European soccer review: Barcelona extend unbeaten run to 20

Barcelona remain unbeaten in 2025, having gone 20 games without recording a loss this year under Hansi Flick. Can either Real Madrid or Atltico Madrid dent the Blaugrana's lead in the LaLiga title race?

In the FA Cup, Manchester City will look to find solace in their disappointing season as they are now two games away from winning the oldest competition in the world. Will Pep Guardiola win himself another trophy, or will there be another surprise in the competition's long and coveted history?

Meanwhile, in the Bundesliga, Marco Rose is out of a job at RB Leipzig with Zsolt Lw coming in to replace him. Can the Hungarian manager save Die Roten Bullen's season with significant matches left to play?

Sam Tighe, Sam Marsden and Constantin Eckner make observations from across Europe to bring you up to speed on what you might have missed this weekend.

English FA Cup

Top takeaway: Pep's super subs save the day

Eyebrows were raised when the teamsheets dropped at Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium, as Manchester City's XI looked curious for the wrong reasons. With Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Mateo Kovai, Ilkay Gndoan, and Bernardo Silva all starting, no one could doubt the quality of the Citizens' midfield -- but you could question where the natural width might come from.

Those concerns proved fair as the visitors struggled in the first half, going into the break 1-0 down. It's not that they didn't create chances -- Erling Haaland missed a trio of good ones, including a penalty -- but they played into Bournemouth's hands by congesting the middle of the pitch and then losing the physical battle.

Guardiola wasted little time in addressing this. For the second half, he sent Nico O'Reilly -- a central midfielder -- on at left-back, asked him to raid up and down the flank, and he immediately changed the game. His first driving run was promising, then his second teed up Haaland for the equalizer. Fourteen minutes later, his clever flicked pass found fellow substitute Omar Marmoush, whose strike found a way through Kepa Arrizabalaga's frame.

In a season where Guardiola has been firmly questioned from a tactical perspective, this served as a nice reminder that he can still flip the script of a game with a clever move.

Best match: AFC Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester City

City's comeback victory was the pick of the bunch this weekend, as it was the closest match that actually featured a goal! The Cherries had the reigning champions on the ropes in the first half, but a combination of Guardiola's tweaks and sheer squad depth turned things around in the second. Some of the interplay in the box between De Bruyne, Gndoan, and Jack Grealish was a sight to behold.

Best goal: Eberechi Eze, Crystal Palace vs. Fulham

Eze opened the scoring for Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage with a beautiful goal. The combination of control and power on a strike that stayed low, and the way it whistled past Bernd Leno's outstretched arm, was a sight to behold.

MVP of the weekend: Marcus Rashford, Aston Villa

This could quite easily be Eze or O'Reilly too, but in the interests of variety, it's worth giving Rashford his flowers. The 27-year-old has been a hugely positive presence for Aston Villa since joining on loan in January, but after bagging his first goals for the club, we can now say he has truly arrived. -- Tighe

LaLiga

Top takeaway: Bara's momentum continues to skyrocket

Barcelona's free-scoring attack continues to entertain and, more importantly, drive them towards the LaLiga title. Robert Lewandowski scored twice on Sunday as they beat Girona 4-1 to take his tally for the season to 38 in all competitions and re-establish Bara's three-point lead at the top of the table.

There was also another goal for Ferran Torres, the 15th of the campaign for a player most often used off the bench -- as he was here -- and another dazzling performance from Lamine Yamal. The 17-year-old's free kick was deflected in by Girona defender Ladislav Krej for the opener, and only the crossbar, still shaking now, prevented him from adding a fifth late on.

It was the 20th time this season Bara have scored four or more goals in a competitive game. They have played 45. They have scored 139 goals: over three on average per match. Sunday's win came without Raphinha, too, who was afforded a rest after back-to-back games with Brazil last week.

The numbers are remarkable. Hansi Flick's side are now unbeaten in 20 games in all competitions in 2025. They have won nine in a row in LaLiga. There is still work to be done -- a second leg in the Copa del Rey semifinal against Atltico Madrid on Wednesday, nine more matches in LaLiga, and a UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie against Borussia Dortmund -- but the momentum is well and truly with them right now.

Best match: Real Madrid 3-2 Legans

Bara's lead at the top remains just three points after Madrid fought back to beat Legans on Saturday. Legans led at the break after goals from Diego Garca and Dani Raba cancelled out Kylian Mbapp's penalty. But Madrid fought back in the second half to seal another Santiago Bernabe comeback, with goals from Jude Bellingham and a second for Mbapp.

Best goal: Csar Azpilicueta, Atltico Madrid vs. Espanyol

It was a memorable weekend for Azpilicueta as he scored his first goal since 2022. And what a goal: a volley from over 20 yards which opened the scoring against Espanyol. Unfortunately for Atltico, this may have been the weekend when their title hopes disappeared. The game ended 1-1 and they are now nine points adrift of Bara.

