While many were fixated on Arsenal’s dominant 5-1 victory over Manchester City on Sunday, there were others closely following the outcomes of Europe’s other major matches.
After significant results that saw Real Madrid stumble in LaLiga and Bayern Munich continue their Bundesliga campaign on Saturday, it was time for other powerhouse clubs to capitalize on the situation.
Barcelona faced Deportivo at home, aiming to take advantage of their rivals’ slip-ups against Espanyol.
Simultaneously, the two Milan giants clashed at the San Siro in the latest chapter of their derby, featuring a debut for Kyle Walker.
Let’s delve into how both games unfolded.
Barcelona 1-0 Deportivo
Barcelona secured a narrow 1-0 win over Deportivo at Montjuic, narrowing the gap to La Liga leaders Real Madrid to just four points.
Despite a lackluster performance, the Blaugrana managed to grind out a victory, with Robert Lewandowski’s goal in the second half proving to be the difference.
The first half saw Barcelona struggle to find their rhythm, with a tame effort from Pedri being the only notable chance, easily saved by Owono.
Deportivo defended resolutely but failed to threaten, failing to register a shot on target in the first half.
The breakthrough came in the 61st minute when Lewandowski volleyed home after a deflected cross from Lamine Yamal.
Barcelona had earlier opportunities to score, with chances falling to Yamal and Balde, but the Alaves keeper kept them at bay.
AC Milan 1-1 Inter Milan
Inter and AC Milan played out an exciting 1-1 draw at San Siro in the latest installment of the Derby della Madonnina.
Despite dominating large parts of the game, Inter had to come from behind to secure a point.
Inter had goals disallowed for offside in the first half before Milan took the lead through Tijjani Reijnders just before halftime.
Inter hit the woodwork three times and were denied by Milan’s goalkeeper before finally equalizing in stoppage time through Stefan de Vrij.
The match ended in a draw, with Inter salvaging a deserved point in the dying moments.