Michael

What a day of football in Spain as Real Madrid brushed aside Cadiz 3-0 in Madrid, thanks to goals from Diaz, Bellingham and Joselu. It was yet another win for Real Madrid and the fans then waited for the result of the Girona v Barcelona match. Real Madrid 3-0 Cadiz Girona hosted Barcelona, but it was Barca who took an early lead in the 3rd minute through a Christiansen right footed shot, that found the back of the net. But Girona responded less than a minute later, as Dovbyk scored with a towering header. That goal was Dovbyk's 20th La Liga goal of the season, as he remains the leading scorer in the league. Barcelona were then awarded a penalty, which Lewandowski stood up to take and Lewandowski scored from the penalty. But Girona then equalised when Dovbyk turned provider, as he passed the ball to Portu in front of goal, and Portu put the ball in the back of the net. Miguel Guiterrez then gave Girona the lead, as his deflected shot found the net. A 2nd goal for Portu and a magnificent volleyed goal by him made the reault 4-2 to Girona and sealed the win for them. This win for Girona made them overtake Barcelona, as Girona moved into 2nd place in the La Liga table. But more critically, Girona's win meant that Real Madrid had won the La Liga title and become champions of Spain once again. Girona 4-2 Barcelona

Hoffenheim 1-3 Leipzig Dortmund 2-1 Augsburg Wolfsburg 2-1 Darmstadt Bremen 1-1 Gladbach Stuttgart 2-2 Bayern Köln 1-2 Freiburg Union 2-1 Bochum Frankfurt 2-2 Leverkusen Heidenheim 2-2 Mainz

Hamburg 2-2 St Pauli Düsseldorf 3-1 Nürnberg Fürth 1-0 Braunschweig Rostock 1-2 Karlsruhe Osnabrück 1-2 Schalke Lautern 2-1 Magdeburg Hannover 2-2 Paderborn Elversberg 1-1 Hertha BSC Wehen 1-3 Kiel

Bayern will no doubt rotate against Frankfurt in their upcoming Bundesliga match, with an eye on the crucial 1st leg semi-final match against Real Madrid in Munich. I am personally hoping that Bayern get a win at home against Real Madrid, because I think that even a draw might not be enough for them to make the final. Real Madrid nearly always win on home soil in the Champions League.

Hertha BSC 2-2 Hannover St Pauli 3-1 Rostock Paderborn 2-1 Elversberg Kiel 2-2 Lautern Braunschweig 1-2 Hamburg Schalke 1-2 Düsseldorf Magdeburg 2-1 Osnabrück Nürnberg 2-2 Karlsruhe Wehen 1-2 Fürth

Bochum 2-2 Hoffenheim Bayern 2-1 Frankfurt Leipzig 2-1 Dortmund Freiburg 2-1 Wolfsburg Augsburg 2-1 Bremen Leverkusen 2-2 Stuttgart Gladbach 2-1 Union Mainz 2-1 Köln Darmstadt 1-2 Heidenheim

12 23

PSG

I'd like to see Burnley stay up, as far as the northern clubs are concerned, I do have a soft spot for them. Burnley's 4-1 thrashing of bottom club Sheffield United was a much needed win, but they need to find some more wins if they are to avoid the drop. Hopefully Burnley stay up, but I'd be happy to see Luton Town go down with Sheffield United. I don't mind Forrest, but I'd rather they get relegated instead of Burnley. I don't think Everton or Brentford will go down, they look like the strongest of the sides down at the bottom in my opinion.

Escalante pulled a goal back for Cadiz, but only a minute later, Portu extended Girona's lead by scoring their 4th goal. Girona 4-1 Cadiz

Dovbyk scores Girona's 3rd goal, as he controlled a cross and then shot the ball past the keeper and into the corner of the net. That's Dovbyk's 18th La Liga goal of the season and he remains the leading scorer in the Spanish La Liga. Girona 3-0 Cadiz

Ivan Martin makes it 2-0 for Girona with a clever left footed shot that found the back of the net. Girona 2-0 Cadiz

Girona are all over Cadiz here and they took the lead in the 9th minute through a header by Eric Garcia. Dovbyk also put the ball in the back of the net, but his effort wasn't awarded because he was offside. Girona 1-0 Cadiz

Frankfurt 1-1 Augsburg Wolfsburg 2-1 Bochum Köln 2-1 Darmstadt Hoffenheim 1-2 Gladbach Heidenheim 1-3 Leipzig Union 1-3 Bayern Bremen 1-3 Stuttgart Dortmund 2-2 Leverkusen Freiburg 2-2 Mainz

Nürnberg 1-2 Paderborn Elversberg 1-2 Schalke Düsseldorf 2-1 Fürth Lautern 1-1 Wehen Osnabrück 1-1 Braunschweig Hamburg 2-1 Kiel Karlsruhe 1-1 Hertha BSC Hannover 1-2 St Pauli Rostock 1-1 Magdeburg

I completely agree with your sentiments.

R.I.P. Bernd Hölzenbein

That's fair enough that you follow the policy of "you have to take what you dish out" or as we say here, give as good as you get. But personally prefer to take the higher ground and argue on as much a factual basis as possible. You are entitled to your opinion as regards to West Ham's, Dortmund's and Stuttgart's strengths, but I just think that West Ham have proven their European pedigree in recent seasons and last year's Europa Conference League winners will present a stern test for most sides on their day when they play at home. Having said that, I've also just read that they will also be missing Paqueta as well as Bowen and Alvarez for the return match against Leverkusen. Leverkusen are the obvious favourites to advance, but I do respect West Ham and their performances in recent seasons. I think it would be great if Bayer Leverkusen won the treble, it would go down as one of the best ever seasons for a Bundesliga club.

