Articles with top 5 leagues

TUE 10TH DEC 2019

PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Divock double sends Silva packing. Seven straight for flying Foxes. Clarets suffer City backlash. Chelsea arrest mini-slide at the Bridge. Solskjaer summarily sweeps aside predecessor. Gunners meltdown continues, but Seagulls on the up. Hammers back down to earth at Molineux. Magpies hand home defeat to Blades. Ten men Palace crush Cherries. Ryan helps Ralph to three points in basement battle.

Liverpool lead grows as Guardiola gives up on title. Jamie scoring jamboree rolls on as dogged Foxes stay in the hunt. Derby delight for Ole as he takes an improbable six from six. Big Dunc delivers on debut. 2-2 a Propper result despite Diogo double. Supersonic Spurs’ find a new gear. Wingbacks galvanized by half-time hairdryer. Nine minute burst lifts lethargy for Ljungberg. No victor in Vicarage Road stalemate. Newcastle comfortably nested in mid-table.

LA LIGA WEEK 16 HIGHLIGHTS
Yet another Messi hat-trick and an exquisite backheel from Luis Suarez saw Barcelona to a comfortable win over Mallorca, but Real remain level on points thanks to a French double that continued Espanyol’s desperate run of form. Sevilla slipped up at El Sadar as Osasuna began reconstructing their fortress. Valencia won their second city derby in a week against Levante, while Villarreal recovered from that loss to hold draw kings Atletico to a goalless stalemate. Sociedad achieved the same result in Valladolid. The other three Basque teams all lost, however, as Granada rediscovered their form against Alaves, Getafe won at Eibar and Athletic fell at the Villamarin. At the bottom, Leganes picked up a key win over Celta, who couldn’t quite recover a three-goal deficit.

SERIE A WEEK 15 HIGHLIGHTS
Racism reared its ugly head again, this time in the printed press, as Smalling and Lukaku’s reunion ended goalless. This extended Inter’s lead at the top, as Lazio made it seven straight wins with victory over the defending champions after Cuadrado’s pivotal red card. Cagliari fought back again to snatch a last-minute equaliser at Sassuolo to stay fourth, while Atalanta came from behind twice against Hellas to win and close the gap. Napoli continue to sleepwalk through the season dropping points in Udinese. Il Diavolo lie just a point behind them now after a win over Bologna in the Mihajlovic derby. Torino and Parma are sandwiched between the two sleeping giants after wins over Fiorentina and Samp. At the bottom, Brescia leapfrogged SPAL as Balotelli bagged their winner. Genoa remain alongside them in the bottom three after throwing away a two-goal advantage and picking up two reds at Lecce.

BUNDESLIGA WEEK 14 HIGHLIGHTS
The Foals weathered a first-half Bavarian storm to eventually claim a last gasp victory that keeps them top and drops Bayern to a lowly seventh. Leipzig stayed right behind them, though, as Werner and Sabitzer were on target once again against Nagelmann’s former side. Reus and Sancho were much too hot for Fortuna to handle at Signal Iduna Park with Dortmund running out 5-0 winners. Freiburg and Leverkusen climbed up the table with narrow home victories over Wolfsburg and Schalke, while Union’s impressive home form clinched another three points at Koln’s expense, who now sit bottom. Klinsmann got his first point since returning at Frankfurt, despite letting a two-goal lead slide, Augsburg put an end to Beierlorzer’s impressive start at Mainz, and a last-minute winner helped Paderborn win in Bremen and move off the bottom.

LIGUE 1 WEEK 16 HIGHLIGHTS WEEK 17 HIGHLIGHTS
PSG picked up a couple of comfortable wins with the new trio of Mbappe, Neymar and Icardi beginning to hit their stride as a unit. OM are doing an admirable job of staying as close as possible after seeing off both Angers and Bordeaux. Lille move up to third thanks to 1-0 wins over OL and Brest, with fourth-placed Rennes also winning both their matches this week. At the other end, the bottom four were as bad as the top four were good with Toulouse, Metz, Nimes and Amiens all failing to register a single point. Of these, the Crocodiles had the most distressing week scoring none, conceding ten and receiving two red cards.

