European Football

[taz]

FT: Novara 1-1 Napoli

Napoli earned a late point away to Novara which leaves Napoli in 5th while Novara slip to 19th 3 points from safety. Napoli had the first real chance 15 minutes in when Goran Pandev could only nod over a Hugo Campagnaro cross. Novara took the lead with 20 to go when Ivan Radovanovic fired home an unstoppable freekick past Morgan De Sanctis. Ezequiel Lavezzi came close to equalising with 10 to go with a 25 yard drive which was blocked by Samir Ujkani. With 5 to go, Marek Hamsik found Blerim Dzemaili to fire home the equaliser past Ujkani.

[taz]

FT: RKC Waalwijk 0-1 Ajax

Ajax bounced back from their Champions League exit with a narrow victory at Waalwijk. The winning goal came minutes before the break when a Christian Eriksen cross was diverted in for an own goal by Guy Ramos. With 25 to go, Ajax were awarded a penalty Sigourney Bandjar was shown a straight red for a reckless challenge on Davy Klaasen. However, Jeroen Zoet dived the right way to save the spot kick from Miralem Sulejmani.

[taz]

FT: Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Racing Santander

Racing scored a vital late goal to earn a crucial point at San Mames. Markel Susaeta should have opened the scoring for Athletic 5 minutes into the 2nd half but he fired over from close range. With 10 to go, they did take the lead when Jon Aurtenetxe headed home a Gaizka Toquero cross. In injury time, Papa Diop sent over a cross which Alvaro headed past Gorka Iraizoz to snatch the point.

[taz]

FT: Espanyol 4-2 Atletico Madrid

Espanyol ended a 5 game winless run with a dominant display against Atletico Madrid. Espanyol move upto 8th with the victory while Atleti slip to 10th. Joan Verdu opened the scoring 5 minutes in with a 30 yard drive that beat Thibaut Courtois. 2 minutes later, Verdu again raced into the box and unleashed another low drive paat Courtois for 2-0. On 20 minutes, good interplay from Romaric and Sergio Garcia resulted in Sergio Garcia playing the ball back for Romaric to drive the ball into the net from 12 yards for 3-0. Radamel Falcao did get on the scoresheet just past the half hour when he headed a Eduardo Salvio cross past Cristian Alvarez. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Sergio Garcia made his way past a couple of Atleti challenges to poke the ball through Courtois' legs for 4-1. Cristian went close with 25 to go but was denied by a superb save from Courtiois. Atleti did score a 2nd with 10 to go with a superb volley from Arda Turan.

Matchday 16 of 38

Saturday 10 December

Levante 1-0 Sevilla
Real Betis 2-1 Valencia
Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona

Sunday 11 December

Rayo Vallecano 1-3 Sporting Gijon
Getafe 1-0 Granada
Villarreal 1-1 Real Sociedad
Real Zaragoza 0-1 Real Mallorca
Malaga 1-1 Osasuna
Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Racing Santander
Espanyol 4-2 Atletico Madrid

[taz]

FT: Lorient 0-1 Lyon

Lyon made it four straight wins in Ligue 1 with victory at Lorient who were undefeated at home until today. The deadlock should have been broken half hour in when Yoann Gorucuff whipped in a freekick for the unmarked Dejan Lovren but he could only head wide. The winning goal came 10 minutes into the 2nd half with a quick counter which resulted in Alexandre Lacazette pciking out Bafetimbi Gomis, the Lorient defence made a hash of the clearance which allowed Lacazette to stroke the ball home.

Matchday 17 of 38

Saturday 10 December

Nancy 2-2 Ajaccio
Rennes 1-1 Brest
St Etienne 2-0 Caen
Sochaux 0-1 Paris St Germain
Toulouse 2-1 Evian
Valenciennes 1-0 Montpellier
Marseille 0-0 Bordeaux

Sunday 11 December

Lille 2-0 Dijon
Auxerre 2-1 Nice
Lorient 0-1 Lyon

[taz]

FT: Roma 1-1 Juventus

Gianluigi Buffon saved a second half Francesco Totti penalty to ensure Juve remain undefeated and move back to the top of the table. Roma meanwhile slip to 9th. The deadlock was broken after just 5 minutes. Arturo Vidal failed to clear a Francesco Totti cross which allowed Daniele De Rossi to divert the ball past Buffon. 5 minutes later, Simone Pepe managed to get his head to an Alessandro Matri cross but his header went over. 5 minutes before the break, Vidal picked out Pepe inside the area but his shot lacked power and was no problem for Maarten Stekelenburg. Juventus equalised just past the hour when Giorgio Chiellini nodded a Marcelo Estigarribia cross over Stekelenburg. A minute later, Vidal brought down Erik Lamela for the penalty which Francesco Totti struck with power but centrally allowing Buffon to make the save.

