European Football

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FT: Espanyol 1-1 Barcelona

Barcelona conceded a late equaliser in the derby which leaves Barca 5 points behind Real Madrid. Barcelona had the ball in the back of the net 15 minutes when Lionel Messi blocked a Cristian Alvarez attempted clearance and rolled the ball across for Cesc Fabregas to score but it was ruled out for a Messi handball. Minutes later, the ball was in the back of the net and it counted this time with Fabregas powerfully heading home a Dani Alves cross. With 4 minutes to go, Espanyol equalised after a Raul Rodriguez cross was flicked on by Thievy for Alvaro to head home the equaliser.

Matchday 18 of 38

Saturday 7 January

Racing Santander 1-0 Real Zaragoza
Levante 0-0 Real Mallorca
Real Sociedad 0-0 Osasuna
Real Madrid 5-1 Granada
Malaga 0-0 Atletico Madrid

Sunday 8 January

Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Sevilla
Getafe 0-0 Athletic Bilbao
Villarreal 2-2 Valencia
Real Betis 2-0 Sporting Gijon
Espanyol 1-1 Barcelona

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French Coupe De La Ligue Quarter Finals

Le Mans 0-1 Lorient
Nice 3-3 Dijon (AET) (Nice won 5-3 on penalties)
Lyon 2-1 Lille
Caen 0-3 Marseille

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FT: Mallorca 1-2 Real Madrid

Real Madrid came from be hind at half time to beat Mallorca and provisionally hold an 8 point lead over Barcelona at the top. Mallorca took the lead 5 minutes before the break when Tomer Hemed glanced home an inswinging cross from Gonzalo Castro. Then there was a moment of controversy just before the hour. Jose Callejon went down and claimed a penalty even though there was no contact and immediately Mallorca broke and Victor Casadesus was put through 1-on-1 but he was deemed offside even though he was yards onside. Midway through the half, Michael Pereira forced Iker Casillas to pull out a full stretched save. Minutes later, Kaka tested Dudu Aouate with a 25 yard shot. A minute later, Mesut Ozil threaded a pass to Gonzalo Higuain who controlled and his shot at goal took a deflection off Fernando Tissone and looped over Aouate for the equaliser. With 5 minutes to go, Callejon lashed home the winner after Aouate had denied Higuain and Karim Benzema in quick sucession.

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FT: Valencia 0-1 Real Sociedad

3rd placed Valencia slipped to an unexpected defeat at home to Real Sociedad. The winning goal came 10 minutes into the 2nd half after Antonie Griezmann lifted the ball over Diego Alves via a slight deflection off Adil Rami.

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FT: Montpellier 1-0 Lyon

Montpellier kept the pressure on Paris St Germain at the top after victory over Lyon. The winning goal came just past the hour after Olivier Giroud took advantage of some slack defending to slice the ball past Hugo Lloris.

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FT: Lazio 2-0 Atalanta

Lazio halted a three match winless streak with victory at home against Atalanta. The win has lifted Lazio to 4th while Atalanta slip to 15th. Lazio nearly took the lead 17 minutes in when a Luciano Zauri cross was diverted towards goal by Miroslav Klose but Andrea Consigli kept the ball out. On the 20 minute mark, Stefan Radu was brought down and Hernanes converted the resulting penalty. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, Stefano Lucchini was shown a second yellow reducing Atalanta to 10 men. 2 minutes later, Matuzalem went close to doubling the lead with a freekick. In the final minute, Senad Lulic played the ball to Klose in the box and the German international simply slotted the ball past Consigli to wrap up the win.

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FT: Juventus 1-1 Cagliari

Juventus will have been disappointed at only getting a point at home against Cagliari but it has ensured that Juve are top by a point. Mirko Vucinic opened the scoring 7 minutes in for Juve after good link up play saw Stephan Lichtsteiner roll the ball across for Vucinic to tap the ball into the empty net. Davide Astori went close to equalising on 20 minutes but his drive went narrowly wide. Cagliari equalised 3 minutes into the 2nd half when Andrea Cossu powerfully drove the ball past Gianluigi Buffon.

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FT: Sporting Gijon 2-1 Malaga

Sporting Gijon scored in injury time to ensure they beat Malaga and move away from the foot of the table. Alejandro Galvez broke the deadlock 10 minutes before the break when he diverted home a Nacho Cases freekick. Replays showed Galvez was slightly offside. With 2 minutes to go, Ruud van Nistelrooy equalised with a precise finish but in the dying minutes, Oscar Trejo chested down an Alberto Rivera pass and unleashed a dipping half volley past Willy Caballero to claim all 3 points for the home side.