TUE 3RD DEC 2019

PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Virgil’s forehead makes it forty from fourteen for Liverpool. Rodgers’ men show resolve in comeback win. Sloppy City out of Toon as Magpies snatch a late draw. Cresswell leaves Frank crestfallen in first Chelsea mini-slump of his tenure. Alli looking the real Dele again as Sissoko finally finds the net. Wolves and Blades both looking sharp. Ljungberg fails to breathe new life into Gunners at Carrow Road. Grealish relishes Old Trafford stage as Solskjaer squanders another 2 points. Eagles claw back three points after five nasty fixtures. Southampton kick Quique back out of management with Watford way off the pace.

LA LIGA WEEK 15 HIGHLIGHTS
It’s very much as you were in La Liga. The top three all picked up their third win on the bounce as the Campeonato seems to be turning into a three-horse race. Barca’s victory was the pick of the bunch as they triumphed at the Wanda Metropolitano amid a chorus of boos for the returning Antoine Griezmann. Atletico’s dropped points meant the big boys from the Basque country moved into fourth and fifth thanks to wins over Eibar and Granada. Valencia sneaked a derby win over the Yellow Submarine at the Mestalla, but their other local rivals Levante were handed a 4-0 thrashing by Getafe. Elsewhere, Osasuna put the disappointment of last week quickly behind them to win at El Prat, Betis got a handy 3 points in Mallorca and Celta Valladolid ended goalless.

SERIE A WEEK 14 HIGHLIGHTS
Lautaro lifted Inter to the top of the table as the Old Lady slipped up at home to Sassuolo. Third-place Lazio lie in wait for the champions next weekend with the irrepressible Immobile on the scoresheet yet again in their home win against Udinese. The red and yellow half of the capital were also celebrating three points as they broke down Hellas’s miserly defence in Verona. An incredible Cagliari comeback from 3-1 to 4-3 against Samp, however, keeps the Sardinians above them in the final Champions League berth. Atalanta look to have put a torrid November behind them as they followed up their midweek Champions League victory with a derby win over Brescia, but Napoli’s nightmare continued as Bologna took all 3 points at the San Paolo. Elsewhere, the faltering Milan and Turin based sides both picked up important 1-0 away wins as they try to resurrect their seasons, and Lecce consigned Fiorentina to another defeat by the same scoreline.

BUNDESLIGA WEEK 13 HIGHLIGHTS
The Foals’ had enough horsepower to see off Freiburg and keep MG top, but the red-hot Roten Bullen are right on their heels. Leipzig were, however, nearly pegged back by a plucky Paderborn outfit who couldn’t quite do to RB what Dortmund had done to them the previous week. Union fell at the Veltins-Arena to a Schalke side who now sit third after a Bailey brace helped Bayer beat Bayern. Klinsmann’s comeback was not enough for Hertha to register a point as a more settled Sancho led BVB to three crucial away points that take some of the pressure off Lucien Favre. A late Rouwen Hennings effort denied Hoffenheim an immediate return to winning ways after their humiliation last time out. The Wolves were also stopped in their tracks as a Rashica double rocked the Volkswagen Arena and saw Werder win 3-2. Koln and Augsburg both picked up a red card and a goal apiece in their basement battle, but the Eagles’ red led to a defeat to Mainz that continues their domestic nosedive.

LIGUE 1 WEEK 15 HIGHLIGHTS
The big game in the principality was postponed due to torrential rain, which allowed OM the chance to begin the Olympian task of catching up with PSG. Villas Boas’ men were up to the challenge beating Brest 2-1 and could briefly move to within two of the leaders if they win their midweek fixture. Patrick Vieira has been linked to the vacant managerial position at the Emirates, but remains focused on his current job with Nice, who saw off third place Angers 3-1. Montpellier and Nantes closed to within a point of them with victories, as did Bordeaux, who picked up a point in champagne country. Lyon and Lille are both getting their seasons back on track after wins against Strasbourg and Dijon, but St Etienne stumbled to a defeat at Rennes. Nimes and Metz drew their bottom of the table clash leaving Toulouse last.

