Spanish La Liga
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 52 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 48 |
| 3 | Villarreal | 39 |
| 4 | Valencia | 37 |
| 5 | Espanyol | 34 |
Barcelona were at their devastating best in the first-half against Malaga, going 3-0 up before easing off the gas and finishing up 4-1 winners. David Villa scored a double, while Lionel Messi caused havoc.
The big news, though, was Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw at struggling Almeria, where they needed to come from behind through Esteban Granero before Cristiano Ronaldo hit the woodwork with a late free-kick. The result opens up a four-point gap at the top.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Real Zaragoza | 16 |
| 19 | Levante | 15 |
| 20 | Almeria | 14 |
It was a good weekend for Gijon who moved out of the bottom three with a 2-0 win over Hercules, while Real Zaragoza’s 1-0 victory over Levante shuffled the pack. The result means Levante has lost four games in a row and are now deep in the relegation battle. Almeria may have claimed a draw against Real Madrid this weekend but they drop to last.
English Premier League
Manchester City went top of the Premiership for the first time in a long time on Saturday night after their Carlos Tevez-inspired 4-3 win over Wolverhampton. Edin Dzeko made a decent debut for the Sky Blues too. But Manchester United returned to the summit on Sunday evening after a goalless draw at Tottenham.
Arsenal closed in on the Red Devils with a 3-0 victory at struggling West Ham United with Robin van Persie scoring two goals in his best display since injury. Chelsea also found form with a 2-0 triumph over Blackburn Rovers.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Wigan Athletic | 22 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton | 21 |
| 20 | West Ham United | 20 |
The talking point down the bottom of the table is the future of Hammers boss Avram Grant, as he’s expected to be dismissed in favour of former Villa boss Martin O’Neill. West Ham’s 3-0 loss to Arsenal hasn’t helped his case. Of the strugglers, West Brom got a crucial win to move them up to 14th, 3-2 over Blackpool thanks to Peter Odemwingie’s double.
Italian Serie A
AC Milan’s recent dip in form continued after they conceded an 82nd-minute goal to Ruben Olivera to draw 1-1 away to Lecce on Sunday evening. The result allowed the chasing pack to close the gap, but second-placed Napoli didn’t capitalise after a 0-0 home draw with Fiorentina, with in-form Edinson Cavani goalless this weekend.
But beyond Napoli the chasing pack were all in winning form, with Lazio defeating Sampdoria 1-0, Roma winning 1-0 at Cesena, Juventus beating Bari 2-1 and champions Inter Milan making it three on the trot with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Bologna.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Lecce | 19 |
| 19 | Brescia | 18 |
| 20 | Bari | 14 |
Lecce’s late draw with Milan enhances their hopes of survival but Brescia are well and truly alive after an important 2-0 win over Parma. Bari’s loss at Juventus means they fall further behind.
German Bundesliga
Leaders Dortmund resumed after the winter break in wonderful form with a 3-1 win at fourth-placed Leverkusen, thanks to a double from Kevin Grosskreutz and another from another youngster in Mario Goetze. Meanwhile Hannover 96 moved into second after a 3-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Champions Bayern Munich were to a 1-1 draw by VfL Wolfsburg, leaving the Bavarians 16 points behind the leaders. To make matters worse, Franck Ribery was injured in the clash but scans revealed the knee injury would only see him miss two weeks which is better than first expected.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | FC Koln | 16 |
| 17 | VfB Stuttgart | 15 |
| 18 | Moenchengladbach | 13 |
It was a fantastic weekend for the strugglers in Germany, with Bruno Labbadia’s Stuttgart stunning Mainz 1-0 while Moenchengladbach won 1-0 at 12th-placed Nurnberg. Giants Werder Bremen eased their relegation worries with a 2-1 win over Hoffenheim with skipper Torsten Frings scoring a superb late free-kick.
Random League: French Ligue 1
It is as you were at the top in France with all top seven clubs winning this weekend. Lille’s 2-0 win at Nice is a commendable result on the road and keeps them top of the tree. Lyon showed they will be a title threat with a 3-0 rout of Lorient, while Marseille finally got back on the winners’ list with a 2-1 victory over Bordeaux on Sunday.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Monaco | 20 |
| 19 | Lens | 19 |
| 20 | Arles | 8 |
Monaco’s 1-1 draw at Auxerre was bad news for the club from the principality who slipped into the bottom three as a result. They should’ve seen it coming, though, as Monaco have now drawn 11 matches out of 20 this season while 14th-placed Auxerre have drawn 12 of 20. Caen’s 3-1 win at Brest took them out of the bottom three, while Lens boosted their survival hopes with a 2-1 win over Saint-Etienne.