By David Kugonza
First off in England……..
Tottenham kept the Premier League title race alive by securing a late 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace.
Christian Eriksen scored with a low drive in the 78th minute to move Mauricio Pochettino’s side back to within four points of leaders Chelsea with five games remaining.
Chelsea now visit Everton on Sunday a few hours before Spurs entertain Arsenal.
If they beat rivals Arsenal on Sunday it will ensure they finish above the Gunners in the table for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
Palace, meanwhile, remain 12th – seven points above the relegation zone
The win means Tottenham move on to 74 points, surpassing their previous best ever Premier League total of 72 – set in 2012-13 – when they finished fifth.
Sunderland were left on the brink of relegation from the Premier League after losing to fellow strugglers Middlesbrough, who registered a first victory of 2017.
Marten de Roon’s goal early in the game left the Black Cats 12 points adrift of safety with five games remaining. Sunderland face Bournemouth on Saturday and could be relegated if they fail to win and other results go against them.
Second-bottom Middlesbrough cannot be relegated this weekend but they face a tough run-in against Manchester City, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool.
Arsenal kept up their top-four chase as a late Robert Huth own goal gave them victory against a stubborn Leicester side.
The home supporters at Emirates Stadium seemed set for a deflating evening before Nacho Monreal’s shot found the bottom corner via the German defender’s chest four minutes from time.
Arsenal are now three points behind Manchester United and four behind fourth-placed Manchester City having played the same number of games – at least one of the Manchester pair will drop points when they meet on Tonight.
Liverpool, in third, are six points ahead of the Londoners having played two more games.
Off to Germany where Ousmane Dembele’s brilliant second-half strike took Borussia Dortmund through to the German Cup final as they came from behind to beat Bayern Munich.Marco Reus had put Dortmund ahead, before Javier Martinez’s towering header and Mats Hummels’ tidy finish gave Bayern a 2-1 lead at the break.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brought Dortmund level, before Dembele curled into the top corner with 15 to play.
Thomas Tuchel’s side go on to play Eintracht Frankfurt in the final.
In Spain, The tittle race is heating up.
First up to the challenge were Barcelona and the little magician Lionel Messi, Andre Gomes and Roberto Torres all scored twice as Barcelona retained their La Liga lead with a thumping win over Osasuna.
The defending champions are level on points with Real Madrid, who beat beat Deportivo la Coruna 6-2 later on Wednesday and have a game in hand.
Messi’s scored his 501st and 502nd in the game with Javier Mascherano scoring his first goal for Barca goal in 319 games. Messi has now scored 49 goals this season in all competitions, from 48 games. Andre Gomes and Roberto Torres were on the score sheet as well with each getting a brace to wrap up a 7 goal thriller and relegate Osasuna.
Barca must hope Madrid slip up in one of their five remaining matches if they are to defend last season’s success.
Leganes beat Las Palmas 3 – 0 in the 3rd fixture of the night to confirm bottom side Osasuna’s relegation. Valencia Beat Real Sociedad 2-3
Real Madrid were next up and they kept their La Liga title challenge on track with an emphatic victory over Deportivo la Coruna.
Zinedine Zidane’s side are level on points with Barcelona but have a game in hand and will claim the title if they win all their remaining matches.
With Cristiano Ronaldo rested and Gareth Bale injured, Alvaro Morata struck after 54 seconds.
A double from James Rodriguez – his first a clever flick over the goalkeeper – and further goals from Lucas Vazquez, Isco and Casemiro ensured Florin Andone and Joselu’s strikes for the home side were purely consolation.
Sergio Ramos was also unavailable – through suspension following his red card in Sunday’s 3-2 home defeat by Barca as Madrid made nine changes.
Next up for Madrid is a home league match against Valencia on Saturday, before their Champions League semi-final first leg at home to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
In France
Paris Saint-Germain remain on course to defend its domestic treble after advancing to the French Cup final with a 5-0 win over a Monaco team filled with fringe players on Wednesday.
Without prolific strikers Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappe, Jardim started eight players from the club’s academy, with four Monaco players tasting professional football for the first time.
PSG, who already secured the domestic League Cup with a 4-1 victory over Monaco in the final, will face Angers in the French Cup final on May 27
