European Football

[taz]

FT: Real Betis 1-1 Sevilla

Real Betis and Sevilla shared the spoils in the Seville derby. On 25 minutes, Benat curled in a freekick to open the scoring for the home side. 5 minutes before the break, a Jesus Navas cross was headed past Casto by Alvaro Negredo for the equaliser. Sevilla finished the game with 10 men with 20 to go when Federico Fazio was shown a straight red for bringing down Roque Santa Cruz when clean through on goal.

[DavidP]

keep up the great work, taz.

[taz]

FT: Bologna 0-0 Parma

The Emilia-Romagna derby ended all square at the Renato Dall'Ara. Both teams remain in the bottom half following the draw. The game had very few chances. On the half hour mark, Gaston Ramirez raced down the left before delivering a cross which Marco Di Vaio met with his head but was denied by an instinctive save from Nicola Pavarini. With 15 to go, a corner was deflected by the head of Cristian Zaccardo forcing Jean-Francois Gillet to change direction to save the shot and as the ball looped in the air, Gillet managed to retrieve the ball before Alessandro Lucarelli could tap home from a yard out.

[taz]

FT: Novara 0-3 Milan

Milan bounced back from last week's derby defeat to come out victorious against Novara at the Silvio Piola. The result puts Milan within a point of Juve at the top at the midway point of the season. 12 minutes in, Zlatan Ibrahimovic brought out a good save from Samir Ujkani. Midway through the half, Ujkani denied Ibrahimovic once more. Just before the hour, Massimo Ambrosini played a lofted ball towards Ibrahimovic to take and finish past Ujkani for 1-0. Robinho made it 2-0 with 15 to go when he turned home a Stephan El Shaarawy ball. In the final minute, Ibrahimovic beat Ujkani again with a nice finish.

[taz]

FT: Hamburg 1-5 Borussia Dortmund

Champions Borussia Dortmund thrashed Hamburg at the Imtech Arena to move level with Bayern Munich and Schalke at the top. The result also ended in Thorsten Fink's first defeat in charge of Hamburg. The deadlock was broken 15 minutes in when Kevin Grosskreutz played a 1-2 with Shinji Kagawa before slotting the ball past Jaroslav Drobny. On the half hour, Drobny made a superb save from a Neven Subotic header. Robert Lewandowski had a goal disallowed minutes later but he did make it 2-0 8 minutes before the break. Jakub Blaszczykowski picked out Lewandowski who advanced into the box and beat both Dennis Aogo and Drobny. Just before the hour, Lewandowski returned the favour to Blaszczykowski when he made it 3-0 from the edge of the box. With 15 to go, Dennis Diekmeier brought down Moritz Leitner in the box and Blaszczykowski stepped up to convert the penalty for 4-0. With 7 minutes to go, Lewandowski made it 5-0 after some good passing play from BVB. With 4 minutes to go, Jose Paolo Guerrero pounced on a loose ball and scored a consolation for HSV.

[taz]

FT: AZ Alkmaar 1-1 Ajax

Leaders AZ and 4th placed Ajax shared the spoils in a windy affair. The result means AZ remain top after PSV could only draw at Utrecht while Ajax remain 4th 5 points behind AZ. The first chance of the game came midway through the first half when Charlison Benschop rounded Kenneth Vermeer but Benschop hesitated and the chance was gone. AZ took the lead 10 minutes before the break when Rasmul Elm curled a delightful freekick past Vermeer. Midway through the 2nd half, Lorenzo Ebicilio found himself in a great position to equalise for Ajax but he sent his shot well wide. With 15 to go, Theo Janssen whipped in a cross which found the net when AZ defender Simon Poulsen inadvertently diverted the ball into the net. AZ had the chance to win it with 10 to go when an Adam Maher cross found the head of Jozy Altidore but Vermeer turned the ball out for a corner.

