Italy and Spain title races heat up after frantic weekend action for Inter, Napoli, Barcelona and Real Madrid

Hello there! Title races are coming to a close all across Europe but while some teams are just waiting to collect their trophy, others are in the midst of dramatic sprints to the finish line. I’m Pardeep Cattry with the latest as title races heat up in Italy and Spain.

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All times U.S./Eastern

Monday, April 21
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Championship: Burnley vs. Sheffield United, 12:30 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Nottingham Forest, 3 p.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇪🇸 La Liga: Girona vs. Real Betis, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+

Tuesday, April 22
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Manchester City vs. Aston Villa, 3 p.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇪🇸 La Liga: Barcelona vs. Mallorca, 3:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇺🇸 NWSL: Portland Thorns vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, 10:30 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network

⚽ The Forward Line

🇮🇹 Serie A title race takes another twist

Inter relinquished their loose grip on first place in Serie A over the weekend, with their loss and Napoli’s win meaning the two sides are now tied on points with five matches to go this season.

The pressure was on Inter heading into the weekend’s fixtures considering the strength of the opponents both they and Napoli were scheduled to face – Napoli faced last place Monza and collected a 1-0 win on Saturday, putting the onus on Inter to do the same. That was always going to be easier said than done against Bologna, but Inter’s opponents fully outplayed the title contenders on Sunday. Bologna outshot them 12 to eight and outdid them 0.82 to 0.5 in expected goals, with Inter mustering just one shot on target along the way. The breakthrough finally came for Bologna in the 94th minute, courtesy of Riccardo Orsolini’s scissor kick.

Inter’s loss comes in the middle of an important stretch of matches, bookended by a back-and-forth UEFA Champions League game with Bayern last week and Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semifinal against AC Milan. Simone Inzaghi’s side are still in the hunt for a treble but Sunday’s loss offered a fresh reminder that Inter may not have the ability to go all the way, Mike Grella argues.

• Grella: “Does that look like a team, to you, that’s in the treble race? Are we really looking at Inter’s performances over the last two months, three months and saying that’s a team that looks like they’re going to win the treble? … When you see a treble-winning team, they’re really good at something. They’re obviously good at something, they’re dynamic, they have a different energy. [Inter] just played in a game, 90 minutes with Bologna, where they were second best in every single category. They never looked like scoring. They never looked like they caused danger. They never controlled the tempo of the game.”

It now sets up for an epic showdown over the final weeks of the season between Inter and Napoli, with the schedule perhaps favoring Antonio Conte’s side in the run-up, especially since they have no other competitions to focus on. Inter will not have the benefit of the traditional tiebreak of goal differential, either – Serie A introduced the single game playoff ahead of the 2022-23 season, which will decide the title should both teams be tied on points after 38 games.

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🔗  Midfield Link Play

🇪🇸 Barcelona, Real Madrid’s trophy-themed week

It may have seemed at one point that La Liga’s title race was done and dusted, but last weekend’s results ensured that another competitive round of action would be in store this week as Real Madrid continue to chase Barcelona for top spot in Spain’s top flight with just four points separating the rivals with six games to go.

Barcelona, who played their eighth game in 24 days on Saturday nearly loosened their grip on top spot on Saturday but showed their title-winning mettle in a dramatic 4-3 win over Celta Vigo. Hansi Flick’s side were down 3-1 in the 62nd minute before mounting an impressive comeback thanks to one goal from Dani Olmo and two from Raphinha, keeping their treble hopes alive. Real Madrid managed to keep pace with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Athletic Club on Sunday, a game that included a sluggish first half for Los Blancos and required a stoppage time winner from Federico Valverde to seal the deal.

The next week, though, offers as big a chance as any for both sides to prove their worth in more ways than one. For starters, there’s another batch of La Liga matches on the schedule – Barcelona face seventh place Mallorca tomorrow, while Real Madrid travel to 12th place Getafe on Wednesday, games that offer the chance for more twists and turns in the title race. On Saturday, though, the pair will meet at Seville’s Estadio de La Cartuja for the Copa del Rey final, a first piece of meaningful silverware for both sides this season.

Barcelona will have to make do without Robert Lewandowski for a few weeks with an injury, an absence that comes with its own challenges. The Poland international has been a crucial piece of Barcelona’s upward trajectory this season by scoring 40 goals across all competitions this season, his own uptick in form resembling the team’s. Though the team does not exactly lack goalscoring might in his absence – Raphinha has 30 goals this season and Ferran Torres has 17 – but rare are the days Lewandowski is not involved. He’s played 48 matches across all competitions, proving to be an indispensable member of the team.

As for Real Madrid, this week might just mark the end of an era. Carlo Ancelotti, one of the game’s most successful managers, is almost certainly on his way out after a second trophy-laden spell with the club, though the timing is still up in the air. There is chatter that Ancelotti could leave after the Copa del Rey final, which also could be his final chance to collect silverware with the club. This season has not gone according to plan for Los Blancos but before a period of transition begins, they have the opportunity to find a silver lining – whether or not they will, though, is the big question.

🔗  Top Stories

🇻🇦 Pope Francis dies: Serie A postponed Monday’s game following the death of Pope Francis, while tributes pour in around the soccer world for the pontiff, who was a well-known fan of San Lorenzo and Argentina.

🏟️ Migrant worker death: Saudi Arabia’s sports minister said an investigation has begun into the death of Muhammad Arshad, a worker from Pakistan who fell to his death at the construction site of the Aramco Stadium last month. Arshad’s is the first-known death of a worker associated with the building of stadiums for the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

⬆️ Promotion race: Leeds United are close to clinching promotion to the Premier League after a lopsided 6-0 win over Stoke City.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL’s top five: Aston Villa’s statement-making win over Newcastle United on Saturday added another wrinkle to the Premier League’s race to finish in a Champions League spot, which could go down to the wire.

🌴 Miami win again: Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami clinched a 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew to stay amongst the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

🔮 Ancelotti’s successor: With Carlo Ancelotti likely to leave Real Madrid, here’s a look at his potential replacements as Xabi Alonso leads the way.

💰  The Back Line

💵 Best bets

• Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Nottingham Forest, Monday, 3 p.m.
  💰 THE PICK: Chris Wood to score (+160) – Considering Nottingham Forest are in the midst of a battle for a berth in next season’s UEFA Champions League and Tottenham Hotspur are simply waiting for their UEFA Europa League semifinals in a few weeks, consider this game Forest’s to lose. Their surprising surge to the top section of the table is partially on the back of Chris Wood’s impressive 18 goal season and though he has not scored in six games for Forest, a high-stakes game against a Tottenham side with little skin in the game and a porous should offer a nice chance to get back into goalscoring form for the final crucial weeks of the season.

For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don’t miss out on CBSSports.com’s betting home page.   

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