Weekend Developments From Europe's Top Leagues

It is hard to believe January is almost already over, but 2010 is flying by and so are Europe's top leagues as they head towards a climax, so here's the latest from the title races.

ENGLAND

Pos	Team	Pl	Pts
1	Manchester United	23	50
2	Arsenal	22	48
3	Chelsea	21	48
4	Tottenham	22	38
6	Liverpool	22	37

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney inspired 4-0 triumph over Hull City took the Red Devils to the summit of the Premier League table, with the rest of their main opponents in action in the FA Cup. But United's games played column is the concern.

Midweek victories for Arsenal and Liverpool has certainly shaken things up as well, with Chelsea dropping to third although they've got games in hand.

Liverpool, though, seem to be still in contention of the fourth and final UEFA Champions League spot.

SPAIN

Pos	Team	Pts
1	FC Barcelona	49
2	Real Madrid	44
3	Valencia	39
4	Real Mallorca	34
5	Deportivo la Coruna	34

Cristiano Ronaldo may not be happy about his red card in Sunday's 2-0 win over Malaga, but he would have enjoyed the two goals he scored which kept the pressure on leaders Barcelona, who cruised to a 3-0 victory at Valladolid on Saturday.

In the race for the fourth Champions League spot, Mallorca claimed a rare away point at Espanyol, although fifth-placed Deportivo and sixth-placed Sevilla kept the pressure on them with home wins.

One side not really challenging for European spots is Atletico Madrid, who lost 1-0 across town at Getafe, to slide down to eleventh. The club's fate hasn't really drastically improved since Quique Sanchez Flores took over which is a worry.

ITALY

Pos	Team	Pts
1	Inter Milan	49
2	AC Milan	40
3	AS Roma	38
4	Napoli	37
5	Palermo	34

It was a champion performance from Italy's reigning champs Inter as they defeated their closest rivals (in every sense) AC Milan 2-0 despite being reduced to nine-men and conceding a penalty. The nature of the result really was a psychological blow which suggests Inter have the title won.

Elsewhere, Roma pushed forward their credentials with a 2-1 win at Juventus which leaves the Old Lady reeling down in sixth. Surely, Ciro Ferrara will be shown the door now. They've lost their last 3 Serie A matches and 6 of their last 8 in the league.

Another Italian heavyweight, Fiorentina, are also struggling down in ninth after a 3-0 loss to Palermo, who are flying at the moment with impressive centre-half Simon Kjaer instrumental. At the bottom, Siena snapped their losing run with a 1-1 draw against Cagliari but are still languishing way off the pace.

GERMANY

Pos	Team	Pts
1	Bayer Leverkusen	41
2	Bayern Munich	39
3	Schalke 04	38
4	Dortmund	36
5	Hamburg SV	34

Leaders Leverkusen have maintained their supremacy at the top of the Bundesliga despite the increasing pressure from Bayern, who've won their last eight matches in all competitions. Saturday's 3-2 win by the Bavarians in Bremen really shows they've got what it takes.

But Jupp Heynckes' Leverkusen remain top after another win, this time an impressive 3-0 win at Hoffenheim. Schalke's 2-2 draw at Bochum, after conceding twice late, sees them drop below Bayern.

Dortmund continue their winning streak after a brilliant 1-0 win over Hamburg, who've just signed Ruud van Nistelrooy. Elsewhere, Hannover fans will been concerned after their fourth straight loss, a 1-0 defeat at Mainz, while bottom club Hertha claimed another post-Christmas point.

RANDOM LEAGUE (NETHERLANDS)

Pos	Team	Pts
1	PSV Eindhoven	51
2	FC Twente	49
3	Ajax Amsterdam	42
4	Feyenoord	38
7	AZ Alkmaar	28

Fred Rutten's PSV Eindhoven moved two points clear at the summit of the Eredivisie this weekend after a 3-0 win over NEC Nijmegen, while their closest rivals Twente could only draw 0-0 at Groningen.

Both sides are undefeated in the league this term so it is a genuine battle. PSV have won ten straight in the Eredivisie, while Twente have slipped since Christmas, drawing their last two.

Elsewhere, Ajax remains a silly shot at the title with a 1-0 win over reigning champions AZ Alkmaar, who are really struggling to repeat last season's heroics.