Top 10 Performances from Around the World for Weekend of April 17-19
A busy weekend around the world of football saw plenty of major European leagues take steps toward the closures of their respective seasons and a few domestic cup matches take centre stage. There were some big results outside of Europe, too.
We've analysed each notable result based on opposition quality, league standing, scoreline and plenty of other factors to determine which sides came up with the most impressive all-round displays over the past few days.
Here are our top 10 performances of the weekend.
10. Leicester City
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This week starts off in the Premier League in England, where Leicester City have improbably picked up of late. They won a third straight game at the weekend, beating Swansea City 2-0.
Leonardo Ulloa and Andy King struck the goals that beat the Swans and moved Leicester off the foot of the table, where they have been since well before Christmas, and up to 18th place. They remain in the relegation zone, but that's suddenly only on goal difference. Things have begun to look rather worrying for Hull City, who are just a single goal better off than the Foxes and have a markedly more difficult run-in.
Leicester are away to Burnley next—a huge battle in the drop zone.
9. Go Ahead Eagles
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In the Eredivisie, PSV Eindhoven deserve note and acclaim for wrapping up the title this weekend with a 4-1 victory over Heerenveen, with top goalscorers Memphis Depay and Luuk de Jong among the goals.
The Dutch mention in our column, however, goes to the vastly smaller Go Ahead Eagles, who are in the relegation play-off places with just three matches to go—but beat third-placed Feyenoord away from home on Sunday, 1-0, with Jules Reimerink the unlikely hero.
Go Ahead are now two points behind NAC Breda and five from guaranteed safety.
8. Seattle Sounders
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There were a few notable results in MLS this weekend—a big win for Columbus Crew and a late one for LA Galaxy, for example—but Seattle Sounders get our nod for the top 10, as they beat Colorado Rapids 3-1 on the road.
Lamar Neagle was the big hero as he notched his first two goals of the season, with Obafemi Martins also getting on the scoresheet later in the game.
The Sounders finally moved into the playoff places in the fledgling Western Conference as a result of the win. They sit fourth ahead of a home match with Portland Timbers next time out.
7. River Plate
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Staying in the Americas, the gigantic Argentinian league saw River Plate pick up a big 4-1 win over Banfield.
Fernando Cavenaghi showed further signs that he is "home," scoring a brace to move onto six for the season. River made it five wins on the bounce and soared to the top of the table with the victory—though rivals Boca Juniors retook top spot on goal difference thanks to their 3-1 victory over Lanus later on Sunday.
Next up: Boca versus River, of course.
6. Athletic Bilbao
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Over in Spain, Athletic Bilbao got back to winning ways and showed they have no intention of letting their season peter out, especially after the tough start to the campaign they had.
They beat 10-man Getafe 4-0 at home, with veteran striker Aritz Aduriz netting a minute before and after the break to move onto 14 for the season. The long-term injury to Iker Muniain hasn't unduly hampered Athletic so far thanks to the emergence of Inaki Williams, while Ibai Gomez and Markel Susaeta—both options to replace Muniain—both got on the scoresheet on Saturday.
Athletic sit in eighth place, which would be a respectable finish, considering they were in the bottom three for a long spell.
5. Queretaro
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Over in the Liga MX, our highest-placed non-European side is Queretaro, who spanked Apertura winners Club America 4-0 away from home.
America had clawed their way back toward the top of the table, but this defeat made it one win from four, while Queretaro have seemingly recovered from a dreadful start and moved up to eighth with this fourth successive victory.
Brazil legend Ronaldinho netted the last two goals late on, having only come on as a substitute in the 84th minute.
4. Trabzonspor
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The Turkish Super Lig has had its troubles of late, but on the field, the title race has been exciting and eagerly anticipated with every gameweek.
This time out, fifth-placed Trabzonspor—chasing a Europa League spot—blew the battle for top spot open once again with a late 2-1 win over Galatasaray, who fell off first place as a result and could end up in third after Monday's game between Fenerbahce and Bursaspor.
Carl Medjani scored the winner before Ozer Hurmaci, who had netted the opener, was sent off as the game descended into something of a brawl before the final whistle. A whopping 14 players were booked, with eight yellow cards coming in stoppage time—including Hurmaci's second.
3. Aston Villa
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Aston Villa weren't in league action over the weekend—instead, they booked themselves a second date at Wembley as they beat Liverpool 2-1 in their FA Cup semi-final.
With Villa being the better side for much of the match, Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph scored Villa's goals as the team came from behind and won the game in 90 minutes, 2-1, marking their vast improvement since the departure of former boss Paul Lambert in February.
Tim Sherwood's Villa will play Arsenal in the FA Cup final on May 30.
2. Barcelona
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Barcelona took a huge step toward winning La Liga on Saturday, beating Valencia 2-0 thanks to goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.
The strikes came in the first and the 94th minutes, but in between, Barca had to withstand an impressive display from Los Che, who defended as resolutely as ever and attacked with plenty of belief. Messi's goal, scored on the counter deep in the match, was his 400th goal for the club.
Barcelona are two points clear at the top with six games to play.
1. Juventus
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Our first-placed performance this weekend goes to Serie A side Juventus, who took a 15-point lead at the top after swatting aside nearest challengers Lazio.
With Roma continuing to flounder, Lazio have emerged as contenders for the runner-up spot and automatic Champions League berth for next season, but they didn't have enough to stop the Juve juggernaut, which continues to dominate Italian football.
Carlos Tevez and Leonardo Bonucci scored the goals as the Turin team took a big step toward retaining their title, a domestic double and even a potential treble.
