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PSV Eindhoven were crowned on Sunday as Dutch champions for the 27th time, with five matches left of the season, after second-placed Feyenoord’s 0-0 draw with Volendam.
PSV hold an unassailable 17-point lead at the top of the table after bouncing back from successive defeats with a 4-3 victory against Utrecht on Saturday.
Peter Bosz’s side quickly took control of this season’s title race, dropping just four points before the winter break. They clinched a third successive title for the first time since 2008.
Feyenoord were the previous champions in 2023 under Arne Slot, now in charge at Liverpool, while the Dutch giants Ajax, who sit fifth this season, have gone four years without lifting the trophy. PSV’s latest title gives them a place in the Champions League league phase next season.
In Serie A, Inter took a big step towards winning the title by thrashing Roma 5-2 on Sunday, ending a late-season wobble and moving nine points clear at the top of the table.
Inter’s closest challengers Milan travel to the champions Napoli on Monday with both bidding to see who might stop Inter from securing a 21st league crown. But the return of Lautaro Martínez, who scored twice after nearly two months out injured, and a first club goal since early February from Marcus Thuram helped Inter to emphatically end a mini-slump.
Hakan Calhanoglu’s swerving rocket on the stroke of half-time and a second league goal of the season from Nicò Barella made sure of a win which was also another blow to Roma’s Champions League hopes.
Roma sit sixth, three points behind Como who are fourth and visit Udinese in the early match on Monday, and level with fifth-placed Juventus ahead of the Turin giants’ home fixture with Genoa.
Inter are a different team with their captain Martínez, and the Argentina striker smashed Inter ahead from Thuram’s neat pass with barely a minute on the clock at San Siro.
Calhanoglu’s ferocious strike from more than 30 metres put Inter back ahead on the stroke of half-time, just as Roma seemed to be heading into the tunnel level following Gianluca Mancini’s header in the 40th minute.
Inter came out for the second half as fast as they did the first, and the match was as good as over 10 minutes after the restart thanks to Martínez and Thuram. Martínez calmly stroked home his 16th league goal of the season in the 52nd minute from another Thuram pass, who moments later glanced in a perfect header from Calhanoglu’s corner.
Barella made the most of more sloppy Roma defending just after the hour, bundling through before firing home the fifth which made Lorenzo Pellegrini’s smart low finish for Roma in the 70th minute a mere consolation effort.
In the Bundesliga, St Pauli’s hopes of moving out of the relegation zone took a hit after they were held to a 1-1 draw at Union Berlin on Sunday. Mathias Pereira Lage’s first-half stunner for the visitors was cancelled out when Andrej Ilic scored from a corner just after the break.
The draw left the Hamburg-based side third from the bottom in the relegation playoff spot. St Pauli are one point behind 15th-placed Cologne, who play at Eintracht Frankfurt in the late game on Sunday. With six games remaining this season, Union sit 10th, seven points ahead of St Pauli.
On Sunday in La Liga, Sevilla lost 1-0 at last-placed Oviedo to stay just two points above the relegation zone. They dropped to 17th with the defeat, in which Luis García Plaza made his debut after replacing the Argentinian Matías Almeyda as head coach before the international break.
It was the third successive defeat for Sevilla, and their eighth match without a win in nine league rounds. The club were in 15th place when Almeyda was fired.
Federico Viñas scored in the 32nd minute for Oviedo, who have won two of their past three league matches to keep alive their hopes of not returning to the second division. Oviedo have 24 points, seven points behind Sevilla. Sevilla played a man down from the 39th minute as the defender Tanguy Nianzou was sent off with a straight red card for a hard foul.
Getafe boosted their chances of playing in Europe next season after beating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at home for their sixth win in their past eight league matches. Luis Vázquez scored in the 14th minute and Martín Satriano sealed the victory in the 90th to keep Getafe in eighth place with 41 points, level with seventh-placed Real Sociedad and three points ahead of ninth-placed Espanyol. Athletic dropped to 10th.
Celta came from behind to beat Valencia 3-2 on the road. The victory ended Celta’s three-game winless run in the league and left the club in sixth place. Ilaix Moriba, Fer López and Williot Swedberg scored for Celta in the second half after Guido Rodríguez had put the hosts ahead in the 12th minute. Rodríguez scored Valencia’s second goal in second-half stoppage time. Valencia, who dropped to 13th place, had won four of their past six league games.
On Saturday, Barcelona rallied away from home to beat 10-man Atlético Madrid 2-1 and take a big step toward winning the title after Real Madrid lost 2-1 at Mallorca. The Catalan club opened a seven-point lead over Madrid after 30 matches. Third-placed Villarreal visit Girona on Monday.
Monaco earned their seventh successive win in Ligue 1 by beating Marseille 2-1 to surge to within one point of the automatic Champions League places.
Aleksandr Golovin stabbed in a cross from Jordan Teze on the hour at the Stade Louis II before Folarin Balogun struck for the sixth match running with a sublime chip.
Amine Gouiri reduced the deficit late on, but Monaco stretched their unbeaten league run to 10 matches to continue a remarkable revival that began in January.
Lyon’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season were further dented on Sunday after a 0-0 draw at Angers, extending their winless run in all competitions to nine matches.
Looking for a first win since mid-February, Paulo Fonseca’s players were devoid of ideas in a match that offered few chances for both teams. “We had to win today,” Fonseca said. “The race for the Champions League is more difficult now, but we are not giving up.”
Lyon have a tough schedule ahead with matches against the leaders Paris Saint-Germain and second-placed Lens in their remaining six Ligue 1 games. The seven-time champions are fifth, two points behind third-placed Lille.
On Friday, the defending champions PSG increased their lead over Lens to four points by beating Toulouse 3-1. Lens endured an off night on Saturday and were well beaten by their northern rivals Lille 3-0.
Lorient were unable to celebrate their 100th anniversary with a win after being held 1-1 at home by Paris FC. Le Havre and Auxerre drew 1-1. Last-placed Metz and last-but-one Nantes drew 0-0.
