A roundup of Sunday’s action in Spain and Italy’s top flights…
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Espanyol 1-1 Barcelona
Gerard Pique’s late finish gave the Blaugrana a share of the points on Sunday during a rainy affair at the RCDE Stadium. The hosts had taken the lead on 66 minutes when Gerard Moreno brilliantly finished a Sergio García cross from the right wing. Ernesto Valverde’s squad remains unbeaten in La Liga with the draw, and holds a nine-point lead over second-place Atletico.
Lionel Messi wasn’t in the starting XI on the day, which came as a shock to many, however, Barca brought on the Argentine striker after halftime to influence the match.
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Valencia
Barcelona’s misstep against their cross-town rivals opened the door for Atletico to close the gap on the league leaders, and Diego Simeone’s men were able to do just that behind Angel Correa’s finish. The Atletico midfielder beautifully slotted home a shot into the top right corner just before the hour mark, when Koke picked his teammate out at the top of the box.
GOOOOOOOOLLLLLL
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 4, 2018
Angel Correa puts @atletienglish ahead with extreme prejudice! #AtletiValencia pic.twitter.com/MRnwVPToWG
Elsewhere in La Liga
Getafe 0-0 Leganes
Girona 2-0 Athletic Bilbao
Juventus 7-0 Sassuolo
Sassuolo never really stood a chance, and a four-goal outburst in the first half ensured that Juventus would take all three points from Sunday’s affair in Italy’s top flight. Meanwhile, a second-half hat-trick from Gonzalo Higuain furthered the punishment for the visiting Sassuolo. The victory keeps Juve within a point league leaders Napoli, who also pulled off a victory on the day.
Benevento 0-2 Napoli
The Serie A leaders keep on proving their quality, and Dries Mertens’ first-half strike kept Napoli at the summit of Italy’s first division at the Ciro Vigorito. Meanwhile, Marek Hamsik doubled the lead just two minutes into the second half to ensure the victory for the first-place side. Napoli has now 19 of its 23 league matches this season.
Sunday’s La Liga schedule
Hellas Verona 0-1 Roma
Atalanta 1-0 Chievo Verona
Bologna 1-2 Fiorentina
Cagliari 2-0 SPAL
Udinese 1-1 AC Milan