PSG show what might have been, Madrid march on, Chelsea find form, Serie A tightens: Weekend Review

While the big game of the weekend saw Premier League title hopefuls Manchester City and Liverpool play out a thrilling draw, there was plenty going on elsewhere: Paris Saint-Germain’s big three found form, Real Madrid and Barcelona won, Serie A’s title race had more twists, and Arsenal and Tottenham endured contrasting fortunes.

Here are Bill Connelly, Rob Dawson, Alex Kirkland and Sam Marsden with what you need to know from around Europe.

Go to: Talking points | Top goals | Troubled teams | Weekend MVP

Four talking points

Hat tricks for PSG’s star trio

When Lionel Messi joined Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in the PSG attack, it was easy to dream “2014-15 Barcelona, but even better” combinations and occasionally gaudy score lines, but injuries, slow-growing chemistry and occasional malaise have kept the gaudiness to a minimum … until Saturday when, wow, did PSG’s big three click.

Essentially there was a hat trick of hat tricks: Mbappe scored three times (with one assist), Neymar scored three times (with one assist) and Messi assisted three goals (one for Neymar, two for Mbappe) as the soon-to-be French champs cruised to a 6-1 win at Clermont that means Les Parisiens have a 12-point cushion with just seven matches remaining.

Mbappe moved to 20 goals and 14 assists in league play — he leads Ligue 1 in both categories — and an incredible 31 goals and 18 assists in all competitions. (Just imagine what he might have done with a few more Champions League matches.) Messi, meanwhile, moved to 13 league assists.

With Mbappe seriously considering leaving for Real Madrid, this might be the only year that this trio teams up in Paris. But though Champions League failure will forever stain the memory of this season, it has not been entirely without beautiful moments. — Connelly