ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI INSPIRED a resurgent Barcelona to a 3-0 triumph at Atletico Madrid on Sunday to keep their faint La Liga title hopes alive.
Lewandowski set up goals for Joao Felix and Fermin Lopez either side of striking himself to pull Barcelona second, eight points behind leaders Real Madrid.
The Catalans, who returned to the Champions League quarter-finals this week after four years, became the first team to beat Atletico at the Metropolitano stadium this season.
Barcelona were the last team to win at Atletico in the top flight too, in January 2023, with Diego Simeone’s team going 25 matches without defeat in between.
They crumbled against Xavi Hernandez’s side, who now have five consecutive wins over Atletico and are unbeaten in 10 matches since the coach said he would leave at the end of the season.
Barcelona moved two points clear of third-placed Girona, while Atletico are now fifth, after Athletic Bilbao moved above them on Saturday.
In France, an unstoppable Kylian Mbappe hit a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 6-2 win away to Montpellier on Sunday that allowed them to open up a huge 12-point lead at the top of Ligue 1.
Vitinha put PSG ahead at the Stade de la Mosson and Mbappe doubled their advantage midway through the first half, only for an Arnaud Nordin header and a Teji Savanier penalty to bring Montpellier back level at the interval.
However, a marvellous Mbappe goal restored PSG’s lead shortly after the break and Lee Kang-in made it 4-2 before the France captain completed his hat-trick.
Nuno Mendes put the seal on the victory late on, as Luis Enrique’s side ended a run of three successive draws in Ligue 1 and extended an unbeaten domestic record stretching back to September.
A 1-1 draw for nearest challengers Brest against Lille means the Parisians are 12 points ahead at the Ligue 1 summit with only eight games left, and a 10th title in 12 seasons is an inevitability.
Mbappe completed the whole 90 minutes of a Ligue 1 game for the first time since informing the club in mid-February that he intended to leave at the end of the season when his contract expires.
His hat-trick, his third of the campaign, took him to 24 goals in Ligue 1 this season, and 38 in all competitions.
Mbappe’s second of the evening, PSG’s third, was the pick of the bunch, as he found the net with a superb shot from range which went in off the underside of the crossbar.
In Italy, Inter Milan’s march towards a 20th Serie A title was slowed down on Sunday by reigning champions Napoli who escaped the San Siro with a creditable 1-1 draw.
Juan Jesus nodded home Napoli’s leveller with nine minutes remaining after fighting back from Matteo Darmian’s opener shortly before half-time to snatch a deserved point.
Leaders Inter still need 14 more points from their remaining nine fixtures to claim the Scudetto after their huge advantage on AC Milan was cut to 14 points with their local rivals winning 3-1 at Verona.
It was another disappointing result for Simone Inzaghi’s Inter following a painful exit from the Champions League at the hands of Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, as their league winning streak ended at 10 matches.
It was a symbolic fixture for Inter as they are outperforming Napoli’s incredible charge to their historic third league crown.
Even after Sunday’s draw, Inter have more points, have scored more goals and have a significantly better goal difference than Napoli did at the same stage last season.
However, their dream of securing the title with a record-equalling five matches to spare by beating Milan in next month’s derby is now less realistic than before kick-off.
