Arsenal back on track with big derby win; Real Madrid’s shock loss; more

Arsenal answered the most serious questions about their title credentials with a statement 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday’s north London derby, re-establishing a five-point cushion at the Premier League summit and calming nerves after a wobble that had seen them drop points to Brentford and Wolves.

Mikel Arteta refused to tinker with a formula that has carried the Gunners to the summit for most of the campaign, reinstating Bukayo Saka on the right wing and installing Eberechi Eze as the central playmaker rather than rushing captain Martin Odegaard back into the XI. The decision paid off inside 11 minutes when Viktor Gyökeres lashed a rising drive past Guglielmo Vicario, and Arsenal never looked back, adding two more goals on the break before Spurs substitute Richarlison’s late consolation. The visitors dominated territory (72% first-half possession) and limited Tottenham to just three attempts until the 84th minute, underlining the chasm in quality between the rivals.

Arteta’s side now travel to the Etihad on 18 April with the luxury of knowing a draw will keep them in first place, a scenario that looked improbable after last week’s stumble at Molineux. “We didn’t need to reinvent anything,” Arteta told reporters. “We just needed to execute better, and the boys did that from the first whistle.”

The same clarity eludes Real Madrid, who slumped to a stunning 2-1 defeat at lowly Osasuna and surrendered the Liga lead to Barcelona for the first time since October. Manager Alvaro Arbeloa again leaned on a conservative midfield triangle behind Arda Guler, hoping that Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé could produce individual brilliance. Instead, Los Blancos generated their first open-play chance worth more than 0.02 expected goals in the 73rd minute—moments after Budimir had won and converted the spot-kick that proved decisive.

Courtois produced a fingertip stop to keep the contest level early on, but Madrid unravelled after a sloppy giveaway allowed Osasuna to counter for the winner. The result ends a 15-year, 24-match unbeaten run against the Navarrans and intensifies scrutiny on Arbeloa, who has now lost three of ten league fixtures since taking charge.

Barcelona, meanwhile, eased past Levante 3-0 to leapfrog their rivals despite another flash of teenage angst from Lamine Yamal, who sulked after being withdrawn two minutes from time. Hansi Flick downplayed the incident, insisting the 18-year-old was “angry with his own performance,” but the episode provided an unwanted subplot to an otherwise polished display that featured a highlight-reel strike from substitute Fermín López.

Manchester City kept pace with a 2-1 win over a fatigued Newcastle, as Pep Guardiola unveiled yet another tactical wrinkle. The Catalan opted for brawn over ball retention, starting 20-year-old tank Nico O’Reilly in an advanced midfield role and pairing Erling Haaland with Omar Marmoush. The tweak yielded two second-half goals and another three points, though Donnarumma was still required to pull off a late wonder-save to preserve the victory. “We’re comfortable winning ugly now,” Guardiola smiled, refusing to name a hypothetical Champions League final XI when pressed.

Bayern Munich restored their Bundesliga lead to seven points but did it the hard way, nearly coughing up a 3-0 advantage to Eintracht Frankfurt in a nervy 3-2 finish. Harry Kane’s brace kept him on pace to equal Robert Lewandowski’s single-season scoring mark, yet a needless penalty and a Kimmich error trimmed the margin before Götze missed a last-gasp equalizer. “Leaders can’t switch off like that,” Kane admitted.

Inter bounced back from their shock Europa Conference loss at Bodø/Glimt by downing Lecce 2-0, thanks to late goals from Davide Frattesi and Marko Arnautović. Without Lautaro Martínez, Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolò Barella, Cristian Chivu’s side dominated territory (2.46-0.12 xG) to keep pace at the top of Serie A.

Paris Saint-Germain returned to the Ligue 1 summit with a no-nonsense 3-0 rout of basement side Metz, easing pressure after last week’s defeat to Rennes. Teenager Désiré Doué opened the scoring inside six minutes, allowing Luis Enrique to rest his first-choice midfield ahead of a busy European slate.

The title races in England and Spain have tightened, but after a weekend of statement victories—and one seismic slip—the momentum again belongs to Arsenal and Barcelona.