European Football

[taz]

FT: Hamburg 1-1 Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich are now 2 points behind Borussia Dortmund after only getting a point at Hamburg. The result moves Hamburg upto 11th. 15 minutes in, Franck Ribery's 20 yard drive resulted in Jaroslav Drobny being at full stretch to divert the ball wide. Midway through the half, Jose Paolo Guerrero sent the ball into the box for Jacopo Sala to volley home the opening goal to put Hamburg ahead. Midway through the 2nd half, Ribery again tested Drobny and with 20 to go, Bayern found the equaliser. Heung Min Son's attempted clearance hit Thomas Muller and Muller squared the ball for Ivica Olic to divert the ball past Drobny.

[taz]

FT: Getafe 0-1 Real Madrid

Real Madrid secured their 6th straight win in the league with a slender victory at Getafe. The winning goal came 17 minutes in when Mesut Ozil whipped in a cross which Sergio Ramos powerfully headed into the top corner of the net.

[taz]

FT: Bordeaux 2-0 Toulouse

Bordeaux secured their 5th straight home win with a comfortable victory over Toulouse. It took 1 minute for the deadlock to be broken. Jussie dispossessed Daniel Congre, raced towards goal and picked his spot with a powerful drive. The 2nd goal came 5 minutes before the break when Ludovic Obraniak curled a superb freekick from the edge of the box leaving Ali Ahamada with no chance.

[taz]

FT: Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad

Barcelona ensured they still remained 7 points behind Real Madrid with a gritty victory against Real Sociedad. 9 minutes in, Lionel Messi played a defence splitting pass for Cristian Tello to poke the ball past Claudio Bravo to open the scoring. Messi made it 2 with 18 minutes left when a lofted ball from Dani Alves found Messi who controlled and drilled the ball past Bravo. Within 2 minutes, Real Sociedad pulled a goal back when Thiago lost the ball to Antoine Griezmann and his through ball found Carlos Vela who slotted the ball past Victor Valdes.

[taz]

FT: Genoa 3-2 Lazio

Genoa nearly threw away a three goal lwad at home against Lazio on a frozen pitch. Genoa broke the deadlock 10 minutes in when a corner was flicked over Federico Marchetti by the heel of Rodrigo Palacio. Midway through the half, it was 2-0. A Bosko Jankovic volley bounced under Marchetti and the ball rolled into the net despite the best efforts of Marius Stankevicius to clear. 10 seconds into the 2nd half, a slip by Javier Garrido allowed Jankovic in to make it 3-0. On 55 minutes, Lazio were awarded a penalty after Senad Lulic was brought down and Cristian Ledesma converted the penalty. With a few minutes to go, Lazio were reduced to 10 men when Mobido Diakite was shown a straight red after questioning a decision by Paolo Tagliavento. However, on the stroke of full time, Miroslav Klose laid the ball off for Alvaro Gonzalez to pull Lazio to within a goal of Genoa but the Genovese held on for the victory.

[taz]

FT: Ajax 0-2 Utrecht

Ajax have slipped further behind in the title race after as shock home defeat against Utrecht. Utrecht went in front 5 minutes before the break when an Alexander Gerndt cross was spilled by Kenneth Vermeer and Edouard Duplan took advantage and slotted the ball into the empty net. Utrecht made it 2-0 12 minutes from time when Frank Demouge played Duplan through and he slotted the ball beyond Vermeer.

[taz]

FT: Heracles Almelo 1-1 PSV Eindhoven

PSV Eindhoven failed to open up a 5 point gap at the top after being held to a draw by Heracles Almelo. PSV started the strongest and 10 minutes in, Kevin Strootman's long range drive was saved excellently by Remko Pasveer. PSV took the lead on 20 minutes when Zakaria Labyad beat Mark Looms and fired a powerful 20 yard drive past Pasveer leaving him with no chance. With 15 minutes to go, Heracles equalised when a Kwame Quansah shot was not held by Andreas Isaksson and Everton was on hand to slot home the equaliser.

[taz]

FT: Milan 0-0 Napoli

Milan failed to capitalise on Juventus' draw with Siena after being held to a draw by Napoli at San Siro. The best chance of the opening half fell to Ezequiel Lavezzi after Ignazio Abate and Philippe Mexes got in each other's way and the ball fell to Lavezzi but he disappointingly directed his effort into the side netting when he could have played a pass to the unmarked Edinson Cavani. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, Zlatan Ibrahimovic played Robinho through but his effort was blocked by Morgan De Sanctis. De Sanctis had to be alert just past the hour to deny Ibrahimovic but 2 minutes later, Ibrahimovic was shown a straight red card for slapping Salvatore Aronica. With 20 to go, Cavani had a great chance to win the game but he directed his header over the bar from a promising position.

