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Paris (AFP)
Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain all extended their lead in the respective leagues in Spain, Italy and France, while Bayern Munich warmed up for their Champions League clash in Liverpool with a close win. .
While Kylian Mbappe continues his momentum as a remarkable scorer and Mauro Icardi watched Inter Milan from the stands, AFP Sport looks at some of the main topics of weekend discussion in Europe:
Inter & # 39; reborn & # 39; without Icardi
"I think something new was born tonight," said Inter's coach, Luciano Spalletti, after his first home win in 2019, thanks to a 2-1 win over his former club, Sampdoria.
Icardi watched from the stands after being stripped of the captain's armband and replaced by goalkeeper Samir Handanovic amid speculation about the future.
"It's frustrating to have to keep engaging in all these discussions around the Inter," said Spalletti, while Icardi's contract negotiations unfolded in the woman's social media and the player's agent, Wanda Nara.
"Some situations in my career have attracted a lot of attention, but never in this way," added former coach of Roma and Zenit Saint Petersburg, Spalletti.
Real reappearance stopped
The rebirth of Real Madrid was a reality Sunday after being beaten at home by a Girona team that has not won in 13 games and won no league victories since November.
They ended the race at Santiago Bernabeu by scoring a goal behind, thus dismissing Madrid's lead and perhaps a realistic chance of catching Barcelona in La Liga.
The gap is now nine points between the best-established pair of Spain, despite the threats of return from Madrid in recent weeks. Clasico should also visit at the end of the month.
This match seems much less important now, with Atletico again as Barca's closest rival, seven points behind.
Mbappe is getting closer
When PSG went to Old Trafford to face Manchester United last week, it was feared that the injuries suffered by Neymar and Edinson Cavani prove costly.
But Mbappe scored an impressive 2-0 win and a great volley to win a tough victory in Saint-Etienne on Sunday, coaching his Green coach Jean-Louis Gbadet to declare he will soon be "the best player in the world".
The French striker has now scored 19 goals in just 18 Ligue 1 games this season. Only Lionel Messi has scored more goals in one of the top five European leagues with 22 goals.
"He (Mbappe) shows his quality every day at training, he has this thirst for scoring, scoring, scoring," said PSG coach Thomas Tuchel. "It's his quality – he's a special player."
Pizarro continues to challenge the years
Despite four years more than his coach, Claudio Pizarro has proved once again that age is not an obstacle after becoming the oldest striker of the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Aged 40 and 136 days, the Peruvian scored his 195th Bundesliga goal, equalizing the final blow of the match to take a point in the 1-1 draw of the Werder Bremen against Hertha Berlin.
The former striker from Chelsea and Bayern Munich scored his free kick in the 96th minute under Hertha's wall and the ball was deflected twice before entering the goal.
The Bremen coach, Florian Kohfeldt, 36, says it's a "privilege to be able to hire someone like him" after presenting Pizarro half an hour from the end.
Mourinho open to work in France
Jose Mourinho said he saw himself working well in France after attending the 0-0 draw between Lille and Montpellier to watch fit Ivorian striker Nicolas Pepe.
"I can imagine (coaching) in France one day," said Mourinho. "I am a man who has worked in four different countries, who likes it, who likes to know other cultures."
The Portuguese coach has been unemployed since being fired by Manchester United in December and replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
© 2019 AFP
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