Ajax relaunch title race, United and Lyon held
Sunday, April 2, 2017
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Ajax beat Feyenoord to climb within three points of the Dutch summit and Beşiktaş stretched their lead in Turkey, but Manchester United, Lyon and Schalke were all thwarted.
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ANDERLECHT v MANCHESTER UNITED
Fri: Zulte-Waregem 1-2 Anderlecht (Dalsgaard 63; Chipciu 20, Tielemans 72)
Midfielder Youri Tielemans, 19, struck his 20th goal of the season for club and country as leaders Anderlecht kicked off the play-offs in Belgium with a narrow victory against the side that finished third in the regular season.
Sat: Manchester United 0-0 West Brom
José Mourinho's injury-ravaged United struggled to break down a resilient West Brom side as they were held to their eighth home draw of the season. It could have been worse, with former United midfielder Darren Fletcher having a shot fumbled onto the bar late on.
Sun: Ajax 2-1 Feyenoord (Schöne 1, Neres 36; Kramer 90+1)
Lasse Schöne buried a stunning free-kick in the opening minute as Ajax breathed fresh life into the Eredivisie title race. David Neres later gave the hosts the cushion they needed to climb within three points of leaders Feyenoord with six games remaining.
Sat: Schalke 1-1 Dortmund (Kehrer 77; Aubameyang 53)
A first senior goal from 20-year-old defender Thilo Kehrer earned the home side a share of the Ruhr derby spoils to stay ninth in Germany. Ousmane Dembélé hit the post after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who celebrated by donning a mask, made it 1-0.
Sun: Rennes 1-1 Lyon (Mubele 81; Cornet 52)
Lyon were left ruing a frustrating afternoon after failing to beat a Rennes side reduced to ten men with just five minutes gone when Ramy Bensebaini handled in the area. Benoît Costil saved Alexandre Lacazette's resultant penalty, and although Maxwel Cornet put OL in front, the hosts had a late surprise in store.
Sun: Beşiktaş 3-0 Genclerbirligi (Oğuzhan Özyakup 45+5, Talisca 61, Babel 85)
The Black Eagles seized their chance to climb five points clear in Turkey thanks to a commanding success, Ryan Babel rounding off the result with his first Süper Lig goal since the end of January after closest rivals İstanbul Başakşehir lost on Saturday.
Mon: Celta Vigo 3-1 Las Palmas (Rossi 12 36 57; Bigas 80)
Giuseppe Rossi struck his first hat-trick since 2013 as Celta beat the side that began the day just one spot below them to move up one place to tenth in the Liga.
Sat: Genk 4-0 Lokeren (Pozuelo 45, Samatta 72, Boëtius 77, Naranjo 90)
Genk made the perfect start in Belgium's UEFA Europa League play-offs as they made light work of Lokeren. Albert Stuivenberg's men are now unbeaten in their last five games, winning four.