English Premier League
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 19 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 17 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 14 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 14 |
| 5 | Tottenham | 14 |
Manchester City recorded their fourth consecutive win to move within two points of leaders Chelsea after the champions could only draw 0-0 at Gerard Houllier’s Aston Villa. The big story, though, was Manchester United throwing away a two-goal lead, with Edwin van der Sar making a howler, as they drew 2-2 with West Brom.
Everton defeated Merseyside rivals Liverpool 2-0 on Sunday, to condemn the Reds to 19th place. It’s been a disaster of a season for Roy Hodgson and now it’s only got worse after an average performance. Below them is West Ham who drew 1-1 at Wolverhampton in an early relegation battle.
Spanish La Liga
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 17 |
| 2 | FC Barcelona | 16 |
| 3 | Valencia | 16 |
| 4 | Villarreal | 15 |
| 5 | Atletico Madrid | 13 |
Xavi may have inspired Barcelona to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Valencia, but it was Real Madrid who moved into top spot at Los Che’s expense following a 4-1 trouncing of Malaga. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain got a double each, while Mesut Ozil was instrumental in a good Real performance.
Elsewhere, Sevilla’s struggles continued following a 2-0 loss at Gijon, while way down the wrong end 19th-placed Deportivo Coruna> ended a three-match losing streak with a 0-0 draw against Osasuna.
Italian Serie A
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lazio | 16 |
| 2 | AC Milan | 14 |
| 3 | Internazionale | 14 |
| 4 | Napoli | 12 |
| 5 | Juventus | 11 |
Lazio continued their surprising start to the campaign with a 2-0 away win at Bari in Sunday’s late kick-off to remain top in Italy. Juventus made a statement with a 4-0 thrashing of Lecce which moved the Old Lady into fifth spot. Meanwhile, Inter and Milan both recorded wins.
Meanwhile, AS Roma continued their revival moving up to 13th with a 2-1 win over Genoa, while Fiorentina slipped into bottom spot after a 2-1 loss at Sampdoria. Marco Marchionni had given Fiorentina the lead, but they let it slip and now are under plenty of pressure.
German Bundesliga
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 21 |
| 2 | FSV Mainz | 21 |
| 3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 15 |
| 4 | Hoffenheim | 14 |
| 5 | Hamburg SV | 14 |
Jose Paolo Guerrero’s late goal ended FSV Mainz’s unbelievable start to the Bundesliga and handed fifth-placed Hamburg SV an excellent 1-0 away win. Dortmund replace Mainz at the top after their dramatic last-gasp 2-1 victory over FC Koln on Friday night when Nuri Sahin scored at the death.
There was also some useful wins for two German giants struggling down the table as Mario Gomez hit a hat-trick to help Bayern Munich defeat Hannover 96 3-0, while Werder Bremen edged SC Freiburg 2-1. Schalke 04 and VfB Stuttgart remain in the bottom three after they played out a 2-2 draw.
Random League: Turkish Super Lig
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bursaspor | 20 |
| 2 | Trabzonspor | 17 |
| 3 | Kayserispor | 17 |
| 4 | Karabukspor | 14 |
| 5 | Antalyaspor | 14 |
It seems there’s a changing of the guard in Turkey these days with the traditional Istanbul three struggling outside the top five early on, after Bursaspor claimed the title last term. Bursaspor are again leading the pack but they’ve drawn their past two matches after their 2-2 result with Karabukspor on Saturday.
Trabzonspor marked their credentials with a 7-0 trouncing of Kasimpasa. Besiktas and Galatasaray both lost their second consecutive game on the weekend, Besiktas 3-2 at home to Manisaspor, while Cimbom went down 4-2 at home to Ankaragucu. Sixth-placed Fenerbahce play Konyaspor on Monday night.