Lazio went top of Serie A with a 2-0 win over Bologna on Saturday in one of the five weekend top-flight matches which were unaffected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Luis Alberto fired Lazio in front with a low shot from the edge of the area in the 18th minute and set up the second for Joaquin Correa three minutes later as the hosts extended their unbeaten Serie A run to 21 games. Bologna had two goals disallowed in the second half, one for handball and then one for offside following a VAR review.
Serie A had initially announced that the five games would be played behind closed doors but changed its mind earlier on Saturday because broadcasters, fans and the clubs did not want to play in empty stadiums. Bologna’s coach, Sinisa Mihajlovic, who has continued working this season despite undergoing treatment for leukaemia, was given a standing ovation by Lazio fans before the kick-off. Mihajlovic played for Lazio when they won the last of their two Serie A titles in 1999-00, a team that also included current Lazio coach, Simone Inzaghi.
“I never imagined we’d be top after 26 matches even knowing that I coach some really good lads,” said Inzaghi. “We should have had a bigger lead at half-time but we suffered a bit in the second half, which was a merit of Bologna. We are top on our own merits.”
Napoli continued their resurgence under Gennaro Gattuso with a 2-1 home victory over Torino. Goals from Kostas Manolas and Giovanni De Lorenzo proved enough for a win that boosts their hopes of catching Atalanta in what looks like a three-way race with Roma for fourth-place and the final Champions League spot.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich fired in three goals in the opening 15 minutes en route to a 6-0 demolition of hosts Hoffenheim on Saturday in a game interrupted for 20 minutes over an offensive banner unfurled by visiting fans. Bayern moved four points clear at the top of the table but the match was at risk of being cut short when Bayern fans displayed the banner insulting Hoffenheim investor Dietmar Hopp in the 79th minute.
Borussia Dortmund needed a goal from in-form teenager Jadon Sancho to beat Freiburg 1-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday after a lacklustre performance. There were no usual attacking fireworks for Dortmund and, apart from Sancho’s 15th-minute goal, chances for the hosts were few and far between. Freiburg got their share of scoring opportunities in the second half but could not find an equaliser.
In La Liga Valencia restored some pride by beating Real Betis 2-1 at home in La Liga on Saturday to earn their first win in six matches in all competitions. Kevin Gameiro put Valencia aheadwith a thumping strike in off the post from outside the area while the captain, Dani Parejo, made sure of victory in the 89th minute by firing home from inside the area. Loren Morón pulled a goal back for Betis in added time but Valencia still recorded a therapeutic victory after last week’s 3-0 thrashing at Real Sociedad which had followed a 4-1 hiding in the Champions League to Atalanta.
Kylian Mbappé scored two goals and created another as Paris Saint-Germain re-established their 13-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 with a 4-0 win over struggling Dijon on Saturday but Ángel Di María limped off with what looked like a hamstring injury. PSG face Borussia Dortmund on 11 March in the last 16 of the Champions League, having lost the first leg 2-1, and are already without the injured Thiago Silva and Ander Herrera for that game, with Marco Verratti and Thomas Meunier suspended. Pablo Sarabia and Mauro Icardi got the other goals against Dijon.
Second-place Marseille won 3-2 at Nimes on Friday with Dario Benedetto netting a hat trick.