TUE 26TH NOV 2019

PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Another late Liverpool winner keeps the gap to 8. Seagulls no match for formidable Foxes. Chelsea Kante hold on as City exploit their youthful inexperience. Wolves shake off early Europa fatigue to move fifth. Man U’s seven minute show covers up an unseemly 83. Hornets swatted aside by Clarets as Quique’s second honeymoon ends. Emery’s Emirates tenure nears its end. Jose’s back to basics approach takes Tottenham into the top ten as Levy parts ways with Poch. Clever free-kick helps Villans to a deserved three points. No Silva lining for Everton as Cantwell breathes new life into catatonic Canaries.

LA LIGA WEEK 14 HIGHLIGHTS
Top came from behind to beat bottom as Arturo Vidal hit a late winner for Barca against floundering Leganes, while a heavily booed Bale returned from international duty to help his third priority in life keep pace with a win against Sociedad. Sevilla picked up a workmanlike 3 in Valladolid to stay third, but Atletico were held at Los Carmenes. Athletic finally found a way to breach the El Sadar fortress and another run was snapped at El Madrigal as Celta finally stopped losing thanks to two late Iago Aspas strikes. Elsewhere, Alaves won a Basque derby in Eibar, Joaquin helped Betis to a home win over Valencia, Kubo started to catch fire but it wasn’t enough for Mallorca against Levante and Espanyol were held at El Prat by Getafe.

SERIE A WEEK 13 HIGHLIGHTS
All players wore a red smear on their cheek to raise awareness about domestic violence this week. Juve did what Juve do as they punished Atalanta profligacy in a final fifteen minute flourish. Lautaro and Lukaku helped Inter trample the Bull in its own backyard. Immobile scored again, but it was Caicedo who got the stoppage time winner for the Biancoceleste at Sassuolo. Smalling is making no small contribution to Roma at both ends as he picked up another goal and clean sheet but they remain behind Cagliari, who threw away two points in a crazy final ten which saw three red cards issued and two goals conceded. In the battle of the underperforming giants, Napoli and AC shared the spoils in a result that’s not much use to either. Parma also picked up a point in Bologna and remain in the top ten alongside a defensively resolute Verona, who shut out La Viola. SPAL and Genoa’s game ended in a draw that leaves them both in the bottom three after Ranieri engineered 3 points for Samp against Udinese.

BUNDESLIGA WEEK 12 HIGHLIGHTS
Union returned to giant-killing ways seeing off the table-topping Foals 2-0. This allowed Leipzig to move within a point after they made it 16 goals in 3 games with a demolition of Koln. Lewandowski turned provider as his scoring streak ended, but Bayern still won 4-0 at Fortuna. Hoffenheim’s five game winning run ended in unceremonious fashion as a Mainz side reduced to ten men incredibly ran out 5-1 winners at the PreZero. Augsburg had a man more than Hertha, but took full advantage to win 4-0. Unsettled Jadon Sancho put off-field issues aside to help BVB come back from 3-0 down against Paderborn to draw 3-3, while Wout Weghorst helped the Wolves return to winning ways in Frankfurt. Elsewhere, Schalke picked up a crucial win and Harit another goal at Werder, and the boys from Breisgau maintained their elevated position with a draw at Leverkusen.

LIGUE 1 WEEK 14 HIGHLIGHTS
A couple of goals from PSG’s Argentinians were enough to see off LOSC, but l’OM avoided falling further behind with a battling victory over ten-man Toulouse. Angers remain third after sinking the Crocodiles at Jean-Bouin, leaving them bottom. Girondins are up to fourth as they ended Monaco’s recent revival. Slimani had an eventful game, picking up a red, a goal and gifting the winning penalty. Lyon moved into the top half with a win over Nice as Dembele moved to the top of the scoring charts, and Strasbourg stunned the Unicorns as they ran in the first four away goals of their campaign in just one match. Elsewhere, Dijon came from behind to register a 2-1 win over Rennes, the Breton derby ended 1-1 between Brest and Nantes, and Metz vs Reims finished the same way. Saint-Etienne and Montpellier were both unable to find the back of the net in their encounter.

TUE 12TH NOV 2019

PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Liverpool lead up to 8 while City slip to 4th. Foxes flatten Gunners as a new big four is established. Frank’s fledglings make it 6 in a row. Another Dier team selection by Poch for sorry Spurs. Man U on the mend. Wolves rule the West Midlands. Defenders doing all the scoring at Newcastle. Hammers hammered at Turf Moor as pressure on Pellegrini mounts. Saints sunk at home again. New Norwich nadir as Watford win for the first time this season.

