English Premier League
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 61 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 60 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 58 |
| 4 | Tottenham | 49 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 49 |
While Manchester United were busy winning the Carling Cup this weekend, Premier League leaders Chelsea blew the chance to extend their title advantage after a stunning 4-2 home loss to fifth-placed Manchester City. Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti believes it was just an off-day. For City, it helps their push for fourth spot.
Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, who have a good run home, scored twice late to defeat Stoke City 3-1 and considering they are just three points behind Chelsea, they are in the hunt. Spurs and Liverpool recorded wins to stay in the race for the final Champions League spot.
Down the wrong end, Burnley’s home loss to troubled Portsmouth was a major blow for the Clarets who are second last, while Bolton’s 1-0 win over Wolverhampton is a major result in the relegation mire. Meanwhile, Sunderland’s 0-0 draw with Fulham means they haven’t won in 14 league matches and are on a worrying slide.
Italian Serie A
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inter Milan | 58 |
| 2 | AC Milan | 54 |
| 3 | AS Roma | 51 |
| 4 | Palermo | 43 |
| 5 | Juventus | 41 |
Jose Mourinho will breathe a big sigh of relief after Inter Milan won a five-goal thriller against Udinese to end a three-match streak of draws and restore their grasp on top spot. But AC Milan’s 3-1 win over Atalanta means they’re back in form with four on the trot.
AS Roma blew a two-goal lead and conceded a late penalty to draw 2-2 with Napoli. The Romans, who’ve been in such good form, now slip off the pace. While the race for fourth spot remains thrilling with Palermo’s 2-0 win at Juventus giving them the advantage.
In the relegation battle, bottom-club Siena made it 7 points out of a possible 9 with a 2-1 win at Livorno. Parma bucked their downward trend with a win over Sampdoria, while struggling Lazio blew their chance to get away from the drop zone conceding late to draw 1-1 with Fiorentina.
German Bundesliga
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 52 |
| 2 | Bayer Leverkusen | 50 |
| 3 | Schalke 04 | 48 |
| 4 | Hamburg SV | 40 |
| 5 | Borussia Dortmund | 39 |
Bayern boss Louis van Gaal said after this weekend: “Were I to have to bet now, then I would put my money on Bayern winning the league.” Indeed, after Leverkusen failed to beat FC Koln, Bayern moved into top spot with a 1-0 win over Hamburg SV.
Felix Magath’s Schalke 04 remain in the hunt after their 2-1 derby win over Dortmund, who are being pressured by sixth-placed Bremen who won 2-1 at Mainz. And Christian Gross’ revolution at VfB Stuttgart continued with their seventh win in eight, 2-1 over Frankfurt, moving them into 8th.
In the battle to avoid the drop, 15th Freiburg and 16th Nurnberg both managed draws, while there’s plenty to worry about for bottom two Hannover 96 and Hertha BSC, who lost again this weekend. Hannover, who haven’t won since October, have lost their last nine and look doomed.
Spanish La Liga
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 61 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 59 |
| 3 | Valencia | 46 |
| 4 | FC Sevilla | 43 |
| 5 | Real Mallorca | 40 |
It was business as usual for Spain’s top two as FC Barcelona won 2-1 over Malaga, while Real Madrid were on fire winning 5-1 at Tenerife with Gonzalo Higuain grabbing a double. Higuain has really exploded this season.
Beyond the title race, third-placed Valencia were reduced to nine-men and thumped 4-1 by a revived Atletico Madrid, but Sevilla couldn’t gain much ground on them drawing 0-0 with Bilbao. Mallorca claimed a rare away win at Valladolid to stay in the mix. Midtable Villarreal’s 1-0 win over injury-hit Deportivo Coruna hints at a late revival and a possible European charge.
Down the wrong end, Zaragoza’s surprising 2-0 victory at Getafe helps them move away from the drop zone but Santander’s 2-0 home loss to Almeria, Racing’s third in a row, is a problem. But Valladolid and Tenerife’s losses entrench them in the bottom three.
Random League: Turkish Super Lig
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galatasaray | 50 |
| 2 | Bursaspor | 46 |
| 3 | Fenerbahce | 45 |
| 4 | Kayserispor | 42 |
| 5 | Besiktas | 42 |
Arda Turan and Abdulkader Keita inspired leaders Galatasaray to a 4-1 win over Kasimpasa in Istanbul on Sunday, while their rivals Fenerbahce slipped off the pace with their second consecutive loss.
Bahce’s 2-1 loss at Istanbul Buyuksehir was quite stunning, with Fener’s gun Alex seeing red. The pressure is now on Fenerbahce’s German boss Christoph Daum. Into second now is upstarts Bursaspor, who thrashed Sivasspor 3-0. Meanwhile champions Besiktas won 2-1 at 4th Kayserispor to stay in the hunt.
In the battle to avoid the drop, 17th Denizlispor claimed another 3 points with their Ankaraspor 3-point gift coming around to continue their revival. That’s a worry for Diyarbakirspor who slip into the drop zone after losing to Manisaspor, while last season’s runners-up Sivasspor continue to struggle.