London Blues

EPL: In the most keenly anticipated match of the weekend, Chelsea came out on the losing end in the battle of the millionaires.

The league leaders struggled at Manchester City as they went down 2-1 and dropped three important points. Emmanuel Adebayor scored an own goal in the eighth minute, but redeemed himself before the interval.

Carlos Tevez then put the home side ahead in the second half and City held on, thanks to the heroics of ‘keeper Shay Given. Frank Lampard struck a poor penalty late on to round off a poor game by the Londoners.

Champions Manchester United, however, put in a splendid performance against West Ham to cut the lead atop the table to two points. Goals from Rooney, Scholes, Valencia and the impressive Darron Gibson sealed the deal for United.

Arsenal got things rolling again with a 2-0 win over Ricardo Fuller’s Stoke City. Goals from Andrey Arshavin and starlet Aaron Ramsey did the trick for the Gunners. Rafael Benitez’s men continued their indifferent form this season playing to a tame draw with Blackburn Rovers.

New Pompey boss Avram Grant got his first win in charge as Portsmouth dispatched Burnley 2-0. Aston Villa thrashed Hull City 3-0 while Birmingham came from a goal down to defeat Wigan 3-2.

The Messi Show

La Liga: Ballon d’Or 2009 winner Lionel Messi scored twice and Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted once for Barcelona as the Spanish and European champions defeated Deportivo La Coruna 3-1.

The Catalans stay five points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish Primera Division table. After going behind 2-1 at one stage to Almeria at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid came out on top 4-2. Sergio Ramos, Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Los Blancos, while Soriano and Kalu Uche netted for the visiting side. The win maintained pressure on Barcelona who Madrid is hoping will slip up.

Atletico Madrid eased past the impressive newcomers Xerez 2-0, while Sevilla played to 1-1 draw with Valladolid, as did Malaga and Osasuna. Racing Santander stamped their class as they wiped the floor with Espanyol, beating them 4-0 with goals from Henrique, a Sergio Canales brace and Mohammed Tchite.

Mallorca routed Zaragoza 4-1, Tenerife got by Sporting Gijon 2-1, as did Valencia over Athletic Bilbao. Villarreal twice fought back from a goal down against Getafe to pick up a priceless 3-2 win at El Madrigal.

Rejuvenation complete

Serie A: The old hapless Milan have turned things around and are on a whole new level as they have convincingly defeated Sampdoria 3-0 at home. Marco Borriello gave the hosts the lead in the second minute and soon Clarence Seedorf and Alexandre Pato scored one goal each in the first half.

In the biggest game of the Italian football calendar, the Derby d’Italia, Juventus came out on top, defeating Inter 2-1. Felipe Melo gave them the lead in the 20th-minute, but minutes later Samuel Eto’o equalised. Claudio Marchisio won the game with an exceptional finish.

Marco Cassetti settled the Rome derby as Roma edged Lazio 1-0. In the only draw of the round, Parma and Genoa ended 2-2. Bologna and Palermo had similar 2-1 wins over Undinese and Cagliari, respectively. Fiorentina and Chevio also had similar 2-0 victiories over Atalanta and Livorno.

In an explosive second half, Napoli narrowly beat Bari 3-2. A Quagliarela brace and Christian Maggio strike got the job done. Siena also defeated Catania by a similar scoreline.

Bayern’s resurgence continues

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich’s recent good run continued as the Bavarian defeated Moenchengladbach. Strikes from Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber helped FC Hollywood to a 2-1 win.

Hamburg versus Hoffenheim and Hanover against Bayer Leverkusen ended scoreless.

Stuttgart and Bochum played to 1-1 draw while Wolfsburg and Freiburg ended 2-2. Borussia Dortmund blew pass Nuremberg 4-0 and Frankfurt easily won against Mainz. Werder Bremen and FC Cologne ended 0-0 and Schalke defeated Hertha 2-0.