LA LIGA WEEK 13 HIGHLIGHTS
Messi got yet another hat-trick and Benzema bagged a brace as both Barca and Real ran out comfortable winners. Sociedad slipped up at home to last-placed Leganes and have fallen behind both Atletico, who saw off Espanyol, and Sevilla, who claimed an intense Seville derby thanks to a Luuk de Jong winner. Athletic fought back from behind against Levante to go sixth, while Granada’s fall from grace continued with a defeat at Mestalla. Getafe Osasuna ended goalless, Alaves downed Valladolid and Takefusa Kubo’s first La Liga goal helped Mallorca come out on top in a penalty fest against Villarreal. That leaves the bottom three four points adrift.

SERIE A WEEK 12 HIGHLIGHTS
Victories for Juve and Inter meant they pulled further clear at the top, as Dybala and Barella hit the winners. A ropey ref helped lucky Lazio move third and Immobile to a seventh straight scoring game. Atalanta had to play with 10 rather than 12 men and were held by Samp, which allowed free-scoring Cagliari to move into fourth. Late goals from young starlet Vlahovic were Fiorentina’s silver lining. Parma did an expert job on Roma to take all three points, Caputo led Sassuolo to victory in the Emilian derby and Il Toro thumped Brescia into last place. The other games remained goalless, as Ancelotti’s days at Napoli and Semplici’s at SPAL appear to be numbered.

BUNDESLIGA WEEK 11 HIGHLIGHTS
The Foals are enjoying life at the top as they cruised to another victory over Werder. Der Klassiker ended like the last one in another humbling of Dortmund, with Lewandowski adding two to make it eleven scoring matches in a row to start the Bundesliga season. Bayern are level with Leipzig, who have Timo Werner in red hot form, and Freiburg, who got a late winner from who else but Nils Petersen. Hoffenheim continue to ease their way up the table after a late penalty winner at Koln, who parted ways with their coach after the defeat. Sandro Schwarz has also left Mainz after they narrowly failed to fight back from 3-0 down at home to set-piece specialists Union. The Royal Blues took the lead three times against Fortuna, but were clawed back three times by Rouwen Hennings, who took his season tally to 9 goals. Elsewhere, Bayer continued Wolfsburg’s miserable run and Augsburg won at Paderborn.

LIGUE 1 WEEK 13 HIGHLIGHTS
It was back to winning ways and another goal for Icardi as PSG extended their lead to nine points with a win in Brest. The Choc des Olympiques saw Rudi Garcia lose again, but this time while sitting on the OL bench. Marseille move up to second. St Etienne continued their excellent recent form with a win at Nantes through a Bouanga brace, as Montpellier comfortably saw off Toulouse. Rennes put European disappointment behind them to defeat the Unicorns at home, while Strasbourg found their scoring boots to net four against the Crocodiles, who remain bottom. In the remaining matches, Monaco continued their recent revival with a home win, Bordeaux were held by Nice and the other fixtures finished goalless.

TUE 5TH NOV 2019

PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Late Mane magic robs Villans. Saints valiant in defeat. Jamie Vardy’s having another party. Frank’s kids keep doing the business. Emery in denial at Emirates. Sheffield going from strength to strength. King ends mini Manchester revival. Gulls soar as Canaries nosedive. Steve longs for Geordie love. Tragic varce to end all varces.

LA LIGA WEEK 11 HIGHLIGHTS WEEK 12 HIGHLIGHTS
Indifferent starts to the season continued for Real and Barca as they followed up 5-star performances midweek (Messi sublime) with dropped points at the weekend in home matches against Betis and Leganes. Sociedad did the opposite, losing at Levante before winning at Granada to move level on points with the big two. A rejuvenated Morata helped Atletico keep in touch as they and Sevilla lie just a point behind. Osasuna extended their incredible unbeaten run at El Sadar to a record breaking 31 games and lie ninth. At the other end of the table, it was a bad week for the bottom three with Celta, Espanyol and Leganes all losing both their matches. For Vigo, it is now four defeats in a row.

