Italy’s Serie A provided the drama this weekend with a big Milan derby, while Manchester United and Real Madrid claimed important wins in England and Spain.
Italian Serie A
Weekend Results, Saturday; Catania-AS Roma (suspended), Sunday; Lazio 2 Atalanta 0, Cesena 3 Novara 1, Chievo Verona 1 Palermo 0, Fiorentina 0 Lecce 1, Genoa 3 Udinese 2, Juventus 1 Cagliari 1, Parma 3 Siena 1, AC Milan 0 Inter Milan 1, Monday; Napoli v Bologna
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juventus | 38 |
| 2 | AC Milan | 37 |
| 3 | Udinese | 35 |
| 4 | Lazio | 33 |
| 5 | Internazionale | 32 |
It was a dramatic weekend in Serie A, with leaders AC Milan going down in the derby 1-0 to Claudio Ranieri’s resurgent Inter Milan thanks to Diego Milito’s winner. Juventus moved into top spot despite an underwhelming 1-1 home draw with Cagliari, while Udinese missed out going down 3-2 at Genoa. Lazio closed the gap on the leaders too, with a 2-0 win over Atalanta.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Bologna | 18 |
| 17 | Siena | 18 |
| 18 | Cesena | 15 |
| 19 | Lecce | 12 |
| 20 | Novara | 12 |
Struggling Cesena claimed a crucial 3-1 victory over lowly Novara with Adrian Mutu staring with a double. Lecce also secured an important three points, winning 1-0 at Fiorentina with David Di Michele netting the winner from the spot. Siena’s 3-1 loss at Parma leaves them in danger, while the victors are up 12th.
Topscorers, Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) 13 goals, German Denis (Atalanta) 12 goals, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan) 12 goals, Edinson Cavani (Napoli) 10 goals, Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina) 9 goals, Miroslav Klose (Lazio) 9 goals
English Premier League
Weekend Results, Saturday; Aston Villa 1 Everton 1, Blackburn 3 Fulham 1, Chelsea 1 Sunderland 0, Liverpool 0 Stoke City 0, Manchester United 3 Bolton 0, Tottenham 1 Wolverhampton 1, West Bromwich 1 Norwich City 2, Sunday; Newcastle 1 QPR 0, Swansea City 3 Arsenal 2, Monday; Wigan v Manchester City
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 48 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 48 |
| 3 | Tottenham | 46 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 40 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 36 |
With Manchester City not in action until Monday, Manchester United drew level on points with the Sky Blues after a comfortable 3-0 win over lowly Bolton with Paul Scholes on the scoresheet in his league comeback. Tottenham slipped two points off the pace after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton, while Arsenal slipped in the race for Uefa Champions League football, losing 3-2 at Swansea.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Wolverhampton | 18 |
| 17 | Blackburn | 17 |
| 18 | QPR | 17 |
| 19 | Bolton | 16 |
| 20 | Wigan | 15 |
Blackburn moved out of the bottom three with their 3-1 win over Fulham despite being down to 10 men for the most of the game. QPR had a losing start under new boss Mark Hughes, going down 1-0 at Newcastle, while Wolverhampton’s point at Tottenham was a very handy one.
Topscorers, Robin van Persie (Arsenal) 18 goals, Demba Ba (Newcastle) 15 goals, Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) 14 goals, Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 13 goals, Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Blackburn) 12 goals
Spanish La Liga
Weekend Results, Saturday; Real Zaragoza 1 Getafe 1, Granada 1 Rayo Vallecano 2, Sevilla 0 Espanyol 0, Real Mallorca 1 Real Madrid 2, Valencia 0 Real Sociedad 1, Sunday; Atletico Madrid 3 Villarreal 0, Osasuna 0 Racing Santander 2, Athletic Bilbao 3 Levante 0, Sporting Gijon 2 Malaga 1, Barcelona 4 Real Betis 2
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 46 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 41 |
| 3 | Valencia | 34 |
| 4 | Levante | 30 |
| 5 | Athletic Bilbao | 26 |
Jose Callejon’s late goal earned leaders Real Madrid a hard-fought come-from-behind 2-1 win at Real Mallorca on Saturday, but Barcelona kept the pressure up with Lionel Messi netting a brace in their 4-2 triumph over Real Betis on Sunday. Barca had blown a two-goal lead before grabbing two late goals to decide the contest. Meanwhile, Valencia slipped up to Real Sociedad leaving them well behind the top two having won just once in their past four games.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Real Mallorca | 19 |
| 17 | Granada | 19 |
| 18 | Sporting Gijon | 18 |
| 19 | Villarreal | 16 |
| 20 | Real Zaragoza | 11 |
Real Sociedad’s shock 1-0 victory at Valencia moves them up to 14th, while Racing Santander also celebrated an important win, 2-0 at Osasuna moving them up to 15th. Real Zaragoza snapped their poor run of defeats with a 1-1 home draw with Getafe, while Villarreal’s woes worsened after a comprehensive 3-0 loss at Atletico Madrid.
Topscorers, Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 21 goals, Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) 19 goals, Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid) 14 goals, Roberto Soldado (Valencia) 11 goals, Radomel Falcao (Atletico Madrid) 11 goals