Sunday European Roundup: Thin Margins, Heavy Consequences

Sunday European Roundup: Thin Margins, Heavy Consequences

Football today offered the same blend of excitement, chaos, and drama that Sundays always do.

A cup final between a struggling Celtic and St Mirren, the first Tyne-Wear derby in the Premier League since 2016, and title-race pressure points in Spain, Germany and Italy.

Some matches were decided early, others late, and a few not at all—but across the continent, Sunday once again exposed how thin the margins remain when expectation meets resistance.

Sunderland 1-0 Newcastle

The week of own-goals continued in the Tyne-Wear derby as Nick Woltemade’s header into his own net in the 46th minute was the only goal separating Newcastle and Sunderland.

It was the fourth own goal of the Premier League weekend. Sam Johnstone and Yerson Mosquera both turned the ball into their own net against Arsenal on Saturday, before Konstantinos Mavropanos handed Aston Villa their opening goal earlier today.

That leaves this round just two short of the all-time record of six own goals, set on matchday 10 of the 2014–15 season.

But for Newcastle and Sunderland, this goal shows the gulf in class between the two sides this season.

Whilst Newcastle have not had a bad season thus far, they have definitely underperformed.

They sit in 12th place, four points behind their biggest rivals, who currently reside in 7th place.

For a club that was the bookies' favourite to be relegated this season, the Black Cats are proving all their critics wrong.

Nick Woltemade scores his first goal in the Tyne–Wear derby.

Unfortunately for the German, it's for Sunderland.

His header beats his own keeper and sends the Stadium of Light faithful into rapturous celebration. pic.twitter.com/bKojxSAEZo

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) December 14, 2025

Alaves 1-2 Real Madrid

Real Madrid are back to their winning ways after goals from Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo helped them overcome Alaves.

After a poor run of form which had seen Los Blancos win just one of their past five matches, manager Xabi Alonso was under pressure.

But after tonights result, the Spanish coach can breathe a little easier as Barcelona now sit just four points infront of them.

For Kylian Mbappe, this is just another moment which showed he is one, if not, the best players in the world.

The Frenchman has now scored 26 goals in 21 matches this season.

Alaves remain in the bottom half of the table. Had they won today, they would have rocketed up to 9th place.

➕3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/R7ghAHIo0C

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) December 14, 2025

Bayern Munich 2-2 1.FSV Mainz 05

Top of the table vs bottom of the table.

A side which had scored 49 goals vs a side that had scored just 11.

This match should have been a forgone conclusion.

But the footballing gods always love to remind us that certainty is football’s greatest illusion.

Lennart Kharl would open the scoring in the 29th minute, and it looked like another day of plain sailing for the Bundesliga behemoths. But goals from Kacper Potulski and Lee Jae-Sung left Bayern Munich trailing 1. FSV Mainz in the 67th minute.

Nearing the final whistle, it looked like Mainz had won their first game since 20th September, but after Harry Kane was pulled down in the box by goalscorer Potulski, Mainz’s dreams were ruined as the Englishman made no mistake in scoring from the spot.

This draw keeps Bayern’s unbeaten record intact, whilst Mainz sit four points adrift of safety.

Bottom-of-the-table Mainz come away with a point on the road against league leaders Bayern Munich ⚡ pic.twitter.com/DDpDQ9WMUj

— OneFootball (@OneFootball) December 14, 2025

Udinese 1-0 Napoli

Another shock happened in the Serie A title race as a struggling Udinese side that had won just one of their past five matches beat reigning champions Napoli.

After AC Milan failed to overcome Sassuolo earlier in the day, the chance for Napoli to reclaim their grip at the top of the league was in sight.

But a solitary goal from Dutch midfielder Jurgen Ekkelenkamp was enough to separate both sides as Udinese climbed to 10th in the table.

This now leaves Napoli in 3rd after Inter Milan defeated Genoa 2-1.

If Scott McTominay and co want to retain their league title, they will need to get their act together quickly.

Napoli will face Cremonese in their next league fixture, which comes a fortnight from today.

Maduka Okoye kept his 3rd clean sheet against Napoli in his 9th appearance of the season. His side, Udinese defeated Napoli by 1-0 🧤 pic.twitter.com/FcvhxO2koM

— Leagues Reporter (@LeaguesReporter) December 14, 2025

Marseille 1-0 Monaco

Controversial figure Mason Greenwood scored again to give Marseille a 1-0 win against Monaco to bring The Olympians back up into third place in Ligue 1.

The majority of the French clash was locked in a stalemate before the Englishman was found just inside the box in the 82nd minute. The inform forward made no mistake in firing the ball into the roof of the net, easily betaing goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli who remained stationary.

Greenwood now has 18 goals and asists in 20 games this season, and is viewed as one of the best players in Ligue 1.

This continues a poor run of form for Monaco, who have now won just two of their past seven matches—though one of those games was against Paris Saint Germain.

Les Rouges et Blancs have slipped to ninth in the league and are currently nine points off a Champions League position.

Roberto De Zerbi going crazy after Marseille’s goal 😂💥 pic.twitter.com/I85UCUErbn

— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) December 14, 2025

St Mirren 3-1 Celtic

St Mirren thwarted Celtic’s goal of a second successive Scottish League Cup victory as they defeated the Scottish titans 3-1 in the final.

Marcus Fraser opened the scoring in the 2nd minute, but Reo Hatate responded in turn 21 minutes later.

But in the second half, a brace from Kenyan international Jonah Ayunga would put St Mirren 3-1 up and out of sight.

This is the Saints' first trophy since they won the same competition 12 years prior.

For Celtic, however, it boards poorly for new manager Wilfried Nancy.

After taking over the reins from interim manager Martin O’Neil, Nancy has failed to win any of his opening three matches, losing to Hearts 2-1, Roma 3-0, and now St Mirren 3-1.

With a match against Dundee fast approaching, the Celtic manager is already under scrutiny from both the press and supporters.

🚨🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 | St Mirren have won the Scottish League Cup! ⚫️⚪️🏆

They beat Celtic 3-1. It's their first major trophy in 13 years! Great moment for them. ✨ pic.twitter.com/j67f8rWNQL

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) December 14, 2025