Real Madrid moved further clear in Spain’s La Liga as Barcelona dropped more points, while it’s tight at the top in Italy and Germany.
Spanish La Liga
Weekend Results, Saturday; Espanyol 1 Real Mallorca 0, Rayo Vallecano 2 Athletic Bilbao 3, Real Madrid 3 Real Zaragoza 1, Villarreal 0 Barcelona 0, Sunday; Real Betis 0 Granada 0, Levante 1 Getafe 2, Real Sociedad 5 Sporting Gijon 1, Racing Santander 2 Valencia 2, Malaga 2 Sevilla 1, Monday; Osasuna v Atletico Madrid
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 52 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 45 |
| 3 | Valencia | 36 |
| 4 | Levante | 31 |
| 5 | Espanyol | 31 |
Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid moved some seven points ahead in the Spanish title race after a comfortable 3-1 win over struggling bottom club Real Zaragoza, while Barcelona couldn’t find a way through and drew 0-0 with Villarreal. The gap now is a significant one and must have Pep Guardiola very concerned.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Granada | 22 |
| 17 | Racing Santander | 21 |
| 18 | Villarreal | 20 |
| 19 | Sporting Gijon | 18 |
| 20 | Real Zaragoza | 12 |
Granada claimed a huge three points with a 2-1 win at Real Betis thanks to goals from Odion Ighalo and Carlos Martins. Real Sociedad were another struggling side to move well clear of the drop zone after a stunning 5-1 triumph over Sporting Gijon. Villarreal’s home point against champions Barcelona is an expected boost.
Topscorers, Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 24 goals, Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) 22 goals, Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid) 14 goals, Radomel Falcao (Atletico Madrid) 14 goals, Roberto Soldado (Valencia) 12 goals
Italian Serie A
Weekend Results, Saturday; Catania 1 Parma 1, Juventus 2 Udinese 1, Sunday; Fiorentina 2 Siena 1, Cesena 0 Atalanta 1, AS Roma 1 Bologna 1, Lecce 1 Inter Milan 0, Chievo Verona 0 Lazio 3, Genoa 3 Napoli 2, Palermo 2 Novara 0, AC Milan 3 Cagliari 0
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juventus | 44 |
| 2 | AC Milan | 43 |
| 3 | Udinese | 38 |
| 4 | Lazio | 36 |
| 5 | Internazionale | 35 |
Alessandro Matri’s double proved decisive as Juventus claimed an important 2-1 victory over third-placed Udinese which held AC Milan as they won 3-0 over Cagliari on Sunday. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was on the scoresheet again for Milan. Meanwhile, Inter Milan lost 1-0 at Lecce, ending their winning run, allowing Lazio to jump up to fourth after their win over Chievo Verona with Miroslav Klose hitting a late brace.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Bologna | 21 |
| 17 | Siena | 19 |
| 18 | Lecce | 16 |
| 19 | Cesena | 15 |
| 20 | Novara | 12 |
Lecce had goalkeeper Massimiliano Benassi to thank for their stunning win over Inter which moves them closer to safety, while Atalanta snapped their three-game losing streak with an important 1-0 victory at lowly Cesena. Bottom club Novara lost for their fourth game striaght, 2-0 at Palermo.
Topscorers, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan) 15 goals, Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) 14 goals, German Denis (Atalanta) 12 goals, Edinson Cavani (Napoli) 12 goals
German Bundesliga
Weekend Results, Friday; Hannover 96 1 FC Nurnberg 0, Saturday; Borussia Dortmund 3 Hoffenheim 1, Bayern Munich 2 Wolfsburg 0, Werder Bremen 1 Bayer Leverkusen 1, Augsburg 2 Kaiserslautern 2, Hertha BSC 1 Hamburg SV 2, FC Koln 1 Schalke 04 4, Sunday; FSV Mainz 3 SC Freiburg 1, VfB Stuttgart 0 Borussia Moenchengladbach 3
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 40 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 40 |
| 3 | Schalke 04 | 40 |
| 4 | Borussia Moenchengladbach | 39 |
| 5 | Werder Bremen | 31 |
Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben both scored as Bayern Munich held onto top spot with a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg, however Borussia Dortmund, Schalke and Borussia Moenchengladbach are all hot on their heels after recording victories elsewhere. All three recorded impressive wins too, to emphasise this is one tight title race.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | FC Koln | 21 |
| 15 | Hertha BSC | 20 |
| 16 | Kaiserslautern | 18 |
| 17 | FC Augsburg | 16 |
| 18 | SC Freiburg | 16 |
Maxim Choupo-Moting scored an early double as FSV Mainz raced to a three-goal lead inside the opening 20 minutes before knocking off bottom-club SC Freiburg 3-1 on Sunday to move well clear of the drop zone. Hamburg SV also recorded a good 2-1 win at Hertha Berlin, who now slip towards the bottom three.
Topscorers, Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) 17 goals, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Hamburg SV) 16 goals, Lukas Podolski (FC Koln) 15 goals, Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund) 14 goals, Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen) 13 goals
English FA Cup
Fourth Round results,
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 2-1 | Manchester United |
| QPR | 0-1 | Chelsea |
| Watford | 0-1 | Tottenham |
| Everton | 2-1 | Fulham |
| Derby County | 0-2 | Stoke City |
| West Bromwich | 1-2 | Norwich City |
| Bolton | 2-1 | Swansea City |
| Brighton | 1-0 | Newcastle |
| Sunderland | 1-1 | Middlesbrough |
| Arsenal | 3-2 | Aston Villa |
Liverpool dramatically knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup with Dirk Kuyt’s dramatic late strike, while Chelsea got through tot he fifth round after Juan Mata’s controversial penalty earned them a 1-0 win at QPR. Robin van Persie inspired Arsenal to a stunning comeback win over Aston Villa 3-2 at the Emirates, while Brighton shocked Newcastle 1-0.
Fifth Round draw,
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | x-x | Brighton |
| Chelsea | x-x | Birmingham City |
| Everton | x-x | Blackpool/Sheffield Wed |
| Crawley Town | x-x | Stoke City |
| Stevenage | x-x | Tottenham |
| Norwich City | x-x | Leicester City |
| Sunderland/Middlesbrough | x-x | Arsenal |
| Millwall/Southampton | x-x | Bolton |