MVP of the weekend: Lamine Yamal, Barcelona

The fight between Mbapp (22 league goals) and Lewandowski (25) for LaLiga's Golden Boot is heating up after both players netted braces, but no one was more fun to watch than Yamal this weekend. There were so many moments of brilliance: the early chance he created for Lewandowski, the dribble past three Girona players which just lacked a finish, the back-heeled pass to Jules Kound and his late, rifled effort off the bar were just some of the moments which brought the crowd at the Olympic Stadium to their feet. -- Marsden

Bundesliga

Top takeaway: Leipzig make managerial change to save their season

Another manager bites the dust. What has long been rumored has finally come true, as RB Leipzig sacked Marco Rose following a 1-0 loss to Borussia Mnchengladbach. Leipzig had a great start to the season, but have essentially been in a slump since November, which included disastrous results in the UEFA Champions League league stage. They have now only won two of their last 11 Bundesliga games.

"In light of the development and the lack of results, we are convinced that we need a new impetus for the remaining games to meet our season goals," sporting director Marcel Schfer said. Zsolt Lw, a former assistant of Thomas Tuchel, was announced as the new manager, although he has only signed a contract until the end of the season.

For a while, it looked like circumstances could save Rose's job. The 48-year-old is a Leipzig native, with both his dad and grandfather also being former footballers from the area. Plus, when Jrgen Klopp took over as Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull at the beginning of the year, the feeling was that he could help his former player as Rose played left-back at Mainz under Klopp between 2002 and 2008.

But in the end, the fact that Leipzig are in danger of missing out on qualifying for next season's Champions League and are currently behind the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt and Mainz in the Bundesliga standings was reason enough for Leipzig's higher-ups to part ways with Rose.

Best match: Bayern Munich 3-2 St. Pauli

Bayern have suffered two setbacks during the international break, with both center-back Dayot Upamecano and left-back Alphonso Davies being out for the next couple of months due to knee injuries. The home game against St. Pauli was the first test for a reorganized back line and it went a bit reasonable. It was 1-1 at half-time before Bayern pulled away following the interval thanks to two goals by Leroy San.

Best goal: Felix Agu, Werder Bremen vs. Holstein Kiel

Werder Bremen beat Kiel 3-0 in style, with both Marvin Ducksch and Agu scoring beautiful goals. Agu's screamer for the 2-0 came shortly before the hour mark following a Bremen counterattack where Ducksch sprinted down the right wing before crossing, which a Kiel defender flicked to the far corner of the box in an attempt to clear the situation. However, Agu was right there to take a touch inside and then curl the ball into the top corner.

MVP of the weekend: Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck

Schlotterbeck's defensive abilities have at times been called into question, even though the 25-year-old has become a competent tackler over time. But what nobody could seriously deny is that the left-footer is a talented ball-playing center-back, to the point that he is now even considered as a set-piece taker.

He hadn't taken a corner in the Bundesliga until Sunday, when Schlotterbeck assisted two goals en route to Dortmund's 3-1 win over Mainz through corner kicks. Apart from that, he played a great game alongside Emre Can and Waldemar Anton in Dortmund's back three. -- Eckner

What else you missed this weekend

Beikta ruin Galatasaray's unbeaten season quest

Galatasaray suffered their first league defeat of the season on Saturday at the hands of arch-rivals Beikta. It's a result that not only snaps their 28-game unbeaten streak, but also ruins their quest for an unbeaten league campaign.

Portuguese duo Rafa Silva and Gedson Fernandes scored either side of a Lucas Torreira strike to win it 2-1 for the Black Eagles. Gala right-back Przemyslaw Frankowski was sent off after a VAR review in the first half, which understandably shaped the game.

It opens up the prospect of a genuine title race to close out the season, as Galatasaray's nine-point lead at the top has now shrunk to six. Crucially, second-placed Fenerbahe -- who are led by Jos Mourinho -- have a game in hand to play, so that lead could conceivably shrink again to just three. -- Tighe

Game over for PSV?

PSV Eindhoven's title defence may well be over after they were beaten 2-0 at home by Eredivisie leaders Ajax on Sunday. The Dutch champions have been in terrible form since December, but a win against Ajax would have injected life back into the battle for top spot.

Instead, goals from Davy Klaassen and Bertrand Traor sealed a victory which took Ajax nine points clear of PSV, who have now won just four of their last 12 league games. Ajax have taken full advantage of PSV's collapse. Francesco Farioli's side have won 11 of their last 12 games and few would bet against them winning the league for the first time since 2022. -- Marsden

Decent start for Tudor under difficult circumstances

The Italian Serie A saw another manager being sacked a week ago, as Juventus parted ways with Thiago Motta after devastating losses to Atalanta and Fiorentina. While Juventus would seemingly like to bring current Napoli manager Antonio Conte back to Turin, they had to opt for a different solution, hiring former player Igor Tudor as temporary manager.