SPANISH LA LIGA
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 55 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 53 |
| 3 | Valencia | 43 |
| 4 | FC Sevilla | 39 |
| 5 | Real Mallorca | 37 |
Atletico Madrid did city rivals Real Madrid, as well as the neutrals, a big favour this weekend when they defeated runaway leaders FC Barcelona 2-1. Early goals from Diego Forlan and Simao Sabrosa] did the trick for Atletico in a nerve-jangling contest.
Real now close to within two points of Barca, off the back of 4 consecutive La Liga wins. Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a brace in their 3-0 win at bottom-club Xerez, while third-placed Valencia drew 1-1 at Gijon.
Elsewhere, Mallorca’s Champions League took a hit after a 1-0 loss in Tenerife, while Villarreal boosted their poor season with a 2-1 win over Bilbao which takes them ninth. But the big story is that the title race is wide open again.
ENGLISH FA CUP
| Chelsea | 4 |
| Cardiff | 1 |
| Man City | 1 |
| Stoke City | 1 |
FA Cup favourites Chelsea firmed with an easy 4-1 win over Cardiff. But with giants Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United all out of the cup, the Blues might’ve hoped for a simple route to the final. Unfortunately for them, they could face a tricky one with Manchester City lurking. Stoke aren’t easy either.
| Fulham | 4 |
| Notts County | 0 |
| Bolton | 1 |
| Tottenham | 1 |
Fulham cruised into the quarter-finals with a comfortable win over fourth tier Notts County, but their next opponent remains unresolved after Spurs had a Tom Huddlestone penalty missed in a 1-1 draw at Bolton. Tottenham still must be fancied.
| Reading | 2 |
| West Brom | 2 |
| Crystal Palace | 2 |
| Aston Villa | 2 |
Aston Villa must be fancied to take out their tie with Crystal Palace when the second leg is held in Birmingham but they’ll be frustrated by yet another game to be played. But with either of Championship pair Reading or West Brom waiting in the quarter-final, Villa must believe they can still go far.
| Southampton | 1 |
| Portsmouth | 4 |
| Derby County | 1 |
| Birmingham City | 2 |
Financially-troubled Portsmouth moved into the quarter-finals and will face Premier League surprise packets Birmingham City next. Portsmouth, who lifted the 2008 FA Cup, will be buoyed by home ground advantage.
ITALIAN SERIE A
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inter Milan | 54 |
| 2 | AS Roma | 47 |
| 3 | AC Milan | 45 |
| 4 | Napoli | 39 |
| 5 | Sampdoria | 39 |
With fourth-placed Napoli holding leaders Inter to a 0-0 draw in Naples, [Claudio Ranieri]’s in-form AS Roma closed the gap on the leaders to 7 points with a commanding 4-1 win over high-flying Palermo. Inter look comfortable but Roma are brilliant right now and could challenge for the title.
Elsewhere, the battle for Champions League spots continues to interest with Sampdoria beating out-of-sorts Fiorentina 2-0, while Juventus returned to the winners’ list with a 3-2 victory over Genoa although it came controversially with Alessandro Del Piero’s penalty quite dubious. Palermo were the big sliders, down to seventh.
Down the wrong end, Parma continued their winless slide down the table as Lazio grabbed an invaluable 2-0 win on the road with Edy Reja claiming a victory on his debut for the Romans. Lazio now move out of the drop zone, while bottom-club Siena remain cemented in last despite a 1-0 win at Chievo.
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 48 |
| 2 | Bayern Munich | 48 |
| 3 | Schalke 04 | 45 |
| 4 | Hamburg SV | 39 |
| 5 | Borussia Dortmund | 35 |
The German Bundesliga title race is becoming one of Europe’s most fascinating battles with Leverkusen and Bayern trading blows, while Felix Magath’s Schalke hang in there. Bayern won 3-1 over Dortmund, while Leverkusen beat champions Wolfsburg 2-1 this weekend.
The top two are separated only on goal difference and Louis van Gaal’s Bayern have chopped that down to just plus-one difference now. Meanwhile, Dortmund have now lost 3 in a row and Wolfsburg, who haven’t won in 10, are down to 12th.
Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt, who both won, are closing in on 5th Dortmund while down the wrong end Hannover and Nurnberg continue to struggle with losses, but Freiburg are also battling meaning there’s four clubs (including bottom-club Hertha) locked in a battle to avoid the drop.
RANDOM LEAGUE: GREEK SUPER LEAGUE
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panathinaikos | 52 |
| 2 | Olympiacos | 49 |
| 3 | PAOK | 47 |
| 4 | AEK Athens | 36 |
| 5 | Aris | 35 |
Champions Olympiacos are beginning to close the gap on flying-starters Panathinaikos who worryingly lost 2-0 at home to Kavala this weekend. And Panathinaikos have won one of their last 4 in the Super League.
Olympiacos, who played later in the weekend, didn’t waste their chance to catch up with two goals inside the first eight minutes as they won 3-1 over Asteras Tripolis.
Elsewhere, PAOK maintain their staggering season with a 1-0 win at Giannina meaning they haven’t lost in 10 league matches. AEK and Aris are behind them, while newly-promoted Kavala (who stunned Panathinaikos) are up to sixth in a fairytale season.