Weekend Review: Luka Magic has arrived as Liverpool go 11 points clear

Luka Doncic finally showed up as his performance and Liverpool’s win over Manchester City dominated headlines last weekend. 

Weekends are always perfect when there is sporting action, and last weekend was no different as fans get to watch the thrills and excitement featuring their favourite teams and players. 

It was a weekend where the NBA and football in Europe’s top leagues dominated the headlines worldwide. 

With the All-Star break done, the second half of this season’s NBA is in full flow as teams continue their quest for a playoff place. 

Meanwhile, in Europe’s domestic league, the title race is heating up, the same as the race to qualify for Europe and relegation.

In the Serie A, Inter Milan’s 1-0 victory saw them close the gap on leaders Napoli, who lost 2-1 at Como. Meanwhile, in La Liga, Barcelona and Real Madrid remain neck-in-neck with each other after winning their respective games. 

In the Bundesliga, both Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen were comfortable winners, but the Bavaria giants remain eight points clear at the top. 

Having given a lowdown on some of the games that happened over the weekend, let’s take a look at the biggest talking points. 

Luka Doncic has finally arrived in LA 

It took about three games but the Los Angeles Lakers now have a feel of Luka Magic. Luka’s move to the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks shocked a lot of people, including the man himself. 

It was evident that he needed time to adjust to his new environment. In his first three games in the purple and gold outfits, Luka averaged just 14.7 points, a far cry from what we are used to seeing from him. 

However, it appears he has finally gotten over the move as he exploded on Saturday night to lead the Lakers to a 123-100 win over the Denver Nuggets. 

Before Luka’s arrival, the Nuggets were the Lakers’ kryptonite, having won the last 12 games between the two sides. 

But Luka changed the momentum as he dropped 32 points, seven assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Lakers to their first win over the Nuggets in almost three years. 

The Lakers led from start to finish and you could say it was down to Luka’s effect. The 25-year-old Slovenian combined well with Lebron James, although the Lakers’ defense should also take credit as they reduced Nikola Jokic to just nine shots. 

However, the prospect of Luka and Lebron combining as they did against the Nuggets should scare the rest of the league. 

Liverpool have one hand on the Premier League title

After Liverpool played a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa, it handed Arsenal a lifeline in the Premier League title race. But with Arsenal, you can always count on them to drop the ball, which was what happened on Saturday as they lost 1-0 to West Ham at home. 

The loss to West Ham gave Liverpool a chance to move 11 points clear at the top, provided they beat Manchester City. 

Unlike Arsenal, Liverpool took the opportunity well as they went to Etihad to put two goals past Pep’s men, courtesy of strikes from Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai. 

It was a classic Liverpool performance which pushed them closer to the title and ultimately ended City’s four-year reign as England champions.