Matchday 15 of 38

Saturday 10 December

Lecce 2-3 Lazio
Siena 0-2 Genoa
Inter 2-0 Fiorentina
Palermo 0-1 Cesena

Sunday 11 December

Atalanta 1-1 Catania
Bologna 2-2 Milan
Cagliari 0-0 Parma
Udinese 2-1 Chievo
Novara 1-1 Napoli

Monday 12 December

Roma 1-1 Juventus

[taz]

FT: Genoa 0-1 Inter

Inter have moved upto 7th after winning their game in hand away at Genoa. The winning goal came midway through the 2nd half when Yuto Nagatomo headed home a Ricky Alvarez cross.

[taz]

FT: Bayern Munich 3-0 Cologne

Bayern Munich have ensured that they will go into the winter break top of the Bundesliga after victory over Cologne despite having Franck Ribery sent off. Ribery was shown a yellow initially just past the half hour after going head to head with Henrique Sereno but seconds later, he then grabbed Sereno by the throat and made contact with his head to then trigger a second yellow and reduce Bayern to 10 men. Mario Gomez opened the scoring 3 minutes into the 2nd half after good work from Thomas Muller resulted in Muller squaring the ball for Gomez to tap the ball home. David Alaba made it 2-0 just past the hour after a corner decieved everyone and found Alaba alone at the backpost to divert the ball home. Alaba turned provider with 2 minutes as he set up Toni Kroos to lift the ball over Michael Rensing for 3-0.

[taz]

FT: Freiburg 1-4 Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund kept the pressure on Bayern Munich at the top with a convincing victory at Freiburg. BVB took the lead 7 minutes after a 1-2 between Shinji Kagawa and Ilkay Gundogan resulted in Kagawa crossing the ball for Robert Lewandowski to tap the ball home. Jan Rosenthal equalised 10 minutes before half time after playing a 1-2 with Anton Putsila and then dispatching the ball through the legs of Roman Weidenfeller. BVB retook the lead on the stroke of half time under controversial circumstances. Rosenthal played the ball back towards the keeper after the linesman had his flag raised but Jakub Blaszczykowski latched onto the ball and played the ball across for Gundogan to finish and the goal stood controversially. BVB made it 3-1 on the hour after a quick counter saw Kagawa play the long ball towards Lewandowski who then duly played the ball in for Kevin Grosskreutz to lash the ball home. with 20 to go, another quick counter saw Kagawa play the long ball towards Grosskreutz who then lifted the ball over for Lewandowski to fire home his 2nd goal of the game.

[taz]

FT: Schalke 5-0 Werder Bremen

Schalke thrashed Werder Bremen to consolidate 3rd place going into the winter break. Raul opened the scoring 15 minutes in after a Klaas Jan Huntelaar header was not held by Tim Wiese and Raul duly converted the loose ball home. Raul made it 2-0 on 2 minutes after he diverted home a Huntelaar pass. Raul completed his hat trick just past the hour when he raced into the box to head home a Christian Fuchs cross. Kyriakos Papadopoulos made it 4-0 5 minutes later after good work from Jose Manuel Jurado. Minutes later, Huntelaar put the icing on the cake to make it 5-0.

[taz]

FT: Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Real Zaragoza

Athletic Bilbao managed to beat Real Zaragoza at San Mames in a match which finished 10 v 10. Markel Susaeta opened the scoring 7 minutes in after he slotted the ball beyond Roberto. On the 20 minute mark, Javi Martinez hauled down Angel Lafita which resulted in Martinez being sent off and Leonardo Ponzio converted the resulting penalty. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Lafita had a stinging shot blocked by Gorka Iraizoz. Real Zaragoza were reduced to 10 men with 20 to go when Maurizio Lanzaro was shown a second yellow and with 3 minutes to go, Oscar De Marcos whipped in a cross for Gaizka Toquero to score the winning goal. The result means Real Zaragoza remain rooted to the bottom of the table while Athletic Bilbao are in mid table.

[taz]

FT: Milan 2-0 Siena

Milan have provisionally moved to the top of the table with victory over Siena. Midway through the opening half, Francesco Bolzoni nearly gave Siena the lead after he flicked the ball past Marco Amelia but the ball shaved the post and wide. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Milan broke the deadlock. A Clarence Seedorf corner was pulled back by Robinho for Antonio Nocerino to drill the ball past Zeljko Brkic. 10 minutes later, Milan were awarded a penalty when Kevin-Prince Boateng fell theatrically under a challenge from Brkic. Zlatan Ibrahimovic stepped up to convert the resulting penalty which condemned Siena to their 4th defeat in a row and leaving the on the brink of the drop zone.