SERIE A WEEK 10 HIGHLIGHTS WEEK 11 HIGHLIGHTS
De Ligt made it four handballs in four games, two of which he has got away with. The weekend one in the Turin derby reeked of Calciopoli, and was compounded by the fact the culprit also scored the winner. Inter picked up two 2-1 away wins with Lukaku knocking in 3 of their goals to keep pace. A Zaniolo powered Roma moved third with 3 wins from 3 in a week, the most impressive being in the Derby del Sole 2-1. Lazio also picked up a couple of wins with Immobile in irresistible form, breaking their 30 year AC San Siro hoodoo in the process. Atalanta and Napoli both stumbled to a single point in a bad week for both, but Cagliari’s form continues to impress. Elsewhere, Lecce can’t stop drawing and Hellas Verona subjected Balotelli to yet more racist abuse, with the league once again doing absolutely nothing. Samp moved off the bottom thanks to a win at SPAL, who take their place at the foot of the table.

BUNDESLIGA WEEK 10 HIGHLIGHTS
Marcus Thuram (son of Lilian) kept up his sensational form to extend the Foals’ stay at the top to a fourth week and their lead to 3, as Leon Bailey saw straight red on his return from injury. Dortmund moved second as they made it a week to forget for Wolfsburg. Bayern’s indifferent form turned disastrous as Eintracht destroyed them 5-1, with Niko Kovac being shown the door. Their one was Lewandowski, though, who has now scored in every one of the first ten matches. Amine Harit secured Schalke 3 points late on in Augsburg, Hoffenheim’s hot streak continued and Leipzig are well and truly back at the races after dismantling Mainz 8-0 with a Timo Werner hat-trick the icing on the cake of a superb team performance. In the Rhine Derby, Fortuna ran out comfortable victors, but Union left it late to claim the historic first-ever Berlin Bundesliga derby 1-0. Elsewhere, Nils Petersen pegged back Werder twice to edge ever closer to becoming Freiburg’s all-time leading scorer.

LIGUE 1 WEEK 12 HIGHLIGHTS
Bottom stunned top as lowly Dijon defeated PSG, who nevertheless remain 7 points clear of their closest rivals, Angers, who took full advantage of Nantes’ loss to Girondins in the Derby de l’Atlantique to regain second spot. Marseille bounced back from their thumping in Paris to edge out Lille and move fourth, as Lyon made it two wins from two in Toulouse thanks to an exquisite last minute solo effort from Memphis Depay. Elsewhere, St Etienne saw off Monaco at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard and there were home wins for Nice and Amiens. Metz and Montpellier drew 2-2, while Rennes vs Nimes was abandoned due to heavy rain. Nimes now prop up the table.

TUE 29th OCT 2019

PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Reds serge past Spurs after Kane’s opener sends Chivers down Martin’s spine. Sterling’s scoring streak sees City home. Hungry Foxes feast on fallen Saints. Pulisic treble helps Chelsea capitalise on Barnes’ broken radar. Captain Granit crumbles. Penalty saves Krul comfort as Martial lays down the law in Norwich. Indignant Everton fall to first VAR pen in the Prem. Short shrift for Longstaff in Tyneside draw. Sheffield show steel to pick up a point at the Hammers. Hornets lacking sting, as Bournemouth draw blank.

LA LIGA WEEK 10 HIGHLIGHTS
Granada took full advantage of El Clasico’s postponement to claim a hugely improbable top spot with a win over Betis. Sociedad moved up to the third after sneaking a victory in Vigo at the death. Atletico beat Bilbao in a routine 2-0 home win, while Sevilla did the same to Getafe. Toko Ekambi’s fine scoring form continued as the Yellow Submarine downed Eibar 4-1. Osasuna made it 32 games unbeaten at home by defeating Valencia. Valladolid picked up a useful home win, while Mallorca failed to reproduce the form they showed against Real going down to Leganes, who remain bottom. Espanyol got a vital three points to make it a good week for the bottom two.

