Winner: PSG
One point – that’s all that separates PSG from becoming French champions for the 13th time in their history. Luis Enrique’s side have dominated the season from start to finish as they remain unbeaten in Ligue 1 with a 21-point lead with seven rounds remaining.
Over the weekend, PSG crushed St Etienne 6-1 away from home to reach 38 games unbeaten away from the Parc des Princes, equalling AC Milan’s top-five European league record from 1991-93.
Loser: Atletico Madrid
In the space of just three weeks, Atletico Madrid have managed to bury their season. What seemed at first to be just an unfortunate accident away to Getafe, where they lost 2-1 despite leading in the 87th minute, turned into a habit for Diego Simeone’s side.
They also led Barcelona 2-0, only to lose 4-2, and in the most recent round they were ahead at Espanyol, but had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the end, in a match where Antoine Griezmann became the top appearance maker for a non Spanish player in LaLiga history.
Throw in a Champions League last-16 penalty shootout elimination to arch rivals Real Madrid, and March is a month Atleti fans would surely like to erase from history.
With nine rounds remaining in LaLiga, their team are nine points behind leaders Barcelona and six behind second-placed Real Madrid.
Winner: Kylian Mbappe
Quick Trivia Quiz: Who was the most criticised player at the start of the 2024-2025 season in Spain? And who is the player who reached the same number of goals (33) as Cristiano Ronaldo in his debut season at Real Madrid?
The answer to both questions is the same: Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman bagged a brace in a 3-2 home win over Leganes and needs just four more to equal Ivan Zamorano’s tally for the best debut season at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Losers: Galatasaray
It’s not very often that we can include Galatasaray in the category of losers. In fact, it’s the first time the reigning Turkish champions have tasted the bitter taste of defeat this Super Lig season.
Galatas lost 2-1 to Besiktas, coached by none other than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the ‘baby-faced killer’ who knows a thing or two about ending rivals’ long winning streaks.
When he coached Manchester United, he ended Manchester City’s 28-game unbeaten run (March 2021), and two years earlier (2019) he had halted Liverpool’s run of 17 consecutive Premier League wins with a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
Galatasaray have a six-point lead at the top of the league, but with a game in hand, Fenerbahce could spice up the end of the season in Turkey.
Winner: Viktor Gyokeres
Ask any football fan which striker they’d like for their team and there’s a pretty good chance one name will stand out: Gyokeres, currently at Sporting Lisbon.
With his two goals from the penalty spot at Estrela, he’s up to 30 in the Portuguese league (the next top scorer has 15 goals – Samu at FC Porto), and since the end of last year he has only one domestic game without a goal or assist (14 goals and six assists in 14 league and cup games).
These are figures that have put him in the sights of the continental giants and it’s hard to believe Sporting will be able to keep him in the summer. Arsenal fans are waiting with bated breath.
Loser: Emil Kornvig (Brann)
Own goals are certainly not on any footballer’s list of favourite things. But an own goal in the very first game of the season goes straight into the nightmare category.
It happened to Emil Kornvig in the first round of the Norwegian championship, in his team’s 3-0 defeat away to Fredrikstad.
In theory, nothing can be blamed on the midfielder, but being in the wrong place at the wrong time led to one of the most unusual own goals seen on the football pitch.
To finish, here are a few honourable mentions.
Crystal Palace qualified for the semi-finals of the FA Cup after beating Fulham 3-0 away from home. It was the Eaglets’ sixth consecutive away win in all competitions, all of them without conceding a goal, a first for English top-flight teams.
If at the start of last season they were struggling in the basement of the Eredivisie standings, Ajax are now heading for another Dutch title. The Lancers won the derby with PSV 2-0, on their arch-rivals’ home ground, and with a nine-point lead with just seven rounds remaining, it’s hard to believe they won’t be celebrating title number 37.
And in Portugal, the first Premier League match refereed by a woman took place. Catarina Campos officiated the 27th round duel between Casa Pia and Rio Ave.
