In the early hours of December 15th Beijing time, Europe’s top five leagues witnessed a night full of surprises. Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Arsenal all failed to secure victories, while Real Madrid barely managed a 3-3 draw. Juventus salvaged a point with a dramatic late equalizer.
Mainz 2-1 Bayern Munich
Bayern had previously defeated Mainz in the German Cup in October, but in their last five Bundesliga away games against Mainz, Bayern have now lost four times, perhaps foreshadowing this upset. In this match, Bayern’s attack was stagnant, managing only two shots on target. Meanwhile, Mainz capitalized on their opportunities, with South Korean international Lee Jae-sung scoring in both halves. Although Leroy Sané pulled one back late in the game, Bayern still fell short, losing 1-2.
Prior to this match, Bayern had an unbeaten record in the Bundesliga this season, with 10 wins and 3 draws from their first 13 games. This loss ends their unbeaten streak. Now, only two teams remain unbeaten across Europe’s top five leagues: Juventus in Serie A, with 6 wins and 10 draws in 15 matches, and PSG in Ligue 1, with 10 wins and 4 draws in 14 matches. However, Juventus also struggled this round, conceding two goals after taking the lead and narrowly drawing 2-2 with bottom-placed Venezia thanks to Dusan Vlahovic’s penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Liverpool 2-2 Fulham
Over the past month, Liverpool have been playing twice a week, pushing their fitness levels to the limit. They were recently held to a draw by Newcastle and narrowly beat Girona by a single goal. Against Fulham this round, Liverpool conceded early and saw Robertson sent off with a red card in the 20th minute. In the second half, Salah assisted Gakpo for a diving header to equalize. After falling behind again, Jota came off the bench to rescue the team with a late goal, resulting in a 2-2 draw.
This was Liverpool’s first draw of the season, reducing their lead at the top of the table from 9 points to 5 points. If Chelsea win their match this round, the gap will narrow to just 2 points, although Liverpool still have a game in hand.
Arsenal 0-0 Everton
With Liverpool dropping points, Arsenal missed an opportunity to close the gap. Facing relegation-threatened Everton, Arsenal were lackluster. Despite completing 682 passes—a season-high in the Premier League—they couldn’t break through Everton’s defense, resulting in a goalless draw and extending their winless run to two league games. Arsenal currently sit third in the Premier League with 8 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses from 16 matches, accumulating 30 points. Compared to the same period last season, Arsenal have 6 fewer points.
Rayo Vallecano 3-3 Real Madrid
With Barcelona recently dropping points in the league, Real Madrid failed to capitalize on the opportunity to overtake them. This round, Madrid squandered a promising lead once again. Rayo Vallecano opened the scoring in the 4th minute through López, and Mumin doubled their advantage in the 36th minute. Trailing by two goals, Madrid fought back. Valverde scored a stunning strike in the 39th minute, followed by Bellingham equalizing before halftime.
Bellingham became the first player in 72 years to score in six consecutive La Liga games for Madrid. The last players to achieve this were Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. In the second half, Rodrygo’s long-range effort gave Madrid the lead, but Palazón’s close-range finish in the 64th minute turned what looked like 3 points into just 1. After this draw, Madrid remain 1 point behind Barcelona in the standings.