[taz]

FT: Roma 4-0 Inter

Roma secured an emphatic victory over Inter at the Stadio Olimpico this afternoon. The win puts Roma upto 6th 2 points behind 5th placed Inter. The deadlock was broken 13 minutes in when Juan nodded a Francesco Totti corner past Julio Cesar. Inter had the chance to equalise 10 minutes before the break when Giampaolo Pazzini headed a Maicon cross towards goal but it went just wide. 5 minutes before the break, it was 2-0. A Miralem Pjanic cross found Fabio Borini and Borini cut past Walter Samuel and fired the ball past Julio Cesar. 3 minutes into the 2nd half, it was 3-0. A long cross from Juan found Borini who had beat the offside trap and he raced forward and slotted the ball past Julio Cesar. Bojan completed the rout with a minute to go when he got past 3 players before beating Julio Cesar with a 15 yard drive.

Italian Serie A

Matchday 22 of 38

Sunday 5 February

Genoa 3-2 Lazio
Palermo 2-1 Atalanta
Lecce 0-0 Bologna
Novara 0-0 Cagliari
Roma 4-0 Inter
Milan 0-0 Napoli
Chievo 1-2 Parma
Juventus 0-0 Siena
Fiorentina 3-2 Udinese

[taz]

FT: Freiburg 2-2 Werder Bremen

Bottom club Freiburg twice came from behind to claim a point at home against Werder Bremen. Freiburg remain bottom while Werder Bremen's third successive draw moves them upto 5th. Werder Bremen broke the deadlock just before the half hour. A Zlatko Junuzovic cross was volleyed in by Claudio Pizarro albeit off Oliver Baumann. Within 3 minutes, Freiburg were level when Cedric Makiadi headed home a Michael Lumb cross. Pizarro put Bremen back in front 2 minutes into the 2nd half when he latched onto a Mehmet Ekici through ball and slotted the ball home for his 15th goal of the season. Markus Rosenberg nearly made it 3-1 5 minutes later but his shot came back off the upright. The equaliser came 20 minutes from time when a Jonathan Schmid blast from distance could not be kept out by Tim Wiese.

[taz]

FT: Kaiserslautern 0-1 Cologne

Cologne earned a hard fought victory against Kaiserslautern. Kaiserslautern were reduced to 10 men 5 minutes before the break when Ariel Borysiuk was shown a second yellow on his Bundesliga debut. The winning goal came 20 minutes from time. Odise Roshi had tested Kevin Trapp and Trapp pushed the ball out for a corner and the resulting corner was headed home by Roshi. Roshi was only on the pitch less than two minutes. Mikael Ishak went close to doubling the lead 6 minutes before the end but Kevin Trapp tipped his shot over the bar.

German Bundesliga

Matchday 20 of 34

Friday 3 February

Nuremberg 0-2 Borussia Dortmund

Saturday 4 February

Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Stuttgart
Schalke 1-1 Mainz
Hoffenheim 2-2 Augsburg
Wolfsburg 0-0 Borussia Monchengladbach
Hertha Berlin 0-1 Hannover
Hamburg 1-1 Bayern Munich

Sunday 5 February

Freiburg 2-2 Werder Bremen
Kaiserslautern 0-1 Cologne

Matchday 20 Roundup

Borussia Dortmund's (43) victory over Nuremberg has moved them 2 points clear of both Bayern Munich & Schalke (both 41) after their respective draws. Borussia Monchengladbach (40) remain 4th after their draw. Werder Bremen (32) & Bayer Leverkusen (31) remain 5th and 6th after their respective draws.

Freiburg and Augsburg (both 17) remain in the relegation zone after their respective draws. Kaiserslautern (18) remain in the relegation playoff place after defeat to Cologne. Kaiserslautern are 2 points behind Hertha Berlin.

[taz]

FT: Real Zaragoza 1-2 Rayo Vallecano

Rayo Vallecano came from behind to beat basement club Real Zaragoza. Rayo are now 5 points clear of the relegation zone while Zaragoza are bottom six points away from safety and without a league win in 14 games. Zaragoza took the lead 33 minutes in when Helder Postiga volleyed home an Apono cross. With 15 to go, Diego Costa expertly headed home a Jose Manuel Casado cross to bring Rayo level. With 8 to go, a quick counter saw Casado pick out Michu to sidefoot home the winner from the edge of the box.

[taz]

FT: Marseille 2-2 Lyon

Both Marseille and Lyon could not be separated at the Stade Velodrome in a result that does no good to their title aspirations. Marseille took the lead 15 minutes when a Charles Kabore cross found Benoit Cheyrou and he managed to slot the ball home amidst a penalty box scramble. On 34 minutes, Morgan Amalfitano picked out Brandao to volley home for 2-0. Within 2 minutes, Lyon pulled a goal back. A Kim Kallstrom corner was flicked on by Jimmy Briand for Bafetimbi Gomis to finish. Lyon equalised on the stroke of half time when an Aly Cissokho cross was diverted past Steve Mandanda for an own goal by Souleymane Diawara.