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FT: Milan 0-1 Inter

Inter cannot be ruled out of the Scudetto race after derby victory which ensured that Juventus are top of the summit after 18 games. The win puts Inter within 6 points of Juve. Alexandre Pato should have done better 10 minutes in when he fired over from a promising position. The best chance of the half fell to Ricky Alvarez who was picked out in the box but he could only fire straight at Christian Abbiati. The winner came 10 minutes into the 2nd half when Ignazio Abate failed to cut out a pass which allowed Diego Milito to race into the box and slot the ball past Abbiati off the inside of the post and in.

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FT: Marseille 2-0 Lille

Loic Remy scored both goals as Marseille defeated defending champions Lille. Remy opened the scoring just past the hour when Mathieu Valbuena stood the ball up for Loic Remy to nod past Mickael Landreau. Remy made it 2 with 5 minutes to go after Aurelien Chedjou misjudgged the long ball which allowed Remy to hold him off and wrap up the win.

French Ligue 1

Matchday 20 of 38

Saturday 14 January

Ajaccio 2-1 Auxerre
Bordeaux 2-1 Valenciennes
Brest 1-0 Nice
Caen 0-2 Rennes
Dijon 3-1 Evian
Montpellier 1-0 Lyon
Nancy 2-2 Lorient
Paris St Germain 3-1 Toulouse
St Etienne 1-0 Sochaux

Sunday 15 January

Marseille 2-0 Lille

Matchday 20 Roundup

PSG (43) remain top after victory over Toulouse. Montpellier (40) are keeping the pressure on. Lille (36) hold the final CL spot despite defeat at Marseille. Lyon (35) remain 4th despite losing away to Montpellier.

Nice, Sochaux and Ajaccio (all 18) occupy the relegation spots. All three teams are only a point behind Nancy and Auxerre.

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FT: Barcelona 4-2 Real Betis

Barcelona ensured they didnt fall further behind Real Madrid in the league after beating Betis but they did have a scare. The deadlock was broken after 10 minutes when Alexis Sanchez slipped the ball through to Cesc Fabregas whose hit the post but Xabi turned home the rebound. 2 minutes later, Sanchez broke down the left and fired in a low cross for Lionel Messi to divert the ball home for 2-0. Real Betis pulled a goal back on the half hour when Jorge Molina was played through but he was forced to go wide and his pass to Salva Sevilla resulted in Salva scuffing the ball into the path of Ruben Castro to score. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, it was 2-2. Roque Santa Cruz dispossessed Andres Iniesta, played the ball put wide to Molina who advanced down the left before cutting the ball across to Santa Cruz to curl the ball past Victor Valdes. Betis were reduced to 10 men with 20 to go when Mario was shown a 2nd yellow and with 15 to go, a Xavi chipped through ball found Alexis Sanchez who fired the ball home from 25 yards. With 5 to go, Dorado handled in the area allowing Messi to convert the penalty.

Spanish Primera Division

Matchday 19 of 38

Saturday 14 January

Real Zaragoza 1-1 Getafe
Granada 1-2 Rayo Vallecano
Sevilla 0-0 Espanyol
Mallorca 1-2 Real Madrid
Valencia 0-1 Real Sociedad

Sunday 15 January

Atletico Madrid 3-0 Villarreal
Osasuna 0-2 Racing Santander
Athletic Bilbao 3-0 Levante
Sporting Gijon 2-1 Malaga
Barcelona 4-2 Real Betis

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FT: Napoli 1-1 Bologna

Napoli could only draw at home against Bologna. The result means Napoli move upto 6th while Bologna remain 16th but 4 points clear of the relegation zone. Napoli had the first chance 10 minutes in. Hugo Campagnaro fed the ball to Marek Hamsik 10 yards out but the Slovakian was denied by Jean-Francois Gillet. On 14 minutes, it was 1-0 Bologna. A Nico Pulzetti cross was not cleared by Campagnaro which allowed Robert Acquafresca to divert the ball past Morgan De Sanctis. With 20 to go, Diego Perez handled in the box and Edinson Cavani stepped up to blast home the penalty to equalise.

