The
major matches of the week:
BATE are
the champions of Belarus again. By the end of the season the Brazilian-born
forward Renan Bressan reestablished himself as a major player in BATE’s squad.
The title holders had to earn three points in the remaining three matches. It
was Bressan, who assured that the title would officially be defended in that
particular match against FC Minsk. A great volley on the 23rd and a
penalty on the 54th minutes would be enough to clinch the title for
the ninth time in a row, but the teammates kept on attacking. The final whistle
registered a score of 5-1 as the home crowd went wild. Congratulations BATE!
Anderlecht
won the first round of Jupiler League, climbing on top after destroying Club Brugge
in the biggest Belgian derby. It is fair to say that the visitors approached
the derby in a terrible form. In fact, their last win in the league is dated on
the 23rd of September, which makes it the worst form in the league
for Club Brugge. But derbies are something special in football, so teams
reorganize and such matches often become a turning point. Not this time,
unfortunately. Bruno, Mbokani and Jovanovic scored each in the first half,
claiming their big ambitions for the season. Anderlecht players really outperformed
their rivals in every aspect. The way they were passing the ball all over the
pitch was absolutely wonderful. This team, having players representing 17
different countries, has got a big potential and might become a big surprise
for Europe within a short period of time. Kljestan, Biglia and Praet continued
the humiliation of Brugge in the second half, making the score 6-1. Milan
should really take the upcoming trip to Belgium seriously.
Montpellier-PSG
was the weekend’s central match. The French champions and main challengers of
the title were meeting face to face. After being officially relegated from the
Champions League group stage, Montpellier saw this match as a chance to recover
in front of its fans. PSG was playing without the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Only ten minutes inside the match the Parisians got another blow, as defender
Mamadou Sakho was expulsed. Rene Girard’s players hurried to beat the hurt
beast, but conceded a crucial counterattack, where Maxwell chipped a beautiful
ball into the opponent’s goal. Both the score and the number of players on the
pitch equaled by the 65th minute, as Remy Cabella scored for the
champions and Younes Belhanda got his second yellow card. The teams had plenty
of chances to score again, but the absence of Ibrahimovic and Belhanda had obviously
weakened the attacking potential of the teams. 1-1, and PSG is very close to
lose the first position to Marseille.
Highlights
of the week:
- - Arsenal
didn’t win again! One of the little London derbies ended 3-3, where Mikel
Arteta missed the winning penalty on 95th minute. There is another London
derby expecting Wenger’s team in the next match,
- - Manchester
United won thanks to Chicharito’s hat-trick in the second half,
- - Ajax’s
18 year old Danish talent Viktor Fischer scored two in his first starting
line-up match, and was asked to participate in a friendly match for the Danish
national football team for the first time,
- - Shakhtar
won all of its first round matches in the Ukrainian league, achieving a rare
result. Their winning streak has reached 23; 7 more and a new Pan-European
record will be set. Shakhtar’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan has scored 16, participating
in 14 matches. Only 7 goals in 15 matches part him from setting a new record of
the league.
- - The
new average position of the 32 Champions League participants has deteriorated a
bit and is 3,53 now. The Scottish Celtic lost its leading position last
weekend, although they have played a match less than Hibernian. The opposite
situation is in France, where PSG is occupying the first place, having played a
match more than the main concurrents from Marseille.
The
upcoming weekend:
Serie A is
going to be the focus this weekend with two attractive matches before the
Champions League week: Juventus will host Lazio, and Milan will visit Napoli. The
Portuguese League will take its third break meanwhile.
| Club | Last Matches | Next match | Position in the domestic league |
| Ajax (Netherlands) | 11.11 Zwolle (A) 4-2 | 17.11 Venlo (H) | 4 |
| BATE (Belarus) | 10.11 FK Minsk (H) 5-1 | 17.11 Slavia (A) | 1 |
| Anderlecht (Belgium) | 11.11 Club Brugge (H) 6-1 | 18.11 Kortrijk (H) | 1 |
| Dinamo Z. (Croatia) | 10.11 RNK Split (A) 0-1 | 17.11 Zadar (H) | 1 |
| Arsenal (England) | 10.11 Fulham (H) 3-3 | 17.11 Tottenham (H) | 8 |
| Man. City (England) | 11.11 Tottenham (H) 2-1 | 17.11 Aston Villa (H) | 2 |
| Man. Utd. (England) | 10.11 Aston Villa (A) 3-2 | 17.11 Norwich (A) | 1 |
| Chelsea (England) | 11.11 Liverpool (H) 1-1 | 17.11 West Brom. (A) | 3 |
| FC Barcelona (Spain) | 11.11 Mallorca (A) 4-2 | 17.11 Zaragoza (H) | 1 |
| Real Madrid (Spain) | 11.11 Levante (A) 2-1 | 17.11Athletic (H) | 3 |
| Valencia (Spain) | 11.11 Valladolid (A) 1-1 | 17.11 Espanyol (H) | 8 |
| Malaga (Spain) | 10.11 Real Sociedad(H)1-2 | 17.11 Osasuna (A) | 5 |
| Bayern (Germany) | 10.11 Eintracht Fr. (H) 2-0 | 17.11 Nurnberg (A) | 1 |
| Borussia D. (Germany) | 10.11 Augsburg (A) 3-1 | 17.11 Gr. Furth (H) | 4 |
| Schalke 04 (Germany) | 10.11 Werder Br. (H) 2-1 | 17.11 Bayer (A) | 2 |
| Benfica (Portugal) | 11.11 Rio Ave (A) 1-0 | 16.11 Moreirense (Cup) | 2 |
| Porto (Portugal) | 11.11 Academica C.(H)2-1 | 17.11 Nacional M.(Cup) | 1 |
| Sp. Braga (Portugal) | 11.11 Sporting L. (A) 0-1 | 16.11 Pampilhosa (Cup) | 3 |
| CFR Cluj (Romania) | 11.11 Concordia (A) 2-1 | 16.11 Astra (H) | 5 |
| Galatasaray (Turkey) | 11.11 Mersin (A) 1-1 | 16.11 Kardemir K. (H) | 1 |
| Juventus (Italy) | 10.11 Pescara (A) 6-1 | 17.11 Lazio (H) | 1 |
| Milan (Italy) | 11.11 Fiorentina (H) 1-3 | 17.11 Napoli (A) | 13 |
| Montpellier (France) | 11.11 PSG (H) 1-1 | 17.11 Valenciennes (A) | 14 |
| PSG (France) | 11.11 Montpellier (A) 1-1 | 17.11 St. Rennais (H) | 1 |
| Lille (France) | 10.11 St. Brestois (H) 1-0 | 16.11 Lorient (A) | 7 |
| Nordsjæland (Denmark) | 10.11 Randers (H) 2-2 | 16.11 AGF (A) | 2 |
| Olympiacos (Greece) | 11.11 AEK (A) 4-0 | 17.11 Kerkyra (H) | 1 |
| Shakhtar D. (Ukraine) | 11.11 Metalurg D. (A) 4-0 | 17.11 Arsenal K. (A) | 1 |
| Dynamo K. (Ukraine) | 10.11 Metalurg Z. (A) 5-0 | 17.11 Metalurg D. (A) | 3 |
| Zenit (Russia) | 11.11 Volga (A) 2-1 | 17.11 Dynamo M. (A) | 2 |
| Spartak M. (Russia) | 11.11 Krasnodar (H) 2-0 | 17.11 Volga (A) | 4 |
| Celtic (Scotland) | 11.11 St. Johnstone (H) 1-1 | 17.11 Aberdeen (A) | 2 |
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