SERIE A WEEK 9 HIGHLIGHTS
Serie A’s big hitters were pegged back this week, as Juventus were held at Lecce and Inter limited to a point at home to Parma. Sarri’s decision to rest Cristiano Ronaldo was not capitalised on by Napoli, though, who couldn’t get past SPAL in Ferrara. Atalanta, however, did not pass up the opportunity to close the gap on the top two as La Dea reached seventh heaven in a rout of Udinese. Goals from talismen Dzeko and Immobile saw both Roman clubs secure two-one wins at the expense of Milan and Fiorentina respectively. Cagliari picked up a point in Turin, Sassuolo got all three in Verona, whilst Genoa’s new boss Thiago Motta got off to a winning start at home. Ranieri’s Samp remain bottom after defeat at Bologna.

BUNDESLIGA WEEK 9 HIGHLIGHTS
Monchengladbach extended their stay at the top of the table to 3 weeks with a 4-2 home win over the Eagles. Lewandowski netted again to make it 13 scoring games in a row in all competitions and a new Bundesliga record of 9 in a row to start the season. Bayern were made to sweat it out though and were grateful to Neuer for saving one of the two penalties they conceded against a feisty Union. Freiburg proved they are no flash in the pan by beating Leipzig to take third. Wolfsburg slipped to fourth after a disappointing goalless draw with Augsburg. The Revier derby also lacked goals, but Schalke were clearly the better of the teams on display. Bayer and Werder drew 2-2, and Hoffenheim made it 3 wins on the bounce at Hertha. In the basement, Mainz won to move out of the bottom three, whilst Paderborn got their first win of the season, but stay in last position.

LIGUE 1 WEEK 11 HIGHLIGHTS
As I hinted at previously, Ligue 1 is already over. If you were planning on betting against another PSG title, don’t. Marseille were the latest to be dispatched this week and, to make matters worse, Mauro Icardi is now firing on all cylinders. It just seems unfair. There was, however, a return to form for the other big guns as Lyon, Monaco and Lille all won. Pity they’re all so far behind already. Promoted Brest reached the dizzy heights of fifth with a win that put Dijon bottom, as Strasbourg vacated that position with victory over Nice. Elsewhere, Rennes pipped Toulouse in a 3-2 thriller, and Wahbi Khazri finally ended his goal drought as St Etienne drew with Amiens. Montpellier vs Angers and Reims vs Nimes yielded no goals.

TUE 22ND OCT 2019

PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Reds run ended by familiar foe. City polish off Palace. Foxes in the hunt for top four. Good times continue to roll for young Blues. Gunners can’t blast through Sheffield steel. Spurs slide continues, but Dele’s drought ends. Cherries and Canaries keep first clean sheets. Toffees come out of a sticky patch. Villa on Targett as they snatch a late win. Third time lucky for Jimenez.

LA LIGA WEEK 9 HIGHLIGHTS
The shock of the week occurred at relegation threatened Mallorca, where Real went down 1-0, further increasing the pressure on Zinedine Zidane. This slip-up allowed Barca to steal top spot after a routine 3-0 win at Eibar. Granada now sit an impressive third thanks to a home win over Osasuna. Sociedad won at home to go fourth, putting Betis into the relegation zone. Atletico were held at home by Valencia thanks to a late Dani Parejo goal, whilst Sevilla picked up 3 points beating Levante. Leganes are rooted to the bottom already seven points from safety after losing at Getafe. Espanyol gave the woodwork a hammering at home to Villarreal but succumbed 1-0 to stay 19th. Elsewhere, Alaves beat Celta to leave them on the brink of the bottom three.

SERIE A WEEK 8 HIGHLIGHTS
The Old Lady held onto top spot with a narrow home victory over Bologna, but Inter managed to stay on their heels after a 4-1 lead turned into a nervy 4-3 win at mourning Sassuolo. Immobile fell over twice to help Lazio back to 3-3 from 3-0 down to Atalanta leaving La Dea’s Gasperini exasperated. A Milik double kept Napoli in fourth ahead of surprise package, Cagliari, who won against SPAL to go 5th. Claudio Ranieri has been deemed the man to rescue Samp, and he got off to a good start by holding Roma at home. Stefano Pioli’s reign at the Rossoneri started in a rather less commendable draw at home to Lecce. Elsewhere, Genoa’s season went from bad to worse, as a thunderous Cornelius hat-trick saw them thrashed 5-1 and manager Andreazzoli out of employment. Elsewhere, Udinese defeated Il Toro at home and Fiorentina played out a goalless draw at Brescia.

