The Corner: Liverpool back on top

The Corner: Liverpool back on top
By Euronews
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Welcome to the latest edition of “The Corner”, our review of the weekend’s top football action across Europe.

Liverpool reclaimed top spot in the Premier League after two penalties from captain Steven Gerrard helped his side edge out West Ham 2-1 at Upton Park on Sunday.

Now Brendan Rogers’ men can prepare for an Anfield clash with trophy rivals Manchester City next Sunday knowing another win will bring a first league title for 24 years even closer.

Meanwhile, Everton crushed a lacklustre Arsenal side 3-0 at Goodison Park to boost their chances of a top-four finish and a possible place in next season’s Champions League for the first time in nine seasons.

The two fixtures had a big bearing on the top of the table with Steven Gerrard’s teammates reclaiming top spot from Chelsea with 74 points from 33 matches, two ahead of Jose Mourinho’s side who have also played 33 and went top for 24 hours after beating Stoke City 3-0 on Saturday.

In Germany, Bayern Munich’s 53-match unbeaten run in the Bundesliga came to an end following their disappointing 1-0 loss to injury-hit Augsburg while Borussia Dortmund came from behind to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 at Signal Iduna Park.

Croatian international Ivica Olic scored from close range to put Wolfsburg ahead 10 minutes before the break but the visitors were unable to hold on as Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp masterminded a second-half fightback by bringing on Milos Jojic and Erik Durm at the break.

The changes paid dividends as Robert Lewandowski was given enough space to score a superb header before Marco Reus completed the comeback after 78 minutes with his 13th goal of the season.

Elsewhere, Schalke were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Bremen at the Weserstadion.

Robin Dutt’s men, who needed a late header from Sebastian Prödl to take all three points against Hannover the previous week, began on the front foot with Di Santo opening the scoring after some great work from Eljero Elia.

The visitors eventually drew level on the half-hour mark as Leon Goretzka fired in a venomous half-volley to earn his side a valuable point.

Dortmund’s victory lifted them three points clear of Schalke in the race for second, giving them a major boost ahead of their next game against already crowned champions Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on April 12.

Over in the Netherlands, Ajax Amsterdam missed the chance to wrap up a fourth successive Dutch league title as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Vitesse Arnhem.

Frank de Boer’s men fell behind in the 25th minute when midfielder Bertrand Traore, on-loan from Chelsea, snapped up a rebound from Zakaria Labyad’s free kick.

Vitesse failed to convert more chances and were later punished as Iceland striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson equalised two minutes after halftime.

With three matches to play, Ajax are six points ahead of second-placed Feyenoord with FC Twente sitting in third place, 4 points further back.

In Turkey, Galatasaray kept their Super Lig title hopes alive with a narrow 1-0 win over 10-man Fenerbahce thanks to a well taken goal from former Real Madrid playmaker Wesley Sneijder at the Turk-Telekom Arena.

This result sees Roberto Mancini’s men move into second place, seven points behind the Yellow Canaries with six games remaining.

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That’s it for the Corner, see you next Monday for another round up of Europe’s top football fixtures.

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