Article by: Obriel Maposa (Chief Editor Sports)
English Premier League
Top 4 race and Relegation round-up
The English Premier League title might have been wrapped up a few weeks back but there is still so much to play at both ends of the table. 5 teams still after top four places and 6 teams still in the relegation battle. United’s form continues as they came from a goal down to smash Bournemouth 5-2 who remain in the bottom 3. Chelsea bounce back from their loss against West Ham by cruising comfortably in a 3-0 win at home vs relegation threatened Watford. Wolves suffer a surprise defeat to Arsenal at Home to end their remarkable run. Leicester City got back to winning ways as Jamie Vardy joined the 100 goals club in a 3 nothing win over Crystal Palace. The other two bottom 3 clubs, Norwich and Aston Villa lost again this weekend making their chances slim with games running out.
Italian Serie A
Serie A: Juventus continues charge
Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala were on target as Juventus continued their march towards a 9th straight Scudetto. The Portuguese’s 25th goal of the season made him the first Juventus player to score 25 goals in a Serie A season since Omar Sivori in 1960/61. Elsewhere Lazio fell prey to AC Milan as they slipped further away from the league leaders. Conte’s Inter Milan lost at home to 10 men Bologna. The biggest fixture of weekend saw Napoli host AS Roma and Its the Naples based side that triumphed 2-1 through a Insigne wonder strike. Atalanta form continues in one of their historic seasons as they won away at Cagliari.
German Bundesliga
Bayern completes domestic double
The Bavarian completed the domestic double by hammering Bayer Leverusen 4-2. The German Champions won the DFB Pokal to take their tally of the Domestic Doubles to 13. Goals from Alaba, Gnabry and a Lewandowski double did the job. Bayer Leverkusen’s highly rated Kai Havertz scored a late penalty and seems to be destined for a tug of war with Europe’s elite chasing his signature. Robert Lewandowski double took him past 50 goals in all competitions. The Polish striker will propel Bayern towards the famous treble as they await Chelsea in the 2nd leg of their Champions League tie. Over the past week Bayern Munich confirmed the arrival of Leeroy Sane from Manchester City as they continue to rebuild towards dominating the continent.
Motorsport F1
Motorsport fans welcome back F1
It was an exciting weekend for motorsport fans as they welcomed F1 back with the Austrian GP. The Mercedes pair was dominant in qualifying with Bottas claiming the 12th pole of his career. Lando Norris took a stunning fourth for McLaren, just behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The Austrian GP wasn’t short of drama as Hamilton collided with Albon. Hamilton was handed a 5s penalty which ultimately cost him a podium, with both Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris leapfrogging him. Valtteri Bottas won the Austrian GP with Lando Norris posting a fastest lap to take third. A total of 11 drivers DNF. The next stop for F1 fans is Styria.
SA Premier Soccer League
SA PSL prepares for return with NW likely Province to host all remaining games
The South African Premier Soccer League is making plans to see the return of football. It is believed the plan is to have all remaining games played in one Province due to the pandemic. NW is being considered as the likely province to host all remaining games due to its lower reported Covid-19 cases. Reports also suggest that Sun City and Royal Bafokeng Sports group are in talks with the governing body to host all games in the Province.
Cricket SA awards
The 2020 Cricket South Africa awards were held virtually and Quinton de Kock and Laura Wolvaardt claimed the top honours. South Africa’s team captain Quinton de Kock claimed two awards.
See full list of the winners on the official cricket SA twitter account
https://twitter.com/OfficialCSA?s=20
LaLiga Title Race
The top two sides in LaLiga continue to fight for the title as they both won crucial three points away from home. Real Madrid secured 3 points through a Ramos penalty at a very solid Athletic Bilbao side. Going into the fixture Bilbao had the meanest defence in the division and this showed by how the capital-based side struggled to break them down. It took a VAR decision to get Real maximum points. Real Madrid’s win put pressure on Barcelona who were playing Villareal later on, but the Catalan giants brushed aside the Yellow Submarine 4-1 with special goals from Griezman, Suarez and Ansu Fati. Real Madrid still lead by 4 points over their rivals but Barcelona will not be giving up the title without a fight.