Italian Serie A

Matchday 18 of 38

Saturday 14 January

Catania 1-1 Roma (match abandoned midway through the second period. Match will continue at a later date)

Sunday 15 January

Lazio 2-0 Atalanta
Cesena 3-1 Novara
Chievo 1-0 Palermo
Fiorentina 0-1 Lecce
Genoa 3-2 Udinese
Juventus 1-1 Cagliari
Parma 3-1 Siena
Milan 0-1 Inter

Monday 16 January

Napoli 1-1 Bologna

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FT: Real Madrid 1-2 Barcelona

Barcelona came from behind to beat Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey quarter final at the Bernabeu. Real Madrid took the lead 10 minutes in when Cristiano Ronaldo surged past Gerard Pique before firing a low shot past Jose Manuel Pinto. Barcelona equalised 5 minutes into the second half when a Xavi corner was headed home by an unmarked Carles Puyol. The winner came 13 minutes from time when Lionel Messi delightfully lifted the ball over the defence for Eric Abidal to slot the ball past Iker Casillas.

Copa del Rey Quarter Final - First Legs

Espanyol 3-2 Mirandes
Athletic Bilbao 2-0 Mallorca
Real Madrid 1-2 Barcelona
Valencia 4-1 Levante

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FT: Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 Bayern Munich

Borussia Monchengladbach have moved to within a point of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga after completing the double over the leaders at Borussia Park. 10 minutes in, Manuel Neuer made a poor clearance which fell to Marco Reus 35 yards out to direct back towards the empty net to open the scoring. 3 minutes later, Mario Gomez had a header superbly saved by Marc Andre Ter Stegen. 5 minutes before the break, Arjen Robben was dispossessed deep in Gladbach's half and Mike Hanke received the ball on the halfway line before playing the ball through to Patrick Herrmann to sweep home for 2-0. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, Gladbach found themselves in a 2-on-1 situation but Hanke's pass towards Juan Arango was to close to Neuer. With 20 to go, Reus played a delightful defence splitting ball for Herrmann to latch onto, round Neuer and slot the ball into the empty net for 3-0. With 15 to go, a corner was not cleared which allowed Bastian Schweinsteiger to fire home a consolation.

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FT: Schalke 3-1 Stuttgart

Schalke moved level on points with Bayern Munich at the top with victory at home against Stuttgart. 3 minutes in, a corner whipped in was flicked on by Benedikt Howedes for Joel Matip to simply tap home the opener. Midway through the half, Chinedu Obasi found himself in a great position to double the lead but he blazed his shot wide. Kyriakos Papadopoulos powerfully headed home a Julian Draxler corner before the hour to double the lead. With 10 to go, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar picked out Draxler and he made it 3-0 despite Sven Ulreich's best efforts to keep it out. With 3 to go, a Tamas Hajnal shot hit the post but Shinji Okazaki was able to convert home the rebound to prevent Schalke from getting a clean sheet.

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FT: Real Sociedad 0-4 Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid recorded their first away win in the league this season at the Anoeta. 3 minutes in, a Diego cross was handled in the box by Vadim Demidov and Radamel Falcao stepped up to send Claudio Bravo the wrong way to open the scoring. 2 minutes into the 2nd half, Juanfran played a 1-2 with Falcao before crossing towards Adrian whose initial header was superbly saved by Bravo but Adrian made no mistake at the 2nd attempt. Falcao got his 2nd with 7 minutes to go when he cheekily chipped the ball over Bravo from 25 yards out. Falcao completed his hat trick in stoppage time after he sidefooted home a Koke cross.

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FT: Atalanta 0-2 Juventus

Juventus have ensured that they will remain top at the midway stage of the season after beating Atalanta at the Atleti Azzurri D'Italia. 10 minutes in, Andrea Barzagli had a shot come back off the post for Juve. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, the deadlock was broken. Andrea Pirlo lifted a cross towards the far post where Stephan Lichtsteiner met the ball with a low header. Just past the hour, Alessandro Matri lifted the ball over Andrea Consigli but it went wide of the mark. With 8 minutes to go, Luca Marrone lifted the ball into the area for Emanuele Giaccherini to volley the ball past Consigli for 2-0.

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FT: Twente 5-0 RKC Waalwijk

Twente thrashed RKC Waalwijk in Steve McClaren's 2nd stint in charge of the home side. Midway through the first half, Roberto Rosales picked out Luuk De Jong and Jeroen Zoet went out to claim the ball but completely missed it allowing de Jong an easy finish. On 35 minutes, an Emir Bajrami shot took a deflection off Ard van Peppen to wrongfoot Zoet and make it 2-0. 8 minutes into the 2nd half, Bajrami was brought down resulting in penalty which De jong converted for his 2nd goal of the game. With 25 to go, Ola john whipped in a freekick which Zoet made a hash of allowing Nacer Chadli to make it 4-0. With 9 minutes to go, Ola John saw a freekick find its way through lots of bodies and nestle in the bottom corner.