England – Premier League.
Manchester United hopes of bouncing back from last weekend’s 4-1 defeat to Liverpool were dashed as Fulham beat the champions 2-0 at Craven Cottage. The reigning champions also had Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes sent off.
Liverpool took full advantage of the slip to close the gap to only one point after they demolished Champions League contenders Aston Villa 5-0 at Anfield. Steven Gerrard scored a hat-trick for Rafa Benitez’s resurgent side. Third-placed Chelsea suffered their first defeat since Guus Hiddink took over, going down 1-0 to Tottenham, with Luka Modric scoring the only goal of the game.
At the bottom of the table West Brom managed to salvage a point coming from behind against fellow strugglers Bolton. Howwver, despite the draw, they remain seven points adrift of safety.
Stoke beat Middlesbrough 1-0 courtesy of a Ryan Shawcross goal six minutes from time – a result that left Gareth Southgate’s rooted in 19th place, while the Potters climbed up to 16th, four clear of the relegation zone.
Newcastle dropped into the bottom three after their 3-1 defeat at home to Arsenal.
Spain – Primera Division.
Barcelona thrashed Malaga 6-0 with Samuel Eto’o netting a brace, to maintain a six-point advantage over Real Madrid, who beat Almeria 3-0, with Dutch striker Klass-Jan Huntelaar also scoring twice.
In third place, Sevilla consolidated their position with a 4-1 win over Valliadolid to leave them nine points behind Real Madrid. Villarreal are pushing for the final Champions League place after a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bibao left them five points clear of Athleico Madrid.
Down at the bottom, a crucial relegation encounter saw 18th-placed Osasuna beat bottom-placed Espanyol 1-0 to provide some daylight between the sides, although Los Rojillos remain a point off safety.
Fellow strugglers Numancia also gained a victory at home to Sporting Gijon even though they played most of the second half with 10, to remain 3 points adrift of Osasuna in 19th.
Italy – Seria A.
Inter have opened up a seven point lead at the top of Serie A after a 3-0 away win against bottom side Reggina. Two goals from in-form striker Zlatan Ibramhimovic and an Esteban Cambiasso goal sealed a win that bolstered Inter’s title prospects but left Reggina six points from safety.
Earlier, second-placed Juventus enjoyed a comfortable 4-1 win over Roma in the Italian capital.
Milan, in 3rd place, drew a blank with Napoli who had recently endured a bad run of form.
Leece grabbed a last minute point from a 2-2 draw against Atalanta, courtesy of a Fabio Caserta penalty at the death. They remain level on 24 points with Torino who lost 3-1 to Sampdoria. Two points ahead lie Bologna who remain precariously perched above the drop zone after they lost to Cagliari.
Germany – Bundesliga
The Bundesliga race is wide open with four teams still in with chance of the title. Leaders Hertha Berlin lost to Stuttgart 2-1 in the Gottlieb-Dalmler Stadium, while second-placed Bayern Munich, beat bottom of the table Karlsruhe 1-0 to close the gap at the top to only one point.
Wolfsburg and Hamburg managed away wins to stay level on points with Bayern and only goal difference now separates the three sides.
Following the defeat to Bayern, Karlsruhe are now seven points away from safety and look certain to go down. Cottbus’ hopes of avoiding the drop suffered a setback after they lost at home to Cologne.
Borussia Monchengladbach suffered a home defeat to Bochum 1-0 – a result which leaves them two points adrift of Arminia Bielefield in 16th place.
French – Ligue 1
Lyon’s 2-0 win over Sochaux on Sunday, courtesy of goals from Ederson and Anthony Mounier saw them regain top spot after being deposed for 24 hours Sochaux’s defeat leaves them hovering above the relegation zone, separated by St-Etienne who lost to Lorien, by goal difference. Marseille had previously led the table for 24 hours after they beat Nantes 2-0.
Bordeaux beat Le Havre 3-0 but remain three points behind the leaders. The defeat to Bordeaux leaves Le Havre struggling at the bottom with 18 points from 29 games and 11 points adrift of safety. Toulouse gained ground on the final Champions League spot after crushing Paris Saint-German 4-1 and are now only a point behind third-placedBordeaux.
Caen remains two points behind St Etienne after an 88th minute equaliser Eric Mouloungul earned both sides a point.
For more fascinating features, subscribe and save 30% and use the below link?