West Ham are much stronger at home than they are away. I think we remember what happened in the last round, where West Ham lost 1-0 away to Freiburg and then thumped them 4-0 at home. Leverkusen were very dominant in the 1st leg against West Ham, but I think that West Ham's plan was to defend and try to secure a draw for the return game in London. Obviously that didn't work out, despite them holding out for a long time during the match. But you can't conclude how strong you believe West Ham are by looking at this match alone. West Ham obviously have different game plans for the matches they play, depending on the opposition. Thrashing Freiburg 4-0 shows that they are a side not to be taken lightly when teams play at their ground. West Ham have a good record in European competitions in recent years as well, they were semi-finalists in the Europa League in 2022 and they won the Europa Conference League last season. West Ham have beaten teams like Arsenal twice this season, once in the league and in the League Cup. They are obviously a side to be respected and just because they played ultra defensively in the 1st leg, that doesn't mean they are not a strong side, they are a much stronger side than Sandhausen. Having said that, they will be missing 2 key players for the return leg, both Bowen and Alvarez will be absent, but they still have plenty of other good players. Despite that, Leverkusen should still advance, as they are obviously the stronger side. I have to say, to use the example of Ratingen is slightly disrespectful. There've been a few people on here in the past who've unfairly disrespected the quality of the Bundesliga and I've defended the Bundesliga as it's obviously a very strong league. But it now seems like you're being a little disrespectful to West Ham. Surely you can see that the fact they didn't create much in the 1st leg, is not a representative of what they are capable of when they go out to win a match. As I mentioned they played Freiburg off the park at home in the last round, so they are not to be underestimated, even if Leverkusen are hot favourites to advance. I think that ensuring that Leverkusen don't mess up in this match against West Ham, is more important than potentially losing against Dortmund in the Bundesliga next weekend. I think that this is clear for most to understand.

I'd love it if they go the whole season unbeaten in the Bundesliga, because that would be unbelievable. But I am sure that their young manager Alonso, will want to win as many trophies as possible this season. The upcoming away game against West Ham is not going to be easy at all, although Leverkusen should still come through that match and make it to the semi-finals. But I think that the next 2 Bundesliga matches against Dortmund and Stuttgart will be really tough for Leverkusen. Leverkusen will only have 3 days between their away game to West Ham and their match against Dortmund. That's not a long time to prepare, so it will be a real test for the Bundesliga Champions. I don't think and I am not suggesting that Alonso will rest half the team for the remaining Bundesliga games now that Leverkusen have won it, but I definitely think he will prioritise the Europa League matches and the DFB Pokal final. If there are any injury issues with some of the players, he is not going to risk playing any of them in the Bundesliga if they are not fully fit. He will prioritise the other 2 competitions that they are still in and he might risk some players who are not 100% fit in them. I am sure Alonso wants Leverkusen to remain unbeaten this season, but I think we know what he will want more. Either way, winning the treble and going unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season is the ideal scenario that the club would no doubt like to achieve. It's incredible to think that Bayern Munich have won the last 11 Bundesliga titles on the trot and now Leverkusen have appeared this season and completely dominated the Bundesliga. It's also the 1st time that Leverkusen have ever won the Bundesliga and they have certainly now shrugged off their nickname of "Neverkusen".

Congratulations to the Bundesliga winners Bayer Leverkusen. It's an absolutely incredible achievement for Leverkusen to have won the Bundesliga and in such a dominant fashion. They are still undefeated in all competitions this season and they have played a really high standard of football throughout the season. Bayer Leverkusen have a superb team that is well balanced and a lot of credit for their success must go to Alonso. In his first real job as a manager for a team in a top league, he took Leverkusen to the semi-finals of the Europa League last season. He also guided Leverkusen to a respectable 6th place finish in the Bundesliga last season, after he took over the club in October 2022, when Leverkusen were 2nd from bottom in the Bundesliga table. This season, Leverkusen have been flawless and Alonso has helped guide them to their success superbly. This team is wonderful with so many great players, but Florian Wirtz is the star man. Wirtz is the future of German football and at still only 20 years of age, he will be the main man that Germany will rely on if they are to have a successful European Championships this summer. After now winning the Bundesliga title, Bayer Leverkusen will now focus all their attentions on winning the Europa League and the DFB Pokal final. Winning the treble would be the icing on the cake for an immaculate season for Leverkusen.

Girona have been excellent in most of the matches I've seen them play this season, but they don't have the strength in depth that the other top sides have. They are an exciting team to watch with their attacking style of football. You are also right, this season can already be deemed a great success for them, as they will no doubt be in the Champions League next season. However, a lot of their top players will be in huge demand by other clubs over the summer transfer window. Key players like Dovbyk, Tsyhankov, Aleix Garcia and Miguel Gutierrez will be wanted by a number of top clubs around Europe, while superb winger Savio will be joining Man City. So I foresee next season being a much tougher season for Girona.

Dovbyk scored to give Girona an early lead in the 4th minute away to Atletico Madrid. But a Griezmann penalty goal in the 34 minute and a Correa goal in the 6th minute of injury time in the 1st half, has turned this match around for Atletico Madrid. Half-time score: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Girona

17 13

Bayer Leverkusen will win the Bundesliga title on Sunday, it's inevitable given the form they are in.