French Ligue 1

Matchday 22 of 38

Saturday 4 February

Dijon 1-2 Valenciennes
Nancy 0-0 Rennes
Ajaccio 1-1 Nice
Montpellier 1-0 Brest
Paris St Germain 3-1 Evian
Bordeaux 2-0 Toulouse

Sunday 5 February

Marseille 2-2 Lyon

[taz]

FT: Atletico Madrid 0-0 Valencia

Both teams shared the spoils at Vicente Calderon in a disappointing affair. The draw means Atletico Madrid remain 6th while Valencia remain 3rd 5 points clear of 5th placed Levante.

[taz]

Spanish Primera Division

Matchday 22 of 38

Saturday 4 February

Real Mallorca 1-0 Real Betis
Athletic Bilbao 3-3 Espanyol
Levante 1-1 Racing Santander
Getafe 0-1 Real Madrid
Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad

Sunday 5 February

Sporting Gijon 1-1 Osasuna
Sevilla 1-2 Villarreal
Real Zaragoza 1-2 Rayo Vallecano
Atletico Madrid 0-0 Valencia

Monday 6 February

Granada 2-1 Malaga

Matchday 22 Roundup

Real Madrid (55) remain 7 points clear of Barcelona (48) after respective victories. Valencia (37) remain 3rd despite not winning their past 5 games and Levante (32) remain 4th with Espanyol level on points but Levante have the superior GD. Athletic Bilbao (30) are 6th after conceding late on against Espanyol.

At the bottom, Real Zaragoza (12) look destined to go down after anuva defeat leaves them 11 points from safety. Sporting Gijon (19) remain 19th despite claiming a point at home to Osasuna and Racing Santander (22) have slipped into the drop zone after Villarreal moved out of the relegation zone with victory away to Sevilla.

[taz]

FT: Catania 1-1 Roma

The final 25 minutes of Catania v Roma was played tonight with no further goals after the initial game was abandoned after torrential rain with the score at 1-1. Nicola Legrottaglie had put Catania ahead on 24 minutes and within 5 minutes, Daniele De Rossi equalised. However, tonight saw no more goals and Roma are now 10 points behind Juventus.

[taz]

FT: Athletic Bilbao 6-2 Mirandes (Agg: 8-3)

Athletic Bilbao cruised into the final of the Copa del Rey after crushing Mirandes at San Mames. Athletic took the lead 11 minutes in when a cross from Ander Herrera was not cleared by Iker Garmendia and Iker Muniain swept the ball home. 3 minutes later, some good team play saw Fernando Llorente find Oscar De Marcos to set up Andoni Iraola to backheel the ball into the path of Markel Susaeta to make it 2-0. Midway through the half, a Susaeta cross was headed home by Jon Aurtenetxe for 3-0. Just before the hour, a Raul Garcia shot rebounded off the post and Haritz Mujika crossed the ball for Aitor Blanco to sweep home the ball for Mirandes. With 20 to go, Llorente latched onto a through ball from Susaeta and chipped the ball over Perez for 4-1. 5 minutes later, Llorente diverted a De Marcos into goal to make it 5-1. 5 minutes to go, Blanco bundled home another goal for Mirandes after a freekick was not cleared but minutes later, a De Marcos was inadvertently diverted into the net by Caneda for an own goal.

[taz]

FT: Barcelona 2-0 Valencia (Agg: 3-1)

Barcelona progressed to the Copa del Rey final after beating Valencia. Barca will meet Athletic Bilbao in the final. Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring on 16 minutes when a superb Lionel Messi pass found Fabregas and Cesc dinked the ball over Diego Alves. Alves made a fantastic save to deny Messi minutes later and on the half hour, Alexis Sanchez had shot from a promising position deflected wide. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Messi latched onto an Isaac Cuenca through ball but his shot was deflected over by Victor Ruiz. With 15 to go, Jonas forced a fingertip save from Jose Pinto but with 10 to go, Sofiane Feghouli was shown a second yellow to reduce Valencia to 10 men. Minutes later, Messi picked out Sanchez and he laid the ball off for Fabregas who teed the ball up for Xavi to fire home the second into the top corner of the net. With 5 to go, Messi saw a fierce freekick tipped over the bar by Diego Alves.

[taz]

FT: Milan 1-2 Juventus

Juventus beat Milan at San Siro in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi final which puts Juve in the driving seat with the two away goals. 15 minutes in, Stephan El Shaarawy found himself in a great position but he spruned his opportunity. 8 minutes into the 2nd half, Martin Caceres broke the deadlock. A Marco Borriello shot was not held by Marco Amelia and Caceres followed up to score. Just past the hour, El Shaarawy made amends for his miss after a Massimo Ambrosini knockdown was stroked home by the Italo-Egyptian. With 7 to go, Caceres scored a stunning goal when he glided the ball into top corner from the edge of the box to ensure Juve have put one foot into the final.

[RomaShield27]

Great match reports, taz, keep it up. Always good to come here and check up on a score-line of a match you missed.