It’s all coming down to the last weeks of matches for clubs across Europe. With only one or two matches left, Bayern Munich loanees are doing everything they can to help their current teams in the races they find themselves in. Marvin Cuni is trying to help Saarbrücken promote to the second league, Alexander Nübel is trying to keep Monaco in the Europa League next season, while Janina Leitzig, Sarpreet Singh, and Nick Salihamidzic find themselves in relegation battles. With all this happening, Gabriel Vidovic was the only player to find the back of the net this week, while Lawrence bossed on defense in an unfortunate loss. Here is a breakdown:
France – Ligue 1
Alexander Nübel is the only player on loan in Ligue 1.
Alexander Nübel – AS Monaco
Monaco was on the road to Lyon this week. Nübel — as always — was in goal for the entirety of the match. His team scored a penalty kick in the 2nd minute, but even this mixed with his his eight saves on the day was not enough to get a win for Monaco. Unfortunately, Nübel still let in three goals and his teammates could not score again. Monaco fell 3-1.
Monaco play their penultimate match on Saturday, on the road to Rennes.
Scotland – Scottish Premiership
Malik Tillman is the only player on loan in the Scottish Premiership.
Malik Tillman – Rangers FC
Tillman is out for the season with an injury.
England – Premier League
Marcel Sabitzer is the only player on loan in the Premier League.
Marcel Sabitzer – Manchester United
Sabitzer is out for the season with an injury.
England – Women’s Super League
FC Bayern Frauen have one player on loan to England’s WSL.
Janina Leitzig – Leicester City
Leitzig only made two saves in Leicester’s home match against West Ham, which, unfortunately, was not enough for her and her team to get any points. The only shots that beat Leitzig, though, were an own goal in the first half and a penalty in the second. Leicester pulled one goal back on a penalty deep into second half stoppage time, making the score line a more respectable 2-1.
The good news for Leicester is that even with three wins in a row, they still hold a two-point lead above the relegation spot. They will play their final match on Saturday against Brighton. They will need a win to guarantee safety, as 12th place Reading has a better goal differential and would win the tiebreaker if they tie on points.
Netherlands – Eredivisie
Gabriel Vidovic is the only player on loan to the Dutch Eredivisie
Gabriel Vidovic – Vitesse
Vitesse played host to already relegated Groningen on Sunday. As per usual, Vidovic started on the bench, but made an appearance in the 67th minute with his team already up three goals and a man. Almost immediately after coming on, Vidovic scored to make it 4-0. He didn’t create any more chances for his teammates, but he did pepper the keeper with shots, while passing for 100%. Great to see him back on the score sheet!
Vitesse — sitting comfortably safe from relegation — will play their final match of the season away to Feyenoord on Sunday.
Germany – 2. Bundesliga
There are three players on loan in the 2. Bundesliga: Sarpreet Singh, Bright Arrey-Mbi and Jamie Lawrence.
Sarpreet Singh – Jahn Regensburg
Singh was not in the 18-man matchday roster for Regensburg’s 2-1 win away to Eintracht Braunschweig. Unfortunately, this was not enough. Because of goal differential, Regensburg are virtually relegated before their final match of the season — home to FC Heidenheim on Sunday.
Bright Arrey-Mbi – Hannover 96
Arrey-Mbi started for Hannover in their match away to Fortuna Düsseldorf on Sunday. He had five recoveries and three interceptions on the day. Perhaps his most noteworthy stat was a shot that he put on goal from his own half. Not sure how it went exactly, but it forced a save from the opposing keeper. The match would end 3-3, after an 89th minute equalizer from Hannover.
Hannover’s final match will be away to Holstein Kiel on Sunday.
Jamie Lawrence – 1. FC Magdeburg
Jamie Lawrence filled up the stat sheet against SV Darmstadt. He had 101 touches, while passing for a 90% completion rate. He also had a clearance off the line, four blocked shots, six clearances, an interception, and twelve recoveries. Nothing was getting past Lawrence, as he won 100% of both his aerial and ground duals. He also did this all without committing a single foul. This great defensive display helped his team concede just one goal, but unfortunately that was enough to beat Magdeburg 1-0.
Magdeburg’s final match will be Sunday at home against Arminia Bielefeld.
Germany – 3. Liga
There are two players on loan to the 3. Liga: Marvin Cuni and Lenn Jastremski.
Marvin Cuni – 1. FC Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken was away to Duisburg on Sunday, looking for three points to take control of their promotion hopes. Cuni started on the bench and was brought into the match in the 81st minute with the match tied at 2-2. Unfortunately, Cuni could not help his team get another goal, and the matched ended in a draw.
Saarbrücken remains in fifth place — just a point behind third and fourth place — going into the final matchday. With Freiburg II — who cannot promote to the 2. Bundesliga — in second place, third place should get an automatic promotion, while fourth place would be the playoff with the team from the 2. Bundesliga. Saarbrücken will host Viktoria Köln on Saturday.
Lenn Jastremski – Erzgebirge Aue
Jastremski was not in the 18-man squad for Aue’s 3-0 loss to Ingolstadt.
Aue will play their final match at bottom of the table SpVgg Bayreuth. Aue has clinched safety in the 3. Liga.
Italy – Serie B
Nick Salihamidzic is the only player on loan in the Serie B
Nick Salihamidzic – Cosenza
Salihamidzic was again on the bench for Cosenza’s 1-0 loss to Cagliari, but did not make it onto the pitch.
Cosenza is now in the bottom of two relegation playoff spots. With two matches left, they could mathematically get to safety, but their goal differential will not be super helpful. They also could still fall into automatic relegation. Cosenza will play their penultimate match against Brescia at home on Thursday.
Austria – Austrian Bundesliga
There are four players on loan in the Austrian Bundesliga: Torben Rhein, Daniel Francis, Emilian Metu, and Shaoziyang Liu.
Torben Rhein – Austria Lustenau
Rhein started on the bench again for Lustenau as they hosted WSG Tirol, but made an appearance in the 63rd minute. His team was down 4-0, but scored two goals in two minutes right before Rhein came on. Hoping for a comeback, Rhein was not the most help. He only had one shot from way outside the box and way off target. He also did not create any key chances for his team to score. On a positive note, Rhein only misplayed one of his passes, passing for a 96% completion rate. Lustenau fell 4-2.
This loss put WSG Tirol into first place in the Austrian Bundesliga’s relegation group — the bottom half of the table. Both teams are safe from relegation and are currently sitting in the two Europa Conference League playoff spots. Lustenau will travel to take on Alltach on Saturday in their penultimate match.
Daniel Francis – SK Austria Klagenfurt
Francis did not appear in the 18-man squad for Klagenfurt’s 1-1 draw against Austria Wien.
Klagenfurt will travel to take on newly-crowned Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg on Sunday.
Emilian Metu – SK Austria Klagenfurt
Metu did not appear in the 18-man squad for Klagenfurt’s 1-1 draw against Austria Wien.
Shaoziyang Liu – SK Austria Klagenfurt
Liu did not appear in the 18-man squad for Klagenfurt’s 1-1 draw against Austria Wien.