The year is coming to an end, but European football remains busy. In England, Arsenal and Manchester City are competing point by point for leadership of the Premier League, while in Spain, Real Madrid won yet another in La Liga, on a record night for Kylian Mbappé, who equaled Cristiano Ronaldo in the number of goals scored by a Real Madrid athlete in a calendar year – 59 balls into the net.
Birthday party of the day, Mbappé scored Real Madrid’s second goal in the victory against Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabéu. Jude Bellingham scored the first in a match marked by an excellent performance from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. With this result, the Merengue team reached 42 points, one less than the leader Barcelona, which takes the field today, against Villarreal, at 12:15 p.m. (Brasilia time), at the Madrigal, in Villareal.
Saturday was also a busy day at Terra da Rainha. Chelsea were level with Newcastle after losing 2-0 in the first half. However, in the final phase, Reece James, with a beautiful free kick, and João Pedro left everything the same.
Another Brazilian who found the net was striker Richarlison, who scored Tottenham’s only goal in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool. Isak and Ekitiké scored the Reds’ goals in the second half of the match which saw two sending-offs for Spurs – Xavi Simons and Curti Romero receiving red cards. The 2-1 victory confirms Liverpool’s good moment, which is getting closer to the G4: the team led by Arne Slot now occupies fifth place in the Premier League, with 29 points.
Those who are not going through a good phase are Wolverhampton, owned by the Brazilians André and João Gomes and the Colombian Jhon Árias. Last in the Premier League with 2 points won in 17 days, the team was once again beaten at home, this time by Brentford, 2-0. The midfield duo started for the entire 90 minutes, while the former Fluminense midfielder came on in the 44th minute of the second half.
At the other end of the spectrum, competition is increasingly fierce. Manchester City beat West Ham, 3-0, with two goals from Haaland and one from Reijnders, and won their fifth consecutive victory in the English Championship, thus consolidating themselves as a candidate for the title of the competition. This result allowed Pep Guardiola’s team to reach 37 points and temporarily take the lead in the Premier League.
City did not finish Saturday as leaders as Arsenal also won in the round. The Gunners traveled to Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and won thanks to a goal from top scorer Victor Gyokeres in the opening goal. With the 1-0 victory, the London team reached 39 points.
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