English Premier League
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 69 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 67 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 65 |
| 4 | Tottenham | 55 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 53 |
Manchester United took a giant stride towards the title this weekend with a crucial 2-1 come-from-behind victory over rivals Liverpool. Park Ji-Sung grabbed the important winner. Meanwhile, Chelsea (who’ve a game in hand) drew 1-1 at Blackburn and ten-man Arsenal beat West Ham 2-0. The Gunners have emerged as a title threat having won their last 6 EPL games.
In the race for Champions League football, Liverpool’s Old Trafford loss drops them to sixth, which is made worse by victories for Manchester City (impressively 2-1 at Fulham) and Tottenham who triumphed 2-1 at Stoke City. Seventh-placed Aston Villa seem off the pace after a 2-2 home draw with battling Wolverhampton.
In the battle to avoid the drop, there was late heartbreak for both Burnley and Hull City who conceded late to lose at Wigan and Portsmouth respectively. West Ham’s loss at Arsenal, their fourth in a row, sees the Hammers drop just one spot about the bottom three.
Italian Serie A
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inter Milan | 60 |
| 2 | AC Milan | 59 |
| 3 | AS Roma | 56 |
| 4 | Palermo | 47 |
| 5 | Sampdoria | 47 |
AC Milan missed the chance to go to the top of the Serie A tabe after a 1-1 draw with 7th-placed Napoli at the San Siro on Sunday. Earlier in the weekend, Inter were held to a 1-1 draw by 4th-placed Palermo, so the big movers this weekend were AS Roma who crushed Udinese 4-2 with Mirko Vucinic hitting a hat-trick.
Palermo home draw with Internazionale leaves the door ajar in the battle for the Champions League spots, but Sampdoria’s 1-0 victory over Juventus means the Genoa-club are on the climb. Fiorentina made it back-to-back wins with a 3-0 thumping of Genoa to move into ninth.
Down at the foot of the table, battlers Lazio, Atalanta Bergamo and Siena all recorded victories against Cagliari, Livorno and Bologna respectively. Livorno, who have won just once this year, are now rock bottom in Serie A.
Spanish La Liga
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 68 |
| 2 | FC Barcelona | 68 |
| 3 | Valencia | 50 |
| 4 | Real Mallorca | 46 |
| 5 | FC Sevilla | 44 |
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi continued his freescoring with a stunning hat-trick in his side’s 4-2 triumph at Real Zaragoza on Sunday, but Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Sporting Gijon on Saturday means Barca simply stay in touch with the leaders.
Elsewhere, Valencia kept up their charge for third spot with a 2-0 win over Almeria, while Mallorca return to the fourth and final Champions League spot with another triumphant home performance, 4-1 over Atletico Madrid. Sevilla, who crashed out of the ECL midweek, slip out to fifth after a loss at Espanyol, which means they’ve not won in four in La Liga.
In the relegation zone, Valladolid stunned Champions League-chasing Deportivo Coruna with a 2-0 win at the Riazor. Tenerife’s survival hopes took a hit after a 2-1 loss to bottom-club Xerez, while Espanyol, Malaga and Racing Santander all claimed important victories.
German Bundesliga
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 56 |
| 2 | Schalke 04 | 55 |
| 3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 53 |
| 4 | Borussia Dortmund | 48 |
| 5 | Werder Bremen | 45 |
It was another strange old weekend in Germany, after Bayern incredibly conceded twice late to lose 2-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. But second-placed Schalke 04 couldn’t capitalise on Sunday, with a 2-2 draw at Hamburg SV halting their ascent to the summit.
Elsewhere, a Lucas Barrios inspired Dortmund routed third-placed Leverkusen 3-0, in what now looms as a potential battle for the third and final Champions League spot. Don’t count out Werder Bremen either, who defeated VfL Bochum 3-2 to move into fifth about HSV.
Down the wrong end, Hertha BSC produced a stunning 5-1 thumping of an in-form VfL Wolfsburg to move within five points of safety with Theofanis Gekas hitting a hat-trick. Second-last SC Freiburg also won while 15th-placed Nurnberg continue to accumulate points after a draw with Hoffenheim.
Random League: Turkish Super Lig
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bursaspor | 55 |
| 2 | Galatasaray | 53 |
| 3 | Fenerbahce | 52 |
| 4 | Besiktas | 52 |
| 5 | Trabzonspor | 46 |
Turkish giants Galatasaray stumbled to a 1-0 loss at Trabzonspor on Sunday to offer unheralded Bursaspor an opportunity to really cement their hold on top spot in the Super Lig. Bursaspor host relegation-candidates Denizlispor on Monday night and could extend their lead to five points.
Around them Istanbul giants Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas just can’t seem to get going. Besiktas were held to a 2-2 draw by Kasimpasa while Fener edged past Gaziantepspor courtesy of Daniel Guiza’s strike.