PREMIER LEAGUE HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS
LIVERPOOL – Was it ever going to be anything other than = 9pts
SOUTHAMPTON – Fine capital dining for Hasenhuttl = 7pts
WATFORD – 3rd manager lucky? Resurgent under Pearson = 7pts
MAN CITY – Bye bye title challenge = 6pts
LEICESTER – Bounced straight back after defeats to big two = 6pts
EVERTON – Toffees back on track after Carlo coup = 6pts
MAN U – Ole Ole Ole Ole (except for the Arsenal game) = 6pts
VILLA – 2 out of 3 ain’t bad, especially in a relegation fight = 6pts
PALACE – Roy’s Eagles continue their serene glide = 5pts
ARSENAL – Arteta’s Arsenal a harder nut to crack = 4pts
CHELSEA – Consistently inconsistent = 4pts
SPURS – Team and manager both breaking down = 4pts
BRIGHTON – A respectable return = 4pts
WOLVES – A win over City, but Reds a bridge too far = 3pts
WEST HAM – Moyes and Fabianski steady the ship = 3pts
NORWICH – Points thrown away late on to Spurs and Palace = 2pts
BOURNEMOUTH – Eddie’s biggest crisis thus far? = 1pt
SHEFFIELD UNITED – Tough fixtures. They’ll be back = 1pt
BURNLEY – Back in trouble? 3 games, just 1 goal = 0pts
NEWCASTLE – Solid season, terrible Christmas = 0pts

LA LIGA WEEK 19 HIGHLIGHTS
A Varane double saw Real claw back the two points they’d let slip just before the winter break away to Getafe, as a Frenkie de Jong red card paved the way for a late Wu Lei equaliser in the Catalan derby. City rivals Atletico followed suit as they caught up with Sevilla in third, who were unable to see off Athletic at the Sanchez Pijuan. A few points further back, Valencia caught up with 5th placed Sociedad, who lost late on Villarreal. At the other end, Mallorca slipped into the relegation zone after defeat in Granada, but will be thankful that both Leganes and Celta (for the umpteenth time) conceded late goals to limit the damage. In the remaining match, a Joaquin penalty miss meant Betis had to settle for a solitary point in Alaves.

SERIE A WEEK 18 HIGHLIGHTS
Mario Balotelli scored the first Serie A goal of the 2020s, as he had done in the 2010s, and it was very much a case of different year, same story in Italy. Same racism issues, same late Lazio fightback (nine wins in a row), same scoring machines on fire (Immobile, Lautaro and Lukaku, the entire Atalanta lineup), same expected victories for the title contenders, same struggles for Milan (despite Zlatan’s return), Napoli and Fiorentina, same steadfast Hellas defence. The main change to the script this week was a win for Il Toro at Roma, although the goals came from the predictable source of Belotti, and Genoa bouncing off the bottom with a win that sends toothless SPAL bottom.

BUNDESLIGA
Frohes Neues Jahr! With their lengthy winter holiday, four fewer league games and a solitary straight knockout cup competition, I can see why the likes of Lewandowski are happy to stay here. I can’t help but feel the Germans are getting it all right with their scheduling.

LIGUE 1
No league action this weekend, but the players were not on holiday. The early stages of the Coupe de France got underway with Cavani and co running riot against lesser opposition. No massive shocks.