BUNDESLIGA WEEK 8 HIGHLIGHTS
It’s absurdly tight at the top of the Bundesliga with the top 9 sides separated by just 2 points. Monchengladbach remain top, despite going down to a Marco Reus winner at Dortmund. They are joined on 16 points by undefeated Wolfsburg, who scraped a point at Leipzig through a late Wout Weghorst goal. Bayern are on 15 after throwing away a couple of points in Augsburg, who turned 2 shots on target into 2 goals, but Lewandowski’s incredible scoring run continued. Union got a win to move out of the relegation zone and keep Freiburg off an improbable top spot. Schalke and Bayer also missed the chance to move top after defeats to Hoffenheim and Eintracht respectively. Elsewhere, Werder drew with Hertha, Fortuna beat Mainz and Paderborn are now cut well adrift at the bottom after a 3-0 loss to the Billy Goats.

LIGUE 1 WEEK 10 HIGHLIGHTS
PSG moved an ominous 5 points clear in Ligue 1, despite only just starting to hit form. It seems that no side is properly equipped to mount a decent challenge to them this year, as their three closest challengers – Nantes, Bordeaux and Angers – all lost. Reims and Montpellier took full advantage to fill third and fourth place respectively. Toulouse got a new manager bounce as Antoine Kombouare took them straight out of the relegation zone with a win, but Rudi Garcia taking the helm at OL did not have the same effect as they failed to put away Dijon at home. Brest made it two wins on the bounce and move into the top half, whilst Monaco came out on top 3-2 in a topsy-turvy encounter with Rennes in the principality.

TUE 8TH OCT 2019

PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Sadio stumble sneaks Reds to seventeen. Traore trips up City on the counter. Shocking Spurs surrender as Connolly capitalises. Longstaff brothers beat up bleary-eyed Solskjaer. Wesley whips Canaries at Carrow Road. Frank feelgood factor continues to flow. Gunners pip the Cherries. Palace plunder 3 points to enhance Roy’s remarkable record. Hendrick hurts travelling Toffees. Wasteful Watford pick up a point.

LA LIGA WEEK 8 HIGHLIGHTS
Messi was back and straight on the scoresheet in a 4-0 victory over Sevilla, slightly marred by a couple of pointless red cards at the end. This put them just behind leaders Real, who got 4 of their own against Granada, including Eden Hazard’s first in La Liga. Atletico’s stutter continued with a draw in Valladolid, and it wasn’t a good weekend for the Basque country either, with Sociedad losing at home to Getafe, Athletic going down in Balaidos and Alaves doing the same in the Mestalla. Eibar at least managed a point at Betis. Elsewhere, there were good wins for Osasuna and Mallorca, whilst Leganes’ home loss to Levante sees them rooted to the bottom.

SERIE A WEEK 7 HIGHLIGHTS
A thrilling Derby d’Italia saw the Old Lady ruin the Nerazzurri’s 100% record and take top spot with it. Atalanta kept hold of third as they returned home to a renovated and renamed stadium with a 3-1 win. Napoli played out a scoreless draw with Il Toro to fall further behind, whilst Roma were held by Cagliari. The Biancocelesti drew a bad-tempered affair in Bologna, with Rossoblu manager Mihajlovic returning to the bench after lengthy treatment for leukaemia. This game featured 2 red cards, but Milan’s bottom of the table clash with Genoa yielded 4. More importantly for the Rossoneri, it also yielded 3 points. Elsewhere, Fiorentina made it 3 on the bounce, Samp’s struggles intensified in Verona and SPAL got a crucial home win. Brescia and Sassuolo’s match was postponed following the passing of Sassuolo’s owner and president, for whom minute silences were observed across the country.

BUNDESLIGA WEEK 7 HIGHLIGHTS
Bayern came down to earth with a bump, following up their Spurs trouncing with a home defeat to Hoffenheim. Monchengladbach took full advantage by seeing off Augsburg with a flurry of first half goals that sees them top the table. Bayer and Leipzig are level with Bayern on 14 after a draw in their encounter. Also on 14 are Schalke, who were pegged back by a late Koln equaliser, and Freiburg, who did the late pegging back themselves against Dortmund. Wolfsburg are up to second after seeing off Union, who slip into the bottom three alongside the other promoted sides, Koln and Paderborn. In the remaining games, Frankfurt drew 2-2 with Werder and Hertha continued their winning run at home to Fortuna.