[taz]

FT: Lyon 2-1 Evian

Lyon scored a narrow victory over Evian moving them to within 2 points of Montpellier at the top. Lyon could have took the lead 15 minutes in after an Anthony Reveillere cross found Lisandro Lopez but his diving header was superbly saved by Stephan Andersen. Lyon broke the deadlock 10 minutes before the after an Anthony Lacazette shot rebounde back off the post for Jimmy Briand to comfortably slot the ball home. Yannick Sagbo equalised on the stroke of half time after getting the best of Cris and slotting the ball through the legs of Hugo Lloris. With 20 to go, Jimmy Briand whipped in a cross for Lisandro to nod the winner past Andersen. The final five minutes saw both teams finish with 10 men each. First, Clement Grenier was shown a straight red for a clumsy tackle on Aldo Angoula and in stoppage time, Fabrice Ehret was shown red for a last man challenge on Bafetimbi Gomis.

[taz]

FT: Sevilla 2-6 Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick which ensured Real Madrid move back top of the table with a 3 point buffer after thashing Sevilla at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Ronaldo opened the scoring 10 minutes in after a sublime Angel Di Maria through ball found Ronaldo who sidefooted the ball past Javi Varas. 10 to go before half time, Di Maria floated the ball into the box for Jose Callejon who got a slight touch on the ball to flick it past Varas for 2-0. 5 to go before half time, Ronaldo left fly from 30 yards finding the top corner for 3-0. On the stroke of half time, Real Madrid were reduced to 10 men after Pepe struck Alvaro Negredo in the face and receiving a second yellow. Midway through the 2nd half, Karim Benzema played a brilliant through ball for Di Maria to latch onto and steer the ball past Varas for 4-0. A minute later, Jose Campana squared the ball for Jesus Navas to drill the ball past Iker Casillas for 1-4. However, minutes later, Sevilla were reduced to 10 men when Manu del Moral tripped Alvaro Arbeloa which was a harsh red card. With 5 to go, Federico Fazio brought down Ronaldo in the penalty box and Ronaldo stepped up to convert the penalty to complete his hat trick. With a minute to go, Xabi Alonso squared the ball for Hamit Altintop to slot home hsi first goal of the season and there was still time for Sevilla to get a 2nd goal as Negredo rounded Casillas and slotted the ball into the net from a tight angle.

[forzaitalia]

KEAN OUT !

[taz]

[taz]

FT: Ajax 4-0 ADO Den Haag

Ajax cruised to victory over 10 men ADO Den Haag. 10 minutes into the match and ADO were reduced to 10 men after Ramon Leeuwin was shown a straight red for a two footed challenge on Christian Eriksen. 10 minutes later and Nicolas Lodeiro picked out Eriksen to fire home the opener. 2 minutes into the 2nd half, ADO went close when a Tjaronn Cherry shot brought out a good save from Kenneth Vermeer. Just before the hour mark, Miralem Sulejmani picked out Theo Janssen who duly placed the ball beyond Gino Coutinho for 2-0. With 10 to go, Dmitri Bulykin made it 3-0 before Bulykin set up Sulejmani 5 minutes later to round off the victory.

[taz]

FT: Feyenoord 3-2 Twente

Feyenoord have moved to within 2 points of 3rd placed Twente after beating Twente at De Kuip. Feyenoord took the lead after 8 minutes after good work from Otman Bakkal saw Bakkal cross the ball for John Guidetti to slot the ball home. Ola John spurned a great chance on 20 minutes to equalise for Twente. 5 to go before half time, Guidetti had a header blocked by Nikolay Mihaylov but 2 minutes later, a quick counter saw Guidetti fire home his second of the match. A minute later, Guidetti cut in from the edge of the box and curled a delightful shot past Mihaylov to ensure Feyenoord went into the break 3 goals to the good. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Feyenoord failed to clear their lines which allowed Nacer Chadli to steal in to score for Twente. Midway through the 2nd half, Twente scored again through a superb solo goal from Luuk de Jong but they were unable to find the equaliser.

[taz]

FT: Juventus 2-0 Novara

Juventus returned to the top of Serie A after victory over a Novara side in the drop zone. 4 minutes had passed and Simone Pepe steered home a Paolo De Ceglie cross to open the scoring. With 15 to go, Andrea Pirlo whipped in a freekick for Fabio Quagliarella to fire home a header past Samir Ujkani to make the game safe.

[taz]

FT: Kaiserslautern 1-1 Hannover

10 men Kaiserslautern came from behind to share the spoils with Hannover. Hannover took the lead 15 minutes in after Mathias Abel misread a Sofian Chahed cross which allowed Mohammed Abdellaoue to steal in and fire the ball through the legs of Kevin Trapp. Kaiserslautern had the chance to equalise when Dorge Kouemaha found himself in acres of space but fired wide. Midway through the second half, Alexander Bugera brought out a fantastic save from Ron-Robert Zieler and minutes later, a quick counter resulted in Christian Tiffert playing Olcay Sahan down the left and Sahan crossed the ball for Adam Nemec strike the equaliser. 2 minutes later, Zieler had to be alert o deny a shot from Konstantinos Fortounis but the game ended on a sour note for Kaiserslautern when Itay Shechter was shown a straight red for a challenge on Manuel Schmeidebach.