Bayern clinch Bundesliga title as Barcelona win derby

LONDON — Bayern Munich wrapped up another Bundesliga title after months of inevitability while Barcelona stayed ahead in Spain following a win at city rivals Espanyol and Chelsea’s derby stalemate at Arsenal put them close to glory.

Spain 

Neymar scored the opener to continue his rich vein of form and Lionel Messi netted his 36th La Liga goal of the season as 10-man Barcelona won a one-sided derby at Espanyol 2-0.

Real Madrid stayed two points behind leaders Barca with five to play after Javier Hernandez scored twice to help Carlo Ancelotti’s men come from behind and beat Celta Vigo 4-2 away.

Antoine Griezmann’s double inspired third-placed Atletico Madrid to beat Elche 3-0.

England 

Chelsea were indebted to a magnificent performance from captain John Terry in the 0-0 draw at Arsenal that edged them closer to the Premier League title.

Chelsea have 77 points with five games left and third-placed Arsenal are on 67. Last season’s champions Manchester City also have 67 but have played a game more.

Fourth-placed Manchester United stayed on 65 after a 3-0 humbling at Everton, giving hope to Liverpool and others that the final Champions League qualifying spot might still be up for grabs.

Leicester City’s great escape continued as they rose out of the drop zone following a fourth straight win, a 1-0 victory at bottom side Burnley. 

Germany 

Bayern Munich were crowned German champions for the 25th time after second-placed VfL Wolfsburg lost 1-0 at Borussia Moenchengladbach, meaning Pep Guardiola’s side have an unassailable 15-point lead with four matches left.

Bayern beat Hertha Berlin 1-0 thanks to Bastian Schweinsteiger’s goal and their triumph was sealed with Wolfsburg’s last-gasp defeat. Third-placed Gladbach are four points behind Wolfsburg.

At the other end of the table, struggling Hamburg SV notched their first win in 10 games with a 3-2 victory over Augsburg to give themselves a lifeline and move up to the relegation play-off spot. 

Italy 

Juventus stayed on course for a fourth successive Serie A title despite losing 2-1 at Torino, their first defeat against their smaller neighbours for 20 years.

Matteo Darmian and Fabio Quagliarella scored either side of halftime for Torino after an Andrea Pirlo free kick had given Juventus the lead.

With six games to play, Juventus, on 73 points, are 14 clear of Lazio who could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to lowly Chievo. AS Roma are a further point back in third, the Champions League play-off spot, after losing 2-1 at Inter Milan.

France

Olympique Lyonnais stayed top of Ligue 1 after their 4-2 win at Stade de Reims but Paris St Germain, who demolished Lille 6-1 thanks to Ezequiel Lavezzi’s hat trick, are behind only on goal difference and have a game in hand.

Lyon were once again helped by league top scorer Alexandre Lacazette, who scored his 26th goal of the season to help put his team on 68 points from 34 games.

Monaco are third, six points off the pace, in the Champions League play-off spot after beating RC Lens 3-0 away and they lead fourth-placed St Etienne by two points, Les Verts having beaten Montpellier 1-0 at home. 

Netherlands 

Kolbeinn Sigthorsson struck late to earn Ajax Amsterdam a 1-1 draw at PEC Zwolle and ensure they will finish runners-up in the Dutch league this season.

It means last season’s champions, who have had to give up their crown to a dominant PSV Eindhoven in this campaign, will enter the qualifiers for the Champions League in the third round next season. 

Portugal

Benfica edged closer to successfully retaining their Portuguese league title after a cagey goalless draw in the top- of-the-table clash with arch rivals Porto ended in an angry exchange between the coaches.

With only four games left in the 34-match campaign, the draw at Benfica’s Estadio da Luz leaves the champions on 75 points, still three points clear of their old foes. 

Greece

PAOK Salonica failed in their bid to reclaim second spot in the Greek Super League after they were held to a 1-1 home draw by PAS Giannina.

Giorgos Georgiadis’s team, who are aiming to gather momentum ahead of the end-of-season playoffs for the second Champions League place, had been knocked down to third after Panathinaikos beat Skoda Xanthi 2-0.

Olympiakos, who lifted their 42nd league title last weekend, were made to work hard for a 2-2 draw at Panionios.