena, while Bayer’s Havertz-inspired charge, which resulted in a 4-0 win this week, seems to have come too late. The Billy Goats won yet again to leave Paderborn in huge trouble alongside Werder, who threw away a two goal lead and two points they can ill afford at Hertha. Elsewhere, Freiburg got a confidence boosting win over Union, Schalke and Hoffenheim shared the spoils and a late Fortuna equaliser kept them just about in touch with Mainz. (TABLE)

LIGUE 1 WEEK 28 HIGHLIGHTS
PSG’s trip to Strasbourg became the first coronavirus cancellation in France this week, but the other nine fixtures went ahead. A last-gasp two goal comeback from the Unicorns stunned the Velodrome and gave the visitors the tiniest glimmer of hope for survival, whilst extinguishing any Marseille may have harboured for the title. Rennes trounced Montpellier, despite resting Niang, and the Great Danes snuck past OL to close the gap to second. Reims and Nice underlined their European ambitions with home wins, with the Eaglets’ win over local rivals Monaco coming courtesy of a Dolberg double. At the bottom, Toulouse made it an incredible 1 point from the last 51 as they lost to struggling Dijon, Nimes fell again to Metz and Les Verts had to settle for a single point at home to Girondins. Angers defeated Nantes 2-0 in the remaining fixture. (TABLE)

PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Precious points slip through Fabianski’s fingers. Leicester pay the penalty for VAR inconsistency. Apprentice wipes floor with master (Part II). Bruno boost for United. Maupay makes a point. Jota getting hotter. Massive improvement on the reverse fixture. Bournemouth burden hard to shoulder. Saints take advantage of villainous showing. Magpies no match for Eagles. (TABLE)

LA LIGA WEEK 25 HIGHLIGHTS
A late screamer for Levante knocked Real off top spot as the Braithwaite snatchers ran riot against Eibar 5-0 (another Messi hat-trick). Braithwaite’s cutting edge was sorely missed by the victims of the La Liga endorsed heist, Leganes, who now look doomed after falling to defeat to ten-man Celta. Getafe’s recent struggles continued as they lost 3-0 at home to Sevilla, who now occupy the Champions League spots with Atletico after downing the Yellow Submarine. Sociedad lie just behind Getafe in 6th with a game in hand after a 3-0 win over Valencia, while two rocket strikes from Machis inspired Granada to a 3-0 win at El Sadar. At the bottom, Alaves and Valladolid distanced themselves from the drop with key victories and Mallorca grabbed a crucial point at Betis in a six-goal thriller. (TABLE)

SERIE A WEEK 25 HIGHLIGHTS
Coronavirus containment saw four matches cancelled in Veneto and Lombardy, which allowed the Old Lady and the Eagles to put more space between themselves and Inter with narrow away wins at SPAL and Genoa. Roma emphatically ended their recent poor form with a 4-0 trouncing of Lecce, while Napoli’s late comeback win at Brescia saw them move ahead of Milan thanks to ten-man Fiorentina’s late equaliser at the Artemio Franchi. Bologna also knocked in a late goal to rescue a point at home to Udinese in the remaining fixture played. (TABLE)

BUNDESLIGA WEEK 23 HIGHLIGHTS
Bayern needed an 88th minute Lewandowski winner to see off a valiant Paderborn 3-2, but Leipzig and Timo Werner have reawoken behind them, knocking in five unanswered goals in Gelsenkirchen. Haland got another as Dortmund took revenge for their cup exit to Werder, but Monchengladbach paid the price for squandering numerous opportunities to put Hoffenheim away. Bayer’s fantastic post holiday form secured another three points that puts them back in the title picture, while Brekalo kickstarted the Wolves to an impressive 4-0 win over Mainz that makes Europe a possibility. At the bottom, Uwe Rosler’s Fortuna picked up a crucial three points in Breisgau, while the Hertha honeymoon is over for Alexander Nouri, who saw his side smashed 5-0 at home by Karneval celebrating Koln. Monday’s match was a mid-table comedy of defensive errors with Union coming out on top. (TABLE)

LIGUE 1 WEEK 26 HIGHLIGHTS
Edinson Cavani’s double century of goals for PSG made up for a Neymar red and some disastrous keeping from Sergio Rico, as the Parisians snuck home 4-3 against Girondins; they extend their lead over OM, who slipped to a shock home defeat to the Canaries. A Niang double snapped the Crocodiles’ winning streak and has Rennes back at the races in third, but Lille are just behind after a perfunctory win over moribund Toulouse. At the bottom, Amiens and Dijon picked up important points against European hopefuls Strasbourg and Monaco, while Metz fell to OL. Elsewhere, St Etienne had to settle for a point after an injury time equaliser from Reims, Brest came from behind to draw 2-2 at the Allianz Riviera, and SCO edged Montpellier 1-0 at the Jean-Bouin. (TABLE)