Top 10 Performances from Around the World from Weekend of March 13-15
Another busy weekend in the world of football has brought us some fascinating matches, some surprise results and a whole host of delightful performances, both on a team and individual level.
We've taken our usual look around the globe's top leagues, assessing which matches and outcomes were the most important and impressive by judging the quality of opposition, recent form, how the scoreline affected the league in question and plenty of other relevant factors.
Our top three includes two sides from the English Premier League, including Manchester United, who picked up a vital victory in the chase for a Champions League place. Did they take top spot? Who joins them on the podium?
Read on to find out.
10. Ajax
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Ajax have performed considerably better on the road than at home at times this season, and that was the case in the Eredivisie again this weekend, as they won 4-1 away to Heerenveen.
Arkadiusz Milik started and ended the scoring, with Davy Klaassen also getting on the scoresheet and Joel Veltman netting at both ends in between. It means a fourth win in five games for Ajax, who have been in fine form recently, though it has likely come too late for a fourth consecutive league title.
Each of the top-three sides won in the Eredivisie again this weekend, meaning Ajax remain in second, 11 points behind PSV.
9. Shakhtar Donetsk
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Ukraine's top flight is of course affected by the ongoing social strife in the country, but the Donetsk derby—played in Lviv—ended in a rousing 6-0 win for Shakhtar against Olimpik.
Veteran right-back and club hero Darijo Srna opened the scoring from the spot, while top scorers Oleksandr Gladkiy and Alex Teixeira also found the net.
The win momentarily closed the gap at the top of the table—but that has since returned to seven points after league leaders Dynamo Kyiv stuck five goals unanswered past Illichivets, who would be bottom of the table if not for Karpaty's points deductions.
8. Benfica
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In the Primeira Liga, Benfica picked up a fairly routine victory, 2-0 at home against Sporting Braga on Saturday.
The importance of the win, however, was in their dominance and the eventual comfort of the victory against the fourth-placed team in the top flight, who were trying to prove they are worthy of breaking into the top three—and also prove the league isn't only about the sides above them.
Benfica rendered that hope irrelevant, with Jonas and Eliseu scoring the goals and Braga finishing with 10 men. Benfica retained their four-point lead at the top as a result.
7. Sevilla
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One of Sevilla's more impressive and complete performances of late came on Sunday night, as they beat Elche in La Liga by a 3-0 scoreline to strengthen their grip on a Europa League place and ensure they stay on the fringes of the hunt for a top-four finish.
Carlos Bacca scored twice in the opening half-hour, with fellow forward Kevin Gameiro wrapping up the win late on.
Sevilla were fast on the break, clinical with their final pass inside the area and always on the front foot against a low-placed but in-form Elche team that had lost just once in their last five outings. Sevilla sit fifth in the table.
6. Aston Villa
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Aston Villa have been troubled by relegation worries this season, but successive Premier League wins have significantly eased those fears.
This weekend was particularly impressive, as they ripped into fellow strugglers Sunderland, scoring four goals in the first half to seal a 4-0 win and move up to 16th place, above Saturday's opposition and three points clear of the relegation zone.
A brace apiece for Gabby Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke had the home fans booing and leaving in their thousands at the half-time interval. Villa continue to improve and have an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to on top of this much better league form.
5. Bayer Leverkusen
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Into the Bundesliga, where one of the more impressive performances in a weekend that saw several heavy wins came from Bayer Leverkusen. True, they were facing bottom side Stuttgart, but their level of play and clinical edge was superb at times, with their tempo a big factor in scoring four goals inside the first hour in a 4-0 win.
Josip Drmic hit a brace and Karim Bellarabi, excellent all season, scored a wonderful solo goal as Leverkusen clinched a third successive win to stay in fourth. Wendell scored the opener to set his team on their way.
Eintracht Frankfurt's 4-0 over Paderborn, Wolfsburg's 3-0 over Freiburg and Bayern Munich's 4-0 win over Werder Bremen are all noteworthy scorelines, too.
4. Tijuana
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Our one game outside of Europe this week comes from the Liga MX in Mexico, where the top two clashed and leaders Tijuana came out on top.
Juan Arango continued his impressive start to the Clausura, with the former Bundesliga-based attacking midfielder netting a fifth goal in the opening 10 games of the campaign to help lead his side to a 3-1 win over Veracruz.
The victory opens up a four-point gap at the top of the table for Tijuana, who only came 11th in the Apertura, with the eventual winners of that title, Club America, currently in third.
3. Burnley
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Our second of three Premier League teams this week, Burnley, picked up a shock 1-0 home win over reigning champions Manchester City on Saturday to continue Manuel Pellegrini's misery over the past month or so.
George Boyd's fantastic, left-footed half-volley was the difference in the end, fizzing low into the far corner from the edge of the box. The fact the match was close in terms of chances created until the latter stages of the game is testament to Burnley's battling and impressive display.
The win takes the Clarets to 18th, still in the relegation zone but now within one point of their nearest rivals, after a match in which most people would have expected them to lose.
2. Manchester United
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Manchester United have been heavily criticised at times for their sluggish play and failure to produce good performances in the Premier League this season, but they conjured a clinical, aggressive and impressive first half at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday to boost their top-four chances.
Three goals in the first 35 minutes of the game gave United the points and the confidence, while also severely damaging Spurs' hopes of a late Champions League charge this campaign.
Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney scored the goals to keep United in fourth for at least another week.
1. Bordeaux
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Paris Saint-Germain might have overcome the odds to progress in the UEFA Champions League at Chelsea, but back in Ligue 1, they fell short away to Bordeaux, who picked up a priceless win in the chase for European football next term.
A big performance from Bordeaux saw them lead three times against the current French champions, eventually sealing a 3-2 win with just two minutes left on the clock, having most recently been pegged back by a penalty a few minutes from time.
Diego Rolan was the match-winner, hitting his ninth goal of the campaign to leave Bordeaux in sixth, just two points behind fourth-placed Monaco.