LIGUE 1 WEEK 9 HIGHLIGHTS
PSG remembered where the back of the net was and reasserted their dominance in the league with a 4-0 win over their closest rivals, Angers, who were replaced in second by high flying Nantes. Bordeaux continue to impress with a win in Toulouse taking them up to fourth, just ahead of Lille, who were held at home by Nimes. St Etienne poached the Rhone-Alpes derby in the final minute to heap further woe on a beleaguered OL, whilst Marseille and Monaco’s recent resurgence was checked in 3-1 defeats at Amiens and Montpellier respectively. Reims continued their strong start at Rennes, and there were important home wins near the bottom for Dijon and Brest. Metz are now propping up the table.

TUE 24th SEP 2019

PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Firmino makes it fifteen as Chelsea youngsters can’t bridge the gap. Etihad first-class Silva service cuts short Quique’s honeymoon. Foxes win by a whisker. United’s defence Mina than Everton’s, but Billy’s not getting too wild. Villans robbed as ten-men Gunners have a Guendouzi of a second half. Great goal-line clearance means Gulls and Magpies schar the spoils. Eddie breaks away derby duck as Ralph rues Saints’ sloppiness. Canaries not up for the Clarets after last week’s feast. Weary Wanderers gifted a point at Palace. Hammers give Ole a pounding headache.

LA LIGA HIGHLIGHTS
Barca got away with it against Dortmund, but Granada didn’t let them off so easily with a fully deserved 2-0 win that takes them third. Real managed to shake off their PSG humiliation with a classic Benzema header to win 1-0 at Sevilla to go second, while Athletic are the surprise early pacesetters after a 2-0 home defeat of Alaves. Kubo got his first assist as Mallorca lost 4-2 at Getafe, whilst a Santi Cazorla penalty helped Villarreal see off Valladolid 2-0. Sociedad took the points at Espanyol, Valencia were held at home to Leganes and the other three games finished goalless.

SERIE A HIGHLIGHTS
It was all about the Premier League exports this week. A Lukaku strike helped Inter continue their 100% start with a win in the Milan derby. Aaron Ramsey scored for Juve, who stay second after beating Hellas, whilst Fernando Llorente banged in a couple as Napoli won at Lecce 4-1 to go third. Fourth placed Roma relied on their former Man City Kolarov/Dzeko pairing to win at Bologna. Immobile was on target in a winning return to the Lazio line-up. Marco Gabbiadini helped Samp to their first points of the season as Caputo helped Sassuolo break SPAL in the Emiliano derby. Elsewhere, Atalanta recovered from an undynamic performance in Zagreb, Cagliari beat the boys from across the bay and Brescia won at Udinese.

BUNDESLIGA HIGHLIGHTS
Leipzig continue to lead the way after a comfortable 3-0 victory at Bremen. Lewandowski was extraordinarily magnanimous in passing up a hat-trick to allow Coutinho to score his first goal in a 4-0 rout of Koln. As was the case against Barcelona, Dortmund didn’t get their just desserts against Eintracht and had to settle for a draw. Harit continued to shine as Schalke saw off struggling Mainz. Paderborn lost the basement battle with Hertha and remain on a solitary point. Freiburg were held by Augsburg but remain fourth. Elsewhere, Leverkusen dispatched Union 2-0, the Foals fought back to beat Dusseldorf and the Wolves drew with Hoffenheim.

LIGUE 1 HIGHLIGHTS
PSG are top thanks to Neymar, who continued his road to redemption with another spectacular late winner in Lyon. Surprise package Angers brushed aside St Etienne 4-1 thanks to a Ninga hat-trick to move up to second. Nice are in third after a home victory against Dijon, who remain bottom. Metz (home loss to Amiens) and Monaco (a draw in champagne country) join them in the relegation zone. Early pacesetters Rennes and Lille battled to a 1-1 draw while Marseilles and Montpellier finished honours even in a bad tempered game in the Velodrome that saw 3 players sent off. Elsewhere, there were home wins for Strasbourg and Nimes, while Bordeaux survived a scare against Brest as they drew 2-2.