[taz]

FT: Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Mainz

Bayer Leverkusen secured victory over Mainz in a thrilling contest. The result leaves Leverkusen in 6th while Mainz remain 15th and winless in 6 games. The deadlock was broken 10 minutes in when Zdenek Pospech inadvertently diverted a Danny da Costa cross past Christian Wetklo. 10 minutes before the break, it was 2-0 to the home side after a Gonzalo Castro corner was headed home by the unmarked Manuel Friedrich. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, Mainz pulled a goal back. A Maxim Choupo Moting shot was not held by Bernd Leno and Eugen Polanski slotted home the rebound. 3 minutes later, it was 2-2 when Marco Caligiuri lofted the ball over Leno. The winning goal came 20 minutes from time when a Michal Kadlec corner was headed home by Lars Bender.

German Bundesliga

Matchday 18 of 34

Friday 20 January

Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 Bayern Munich

Saturday 21 January

Schalke 3-1 Stuttgart
Nuremberg 2-0 Hertha Berlin
Freiburg 1-0 Augsburg
Hoffenheim 0-0 Hannover
Wolfsburg 1-0 Cologne
Kaiserslautern 0-0 Werder Bremen

Sunday 22 January

Hamburg 1-5 Borussia Dortmund
Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Mainz

Matchday 18 Roundup

Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund & Schalke (all 37 points) are 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. Bayern's defeat at Monchengladbach allowed Schalke and Borussia Dortmund to post victories and join Bayern at the top. Monchengladbach's (36) victory keeps them in the final CL spot. Werder Bremen (30) could only draw with Kaiserslautern meaning that there is now a 6 point buffer between 4th and 5th. Bayer Leverkusen (29) are 6th a point behind Bremen.

The big relegation battle between Freiburg (16) and Augsburg (15) finished in Freiburg's favour. Both teams remain in the relegation zone. Kaiserslautern (17) find themselves in the relegation playoff place 1 point behind Mainz (18).

[taz]

FT: Malaga 1-4 Barcelona

Lionel Messi scored his 5th hat trick of the season at Malaga to put the pressure on Real Madrid ahead of their match against Athletic Bilbao. Lionel Messi opened the scoring just past the half hour when he headed home an Adriano cross. 3 minutes into the 2nd half, Willy Caballero denied Thiago Alcantara on two occasions before Alexis Sanchez made sure it was 2-0 on the 3rd attempt. 3 minutes later, Messi won the ball in midfield and went on mazy run, advanced into the box and sidefooted the ball past Caballero for 3-0. With 15 minutes to go, Messi went close to completing his hat trick when his 25 yard freekick hit the underside of the crossbar and came back out but he was not to be denied with 10 minutes to go. Messi from the halfway line advanced past Martin Demichelis and Joris Mathijsen and slotted the ball past Caballero. Malaga did get a consolation goal with 5 minutes to go when Recio's effort was not held by Victor Valdes and Salomon Rondon slotted home the rebound.

[taz]

FT: Inter 2-1 Lazio

Inter secured their 7th straight league win after beating Lazio to move within 3 points of 3rd placed Udinese. 15 minutes in, Tommaso Rocchi wasted a great chance after a Lucio mistake and just as Rocchi went to shoot, he seemed to lose his balance and the shot went just wide. On the half hour mark, Cristian Ledesma played a through ball to Rocchi to turn and slot the ball past Julio Cesar to open the scoring. Diego Milito equalised on the stroke of half time after playing a nice 1-2 with Ricky Alvarez. Just past the hour, a long header forward by Lucio found Giampaolo Pazzini to lob the ball over Federico Marchetti for the winner. Replays showed Pazzini was offside. Barely minutes later, Miroslav Klose found himself 12 yards from goal but his shot was straight at Julio Cesar.

Italian Serie A

Matchday 19 of 38

Saturday 21 January

Roma 5-1 Cesena
Atalanta 0-2 Juventus

Sunday 22 January

Bologna 0-0 Parma
Lecce 2-2 Chievo
Novara 0-3 Milan
Palermo 5-3 Genoa
Siena 1-1 Napoli
Udinese 2-1 Catania
Cagliari 0-0 Fiorentina
Inter 2-1 Lazio

[taz]

