Canadians in Europe: David puts LOSC on precipice of Champions League
Published
Jonathan David stayed red-hot, while a pair of Canadians combined for a big win in Scotland and Alphonso Davies played in front of a home crowd at Bayern Munich maybe for the final time.
Here's a look at Canadians in Europe over the weekend.
Jonathan David, Lille - Jonathan David has Lille once again on the precipice of the Champions League, thanks to a 2-1 victory at Nantes on Sunday. The 24-year-old David bagged both goals for Les Dogues as they head into their final matchday clash with Nice in an advantageous position. David scored both goals in a four-minute stretch early in the first half. In the eighth minute, Edon Zhegrova whipped a corner into the area and into a mass of bodies. Bafodé Diakité managed to head it on to an unmarked David at the far post to head home to make it 1-0. Three minutes later, it was Zhegrova who again got things started with a fine, weaving rush down the left before a picture-perfect through ball into the area for Angel Gomes. The Manchester United academy product then teed it up for David to slot home his 19th Ligue 1 goal of the season, to make it 2-0 in the 11th. David has 17 goals across all competitions since January 1. Matthis Abline would score for the hosts in the 54th, but that was as close as Nantes would get with LOSC hanging on for the 2-1 win. The victory put Lille in third spot on 58 points, ahead of fourth-place Brest on a +2 goal difference. Lille can confirm its participation in next season's Champions League as soon as Tuesday when fifth-place Nice takes on champions Paris Saint-Germain. Sitting on 54 points, anything less than a victory for Nice will virtually guarantee a top-four place for Les Dogues. But should Nice win, it will set up a key final matchday clash between Lille and Nice with the potential for only one of the two finishing in the top four.
--
Harry Paton and Theo Bair, Motherwell - Ottawa's Theo Bair has been one of the Scottish Premiership's top goal scorers this season, but it was his playmaking that took centre stage on Saturday as Motherwell visited Ross County with Kitchener, Ont.'s Harry Paton finding the scoresheet for just the second time this season. The visitors opened the scoring early and the goal most certainly had a whiff to it. A long goal kick from Liam Kelly made it all the way to his opposite number, but Ross Laidlaw spilled the ball, allowing Blair Spittal to tap home into an empty net in the eighth minute to make it 1-0 for the Steelmen. The hosts would restore order only a short time later. With the referee playing the advantage after an earlier foul, Eli King played a terrific deep ball through to Simon Murray, who raced towards goal and beat Kelly with a low drive to tie it at 1-1 in the 14th. Unfortunately for the Staggies, it would be their last goal of the afternoon. In the 40th minute, Motherwell took the lead back off of a set piece and once again benefitted from some shaky goalkeeping. Laidlaw came off of his line to punch away a Georgie Gent free kick, but he mistimed his effort and Paul McGinn was on the doorstep to poke it over the line. Laidlaw looked at the officials for a foul, but none was coming. The visitors headed into the break with the lead. The 2-1 scoreline held all the way until the final minutes of the game. In the 82nd, Spittal grabbed a second. Bair came down the right side and drove into the box. Unable to find a shooting lane, he laid off for Spittal on the edge of the area to fire a fine curling effort past a diving Laidlaw to make it 3-1. Then in the final minute of the 90, Davor Zdravkovski forced a turnover deep into the Staggies' half and found Bair on the right. Once again, Bair was unable to create a shot for himself, so he sent a ball across the face of goal for Zdravkovski to tap in and make it 4-1. The assists were Bair's fifth and sixth on the season to go along with his 15 league goals. Paton then rounded out the scoring in stoppage. Spittal found Paton on the edge of the area down the left. Making himself space to shoot, Paton held off his marker and slid a low shot past a frozen Laidlaw to make it 5-1 in the fourth minute of added time. It was Paton's first goal since the opening match of the season.
--
Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich - For the last time this season, and maybe ever, Alphonso Davies played in front of the home crowd at Allianz Arena as Bayern Munich wrapped up its home slate on the penultimate weekend of the Bundesliga season against Wolfsburg. The hosts opened the scoring early with Davies acting as the catalyst. Picking up the ball just inside the Wolfsburg half, Davies used the run of Thomas Muller as a dummy and skipped a pass across the area for midfielder Lovro Zvonarek, who was playing in his first ever Bundesliga start. The Croatia under-19 international beat a diving Koen Casteels with a low drive for his first Bundesliga goal in the fourth minute. The assist was Davies' fifth on the season. Bayern would double its lead in the 13th when Bryan Zaragoza forced a turnover and swung a cross into the area. The ball fell for Muller who teed up Leon Goretzka to make it 2-0. The goal would round out the game's scoring as the hosts claimed a 2-0 win. The three points mean that Bayern needs only one point in its final match - at Hoffenheim - to wrap up a second-place finish. As for Davies, it could be a key summer as he heads into the final season of his current contract. With little progress made during extension talks, Bayern could choose to sell the 23-year-old full-back this offseason for fear of losing him for free next summer. Should he be made available, expect Real Madrid to top the list of his suitors.