AC Milan were crowned champions in Italy for the first time since 2004, while the picture become much clearer in England and Spain along with some interesting developments in Belgium.
Italian Serie A
Weekend Results Saturday; AS Roma 0 AC Milan 0, Palermo 2 Bari 1. Sunday; Brescia 1 Catania 2, Cagliari 0 Cesena 2, Udinese 2 Lazio 1, Bologna 0 Parma 0, Internazionale 3 Fiorentina 1, Lecce 2 Napoli 1, Genoa 2 Sampdoria. Monday; Juventus v Chievo
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AC Milan | 78 |
| 2 | Internazionale | 72 |
| 3 | Napoli | 68 |
| 4 | Udinese | 62 |
| 5 | AS Roma | 60 |
AC Milan are Italian champions after their goalless draw with AS Roma on Saturday, gave them an unassailable lead from nearest challengers Inter Milan due to their superior head-to-head record. The race for the fourth and final UEFA Champions League spot is hot, after Antonio Di Natale’s double fired Udinese to a 2-1 win over Lazio but Mauro Zarate will rue his missed spotkick.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Cesena | 40 |
| 17 | Lecce | 38 |
| 18 | Sampdoria | 36 |
| 19 | Brescia | 31 |
| 20 | Bari | 21 |
Brescia were relegated after their 2-1 loss to Catania, while Sampdoria slipped into the bottom three after they lost the Genovese derby 2-1 to arch-rivals Genoa who scored with the final kick of the game. Lecce stunned Napoli 2-1 to move above Sampdoria, while 15th-placed Bologna ended their woeful run of losses with a goalless draw against Parma which has both all but safe.
Topscorers Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) 28 goals, Edinson Cavani (Napoli) 26 goals, Samuel Eto’o (Internazionale) 20 goals, Marco Di Vaio (Bologna) 19 goals, Alessandro Matri (Juventus/Cagliari) 18 goals
English Premier League
| Pos | Team | Pts | Pl |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 76 | 36 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 70 | 36 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 67 | 36 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 62 | 35 |
| 5 | Tottenham | 56 | 36 |
Manchester United are all but English champions after their 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday, with first-half goals from Javier Hernandez and Nemanja Vidic doing the trick. Elsewhere, Arsenal’s season petered out after a 3-1 loss at Stoke City, while Tottenham missed the chance to strengthen their grip on a European place after needing a late goal to draw 1-1 at home with Blackpool.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Birmingham City | 39 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton | 37 |
| 18 | Blackpool | 36 |
| 19 | Wigan | 36 |
| 20 | West Ham | 33 |
Wolverhampton were the big winners of the weekend down the bottom after a 3-1 win over West Bromwich, with Steven Fletcher netting a double, taking them out of the drop zone. West Ham’s 1-1 draw with 15th-placed Blackburn appears to have the Hammers heading for the Championship.
Topscorers Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United) 21 goals, Carlos Tevez (Manchester City) 19 goals, Robin van Persie (Arsenal) 16 goals, Darren Bent (Aston Villa/Sunderland) 15 goals, Peter Odemwingie (West Bromwich) 15 goals
German Bundesliga
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 72 |
| 2 | Bayer Leverkusen | 65 |
| 3 | Bayern Munich | 62 |
| 4 | Hannover 96 | 57 |
| 5 | FSV Mainz | 55 |
Bayern Munich sealed their place in next season’s UEFA Champions League in emphatic style with an 8-1 rout of relegated St Pauli. League topscorer Mario Gomez grabbed a hat-trick in the win, as fourth-placed Hannover 96 lost 2-1 at Stuttgart to fall out of the race for third.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Schalke 04 | 40 |
| 15 | VfL Wolfsburg | 35 |
| 16 | Moenchengladbach | 35 |
| 17 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 34 |
| 18 | St Pauli | 29 |
There’s plenty happening down the bottom in Germany, with Moenchengladbach’s moving into the relegation playoff position after a 2-0 win over SC Freiburg thanks to two late goals. Eintracht Frankfurt are precariously placed after their 2-0 home loss to FC Koln left them in the drop zone. St Pauli’s loss to Bayern sees them relegated.
Next weekend is the final round of the season, where Wolfsburg go to Hoffenheim, Moenchengladbach go to Hamburg and Eintracht Frankfurt are away to champions Dortmund.
Topscorers Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) 27 goals, Papiss Demba Cisse (SC Freiburg) 22 goals, Theofanis Gekas (Eintracht Frankfurt) 16 goals, Milovoje Novakovic (FC Koln) 16 goals, Srdjan Lakic (Kaiserslautern) 15 goals
Spanish La Liga
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 91 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 83 |
| 3 | Valencia | 66 |
| 4 | Villarreal | 61 |
| 5 | Athletic Bilbao | 54 |
Barcelona aren’t champions yet but with three games to play it’s all but sealed after a 2-0 win over Catalan rivals Espanyol on Sunday. Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique got the goals, while Real Madrid kept their remote hopes alive with a 6-2 win over Sevilla, with Cristiano Ronaldo firing in four goals. Valencia’s win over Sociedad confirms their Champions League place.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Getafe | 40 |
| 17 | Real Zaragoza | 39 |
| 18 | Deportivo Coruna | 39 |
| 19 | Hercules | 33 |
| 20 | Almeria | 26 |
There were some major results in the relegation mire in Spain, but after Hercules’ loss at home to Santander it appears they are heading down alongside Almeria. Santander, Malaga and Getafe all claimed crucial wins, but Osasuna’s 3-1 win at Zaragoza was arguably the biggest result in a true relegation six-pointer.
Topscorers Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 33 goals, Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 31 goals, David Villa (Barcelona) 18 goals, Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal) 18 goals, Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid) 17 goals, Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao)
Random League: Belgian Pro League
Things work a bit differently in Belgium, with the top six clubs after the 30-game regular season entering into a Championship playoff. Each of the top six club’s regular season points are halved and rounded up, before they play each other home and away. We’re seven games into the 10 game Championship playoff.
And on the weekend Genk moved a giant step closer to clinching the title after a 1-0 win over Anderlecht, who were top after the regular season. The league’s topscorer, Jelle Vossen, scored the winner. Standard Liege are Genk’s biggest challenger after their recent purple patch of form. Standard finished the regular season in sixth, but have claimed 19 points from a possible 21 in the playoffs.