It was a huge weekend as Barcelona won El Clasico but boss Pep Guardiola insists titles aren’t won in December, but that result will go a long way towards it.
Spanish La Liga
Weekend Results, Saturday; Real Madrid 1 Barcelona 3, Real Betis 2 Valencia 1, Levante 1 Sevilla 0, Sunday; Espanyol 4 Atletico Madrid 2, Athletic Bilbao 1 Racing Santander 1, Real Zaragoza 0 Real Mallorca 1, Malaga 1 Osasuna 1, Villarreal 1 Real Sociedad 1, Getafe 1 Granada 0, Rayo Vallecano 1 Sporting Gijon 3
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 37 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 37 |
| 3 | Valencia | 30 |
| 4 | Levante | 29 |
| 5 | Sevilla | 24 |
In the most eagerly anticipated contest of the European season, Barcelona conquered Real Madrid 3-1 in El Clasico, despite the hosts going ahead in the first minute. Pep Guardiola’s side responded to that setback, with Alexis Sanchez, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas all scoring, while Cristiano Ronaldo had a horror evening in front of goal. Meanwhile, Valencia missed the chance to make ground on the leaders, losing at Betis.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Rayo Vallecano | 16 |
| 17 | Villarreal | 15 |
| 18 | Sporting Gijon | 15 |
| 19 | Racing Santander | 13 |
| 20 | Real Zaragoza | 10 |
Sporting Gijon claimed an important 3-1 victory at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday with Nacho Novo hitting a double which helps them move towards getting out of the bottom three. Meanwhile, the beleaguered Javier Aguirre had more pressure heaped on him after Real Zaragoza slumped to a dismal 1-0 home loss to Real Mallorca.
Topscorers, Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 17 goals, Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) 17 goals, Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid) 12 goals, Roberto Soldado (Valencia) 9 goals
English Premier League
Weekend Results, Saturday; Arsenal 1 Everton 0, Bolton 1 Aston Villa 2, Liverpool 1 QPR 0, Manchester United 4 Wolverhampton 1, Norwich City 4 Newcastle 2, Swansea City 2 Fulham 0, West Bromwich 1 Wigan 2, Sunday; Sunderland 2 Blackburn 1, Stoke City 2 Tottenham 1, Monday; Chelsea v Manchester City
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 38 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 36 |
| 3 | Tottenham | 31 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 29 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 28 |
Manchester United were the big winners of the weekend, with their 4-1 triumph over Wolverhampton, with Nani and Wayne Rooney grabbing doubles, showing they’re returning to form. Manchester City don’t play until Monday at Chelsea, while third-placed Tottenham lost ground on the top two after their controversial 2-1 loss at Stoke City.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Sunderland | 14 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton | 14 |
| 18 | Wigan | 12 |
| 19 | Blackburn | 10 |
| 20 | Bolton | 9 |
Sunderland came from behind to complete a marvellous 2-1 win over fellow battlers Blackburn in Martin O’Neill’s first game in charge. Wigan’s 2-1 win at West Bromwich pushed them to the brink of safety, while Bolton’s woes continued with a 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa which sent them to their 12th loss of the season already.
Topscorers, Robin van Persie (Arsenal) 15 goals, Demba Ba (Newcastle) 11 goals, Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) 11 goals, Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 11 goals, Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) 10 goals
Italian Serie A
Weekend Results, Saturday; Palermo 0 Cesena 1, Inter Milan 2 Fiorentina 0, Siena 0 Genoa 2, Lecce 2 Lazio 3, Sunday; Novara 1 Napoli 1, Udinese 2 Chievo Verona 1, Cagliari 0 Parma 0, Bologna 2 AC Milan 2, Atalanta 1 Catania 1, Monday; AS Roma v Juventus
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Udinese | 30 |
| 2 | Juventus | 28 |
| 3 | AC Milan | 28 |
| 4 | Lazio | 28 |
| 5 | Napoli | 21 |
It seems the Scudetto race is turning into a four-way battle with a significant gap opening up. Udinese’s 2-1 win over a poor Chievo Verona – where Antonio Di Natale scored again - sees them go top. AC Milan dropped points when they could only draw 2-2 away to a resurgent Bologna, while Lazio’s 3-2 win at Lecce boosts their title hopes. Juventus and 11th-placed AS Roma face off on Monday.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Bologna | 15 |
| 17 | Siena | 14 |
| 18 | Cesena | 12 |
| 19 | Novara | 11 |
| 20 | Lecce | 8 |
Bologna’s 2-2 draw with AC Milan moves them up to 16th, with Marco Di Vaio scoring the opener before they fell behind only for Alessandro Diamanti to grab a point. Cesena claimed a massive win for their season, 1-0 at Palermo in a huge shock result which ended the Sicilian club’s 100 per cent home record thanks to Adrian Mutu’s strike. Meanwhile, life for Lecce post Eusebio Di Francesco isn’t much better, as they lost 3-2 to Lazio.
Topscorers, German Denis (Atalanta) 10 goals, Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) 9 goals, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan) 8 goals, Miroslav Klose (Lazio) 8 goals, Sebastian Giovinco (Parma) 7 goals, Edinson Cavani (Napoli) 7 goals
German Bundesliga
Weekend Results, Friday; Hertha Berlin 1 Schalke 04 2, Saturday; FC Augsburg 1 Moenchengladbach 0, FSV Mainz 0 Hamburg SV 0, FC Koln 4 SC Freiburg 0, FC Nurnberg 0 Hoffenheim 2, Werder Bremen 4 VfL Wolfsburg 1, Hannover 96 0 Bayer Leverkusen 0, Sunday; Borussia Dortmund 1 Kaiserslautern 1, VfB Stuttgart 1 Bayern Munich 2
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 34 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 31 |
| 3 | Schalke 04 | 31 |
| 4 | Moenchengladbach | 30 |
| 5 | Werder Bremen | 29 |
Bayern Munich moved three points clear at the summit after Sunday’s 2-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart with ex-Swabian striker Mario Gomez bagging the vital brace. Borussia Dortmund slipped to a 1-1 draw with Kaiserslautern at home, while Moenchengladbach went down at struggling Augsburg. Wins for Schalke and Werder Bremen kept them well and truly in the race.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | VfL Wolfsburg | 17 |
| 15 | Kaiserslautern | 15 |
| 16 | FC Nurnberg | 15 |
| 17 | FC Augsburg | 14 |
| 18 | SC Freiburg | 13 |
SC Freiburg dropped down to last on the table after their 4-0 loss at FC Koln, while newly-promoted Augsburg celebrated moving out of the cellar thanks to their surprise 1-0 home vicotry over Moenchengladbach. Nurnberg and Wolfsburg continue to have problems, both suffering disappointing defeats over the weekend.
Topscorers, Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) 15 goals, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04) 14 goals, Lukas Podolski (FC Koln) 13 goals, Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen) 12 goals