Title Race Round-Up

GM football fans. It’s Monday, Mar. 16 - A round-up of Europe’s title races, the Finalissima final has been cancelled, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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Premier League MD30 (Mar 16): Brentford vs. Wolves, 20:00 GMT / 16:00 ET. Wolves have won their last two Premier League games, having only won one of their previous 32. However, Brentford are unbeaten in their last four league games against Wolves (W3 D1), and are looking to complete the double over them for the first time since 2015-16 in the Championship. See the Premier League table here.

Results…

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Barcelona restored their four-point lead at the top of La Liga following a 5-2 win over Sevilla, which featured a hat-trick from Raphinha. Opta’s prediction model projects the Catalan side has a 77% chance of winning the Spanish top-flight with this lead, over Real Madrid’s 22%.

In Ligue 1, just one point separates leaders Paris Saint-Germain and Lens, after the latter lost 2-1 to Lorient on Saturday. PSG have a game in hand, though, after their match against Nantes was rescheduled to allow them to rest ahead of their Champions League round of 16 second-leg against Chelsea on Tuesday.

The Scottish Premiership is one of the tightest title races in Europe. With leaders Hearts losing 1-0 away at Kilmarnock, they are now just two points ahead of Celtic and three points ahead of Rangers. The last time a non-Old Firm club won the Scottish top-flight was under Sir Alex Ferguson with Aberdeen in 1985.

Despite drawing with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich sit comfortably nine points ahead of second-place Borussia Dortmund. Elsewhere, Arsenal hold the same lead in the Premier League after Manchester City, who have a game in hand, dropped points in a 1-1 draw with West Ham. Meanwhile, in the Serie A, Inter have an eight-point lead after AC Milan lost 1-0 to Lazio on Sunday night.

All 18 Polish top-flight teams can either win the title or be relegated with less than a third of the 34 games remaining. The top spot in the table, currently occupied by Zaglebie Lubin — which finished one place above relegation last season — has changed hands multiple times, while the top nine clubs are separated by just eight points. See the table here.

Meanwhile, the most successful club in the history of Polish football, Legia Warsaw, are currently in the relegation zone, along with Widzew Lodz, who this season have signed five of the most expensive players in Polish football history. Additionally, form swings across the league have also been extreme. Wisla Plock were top halfway through the season, but after five consecutive defeats, dropped to eighth, just three points above relegation.

This unpredictability reflects a long-standing competitiveness in Polish football. Two historically successful clubs, Wisla Krakow and Ruch Chorzow, with 27 titles combined, are currently in the second tier. Meanwhile, the Polish top flight has seen three first-time champions since 2019. In total, Poland has had 20 different title-winning clubs, including nine since 2000, the most of any European top-flight league in that period.

The Finalissima between Argentina and Spain has been cancelled because of the war in the Middle East. The match, held between the last Euros and Copa America winners, was set to take place in Qatar on March 26. The Finalissima has been played only three times in history and twice this century.

While Uefa tried to reschedule the match at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu, or play a two-legged game in Madrid and Buenos Aires, Argentina ultimately rejected the proposals. Unverified sources suggest that Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni and Lionel Messi opposed the contingency plans Uefa proposed, with Argentina losing 6-1 to Spain before the 2018 World Cup and the coaching staff feeling the defeat affected their tournament.

The Argentine FA (AFA) said they received an offer to play the match at a neutral venue in Italy and accepted the idea. However, for unclear reasons, the AFA asked to play the fixture four days later than the original date, on March 31, but it was not possible.

> Bruno Fernandes has broken David Beckham’s record (15) for Manchester United for the most assists in one Premier League season, with 16 (More) | Liverpool have triggered the 12-month option to extend goalkeeper Alisson Becker's contract (More)

> Championship leaders Coventry City lost 2-1 to Southampton in only their second home defeat of the season (Match Report); Middlesbrough, Ipswich and Millwall remain firmly in the play-off spots, with Hull City, Wrexham and Southampton battling for the remaining positions (Table)

> Chelsea Women defended the first of their three domestic titles with a 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the Women's League Cup (More)

> Serie B side Cesena have announced former Chelsea and Arsenal defender Ashley Cole as their new head coach (More)

> Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar scored the 25,000th MLS regular-season goal in history (More); see all MLS results (More) and Conference Standings (More)

> Reigning NWSL Champions Gotham FC spoiled expansion side Boston Legacy’s debut match, winning 1-0 away from home (More); see the opening weekend’s results (More)

> Louisville City and Oakland Roots, the respective Eastern and Western Conference leaders, have gone flawless in both their opening USL Championship regular season fixtures (More); see Conference Standings (More)

> Japan beat the Philippines 7-0 to reach the Women’s Asian Cup semi-final, and are set to face South Korea (More)

> Another three members of Iran’s women’s football team who accepted refugee visas to stay in Australia have decided to return to their homeland (More)

Friday’s Poll: Do you think the Champions League should bring back the away goals rule?

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 👍 Yes (49%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅‍♂️ Nope (50%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (1%)

Your punditry takes:

Guler scores one of the best goals of the season — from 68 yards out.

What happened the last time Spurs were relegated?

Brazil release stunning new Jordan away shirt.

Why US teams are making bespoke women’s stadiums.

Turkish coach orders players off after late penalty decision.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic on building AC Milan’s next squad.

Referee stands in the middle of Chelsea’s pre-game huddle.

Jurgen Klopp talks life after the touchline.

Question: Arsenal's Max Dowman became the youngest player to ever score a Premier League goal. Can you name the other players in the top five?

Scroll below for the answer.

Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.

Answer

James Vaughan. James Milner. Wayne Rooney. Rio Ngumoha. See the full list here.