FT: Real Madrid 4-1 Athletic Bilbao

Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao to ensure they remain 5 points clear of Barcelona. Athletic Bilbao took the lead 13 minutes in when a quick counter saw Javi Martinez play a deep cross towards Fernando Llorente to volley home. On 25 minutes, Karim Benzema volleyed over from a promising position but a minute later, Marcelo played a 1-2 with Benzema before slotting the equaliser past Gorka Iraizoz. 5 minutes before the break, Llorente found himself 1-on-1 with Iker Casillas but he horribly spurned his shot wide. 48 seconds into the 2nd half, Ander Iturraspe brought down Kaka for a penalty which Cristiano Ronaldo emphatically converted to put Real in front. Real Madrid were awarded another penalty midway through the 2nd half when Oscar De Marcos brought down Mesut Ozil. De Marcos was shown the straight red and Ronaldo made it 2 out of 2 in penalties to put Real 3-1 ahead. With 5 minutes to go, Gonzalo Higuain played a through ball for Jose Callejon to latch onto and he slotted the ball past Iraizoz.

[forzaitalia]

Messi's goals were awesome, especially the second and third.

[taz]

[taz]

Spanish Primera Division

Matchday 1 of 38

Saturday 21 January

Racing 1-2 Getafe
Espanyol 3-0 Granada
Real Sociedad 0-4 Atletico Madrid
Real Betis 1-1 Sevilla

Sunday 22 January

Osasuna 1-1 Valencia
Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Real Mallorca
Malaga 1-4 Barcelona
Levante 0-0 Real Zaragoza
Real Madrid 4-1 Athletic Bilbao

Monday 23 January

Villarreal 3-0 Sporting Gijon

[forzaitalia]

[taz]

[taz]

FT: Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid

Barcelona were coasting towards the Copa del Rey semi finals but after Real scored two goals in quick succession, Barcelona had to be wary and see the game out which they did coming through 4-3 victors on aggregate. Real Madrid were the better side in the first half and should have been 2-3 goals up but Barca made them pay with 2 goals before half time. On 43 minutes, Lionel Messi drove towards goal before picking out the unmarked Pedro to open the scoring. On the stroke of half time, a freekick by Messi deflected into the path of Dani Alves whose brilliant first time strike beat Iker Casillas leaving him with no chance. Midway through the 2nd half, Mesut ozil slipped the ball through for Cristiano Ronaldo who rounded Jose Pinto and slotted the ball into the empty net. 4 minutes later, an attempted Gerard Pique clearance was intercepted by Mesut Ozil and Karim Benzema took control of the ball, shrugged off Carles Puyol and slotted the equaliser past Pinto. Real went forward looking for the crucial 3rd away goal but Barcelona held on. Sergio Ramos was shown a 2nd yellow card late on.

[taz]

Copa del Rey Quarter Final-2nd legs

Mirandes 2-1 Espanyol (Agg: 4-4) (Mirandes advance on away goals rule)
Mallorca 0-1 Athletic Bilbao (Agg: 0-3)
Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid (Agg: 4-3)
Levante 0-3 Valencia (Agg: 1-7)

Copa del Rey Semi Finals

Mirandes v Athletic Bilbao
Valencia v Barcelona

[taz]

Coppa Italia Quarter Finals

Juventus 3-0 Roma
Chievo 0-1 Siena
Napoli 2-0 Inter
Milan 3-1 Lazio

Coppa Italia Semi Finals

Milan v Juventus
Siena v Napoli

[taz]

FT: Hannover 1-0 Nuremberg

Hannover secured their first league win since October to go to within 2 points of sixth placed Bayer Leverkusen. Defeat for Nuremberg means that they are only 4 points clear of the drop zone. The winning goal came after 18 minutes when a Lars Stindl cross was volleyed home by Mohammed Abdellaoue leaving Raphael Schafer with no chance.

[taz]

FT: PSV Eindhoven 3-1 Vitesse Arnhem

PSV Eindhoven have provisionally moved to the top of the table after easily beating Vitesse. Tim Matavz opened the scoring half an hour in. Dries Mertens made it 2-0 with 15 to go. With 5 to go, new signing Mike Havenaar pulled a goal back but Stanislav Manolev made the points safe in injury time. PSV are now 2 points clear of AZ who play Roda tomorrow. Vitesse Arnhem are 8th.