Unbeaten German leaders Bayer Leverkusen extend gap against 2nd-place Bayern Munich in league

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) — Unbeaten German leaders Bayer Leverkusen went seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga after nearest opponents Bayern Munich took a shocking home loss on Sunday.

Bayern Munich, who won 11 straight titles in the Bundesliga, lost against Werder Bremen 1-0 at the Allianz Arena after Leverkusen won at RB Leipzig 3-2 on Saturday thanks to a late goal scored by Ecuadoran defender Piero Hincapie.

Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen, who bagged 15 wins in the 2023-24 Bundesliga campaign, remained on top of the league with 48 points in 18 matches.

Defending champions Bayern Munich have 41 points in 17 games.

Third-place Stuttgart have 34 points following a 1-0 loss at Bochum on Saturday.

- English leaders Liverpool claim big win at Bournemouth

English Premier League leaders Liverpool beat Bournemouth 4-0 in an away match on Sunday.

Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez scored twice each as Liverpool increased their points to 48 — five points clear of second-place Manchester City.

Third in the league table, London's Arsenal hammered Crystal Palace 5-0 in a home match at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Both Arsenal and fourth-place Aston Villa have 43 points.

Defending champions Manchester City did not play last weekend.

- Spain's surprise package Girona keep leading

Leaders Girona have been on their dream run in the 2023-24 Spanish La Liga.

The Spanish top-tier league's surprise package Girona beat Sevilla 5-1 on Sunday to rack up 52 points in 21 matches.

Second-place Real Madrid came back against winless Almeria 3-2 Sunday in Madrid.

Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal scored the winner in the 99th minute, finishing in the far post after Jude Bellingham's assist.

With a game in hand, Real Madrid are on 51 points. Third-place Barcelona have 44 after beating Real Betis 4-2.

- Juventus top Italian league

Juventus moved to the top of Italian Serie A after a 3-0 win at Lecce on Sunday.

Serbian forward Dusan Vlahovic scored double for Juventus, who boosted their points to 52.

Inter Milan, who are second with 51 points, traveled to Saudi Arabia for their Italian Super Cup final against Napoli on Monday.

Juventus will visit Inter on Feb. 4.

AC Milan won at Udinese 3-2 on Saturday in a match marred by racist slurs against Rossoneri goalkeeper Mike Maignan from home team fans

The match was briefly suspended in the first half and Milan went to the locker room after the racist chants against the French goalie.

The match resumed after a short pause.

Milan are on 45 points and are among top three.

Serie A later released a post on X condemning racism.

- FIFA seeking 'automatic forfeit' for teams over racist fan incidents

FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Sunday called for the "automatic forfeit for the team whose fans have committed racism" following racist abuse in Italy's Udine and England's Sheffield.

"The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield on Saturday are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable. There is no place for racism or any form of discrimination — both in football and in society. The players affected by Saturday’s events have my undivided support," Infantino said.

"As well as the three-step process (match stopped, match re-stopped, match abandoned), we have to implement an automatic forfeit for the team whose fans have committed racism and caused the match to be abandoned as well as worldwide stadium bans and criminal charges for racists," he said, expressing FIFA's "full solidarity" with victims of racism and discrimination.

Sheffield on Wednesday and Coventry City said in a statement that they are "shocked and saddened" by the racist gesture from the stands against Coventry City's Jamaican player Kasey Palmer.