Sochaux 0-1 Marseille
Le Mans 2-1 Bordeaux
A couple of midweek games took place last Wednesday and contrasting fortunes for two title contenders. Marseille stretched the lead to five points at the top after Stephane Mbia won it in the last couple of minutes at Sochaux. Bordeaux have just imploded. Nobody loses to Le Mans, especially a side looking to take the title. All of a sudden, the champions are now nine points off the top after this defeat. They led early on through Carlos Henrique, but Anthony Le Tallec equalised ten minutes later and Mathieu Dossevi put Le Mans ahead on the stroke of half-time. And they held on despite losing Fousseyni Cisse's to a late red card.
Rennes v Nancy
Boulogne v Marseille
Valenciennes v Le Mans
Auxerre v Lorient
Grenoble v Sochaux
Nice v Lens
Bordeaux v Lyon
Lille v Monaco
Montpellier v Toulouse
St Etienne v PSG
So to round 33 and one game stands out a mile. Bordeaux v Lyon. Coming shortly after Lyon's triumph over Bordeaux in the Champions League and Bordeaux in stinky rotten form, it all points to a win for Les Gones. Unless one of these sides win, then you may as well hand Marseille the crown as it's impossible to see them losing to Boulogne. Auxerre are the nearest challengers, but again they need to win at home to Lorient in order to keep the race alive. Montpellier look to have shot their bolt, championship-wise, but are still in the frame for Europe and take on Toulouse this week.
Le Mans gave themselves an outside chance of survival by beating Bordeaux, but they're still ten points behind St Etienne. If Les Verts get anything out of their game against PSG, it could condemn Le Mans to the drop no matter what happens at Valenciennes. Grenoble are already down and there are a couple of games with hardly anything riding on them as Nancy go to Rennes and Nice face Lens.
The home of football sarcasm
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Friday, 16 April 2010
Bundesliga round 31
Cologne v Bochum
Freiburg v Nurnberg
Hamburg v Mainz
Wolfsburg v Bremen
Schalke v Monchengladbach
Stuttgart v Leverkusen
Bayern v Hannover 96
Dortmund v Hoffenheim
Eintracht v Hertha
Time pressures and some technical issues at Euroballs Towers means this will have to be brief. Bayern start their canter to the title with a home game against lowly Hannover. The run-in for the Bavarians should see them win all their remaining game and, should that transpire, the championship is theirs. Schalke take on Gladbach while Leverkusen need to win to maintain any hope. What hope there is looks to be forlorn.
Freiburg v Nurnberg is the big one down at the bottom. Lose it, and Freiburg are all but condemned to the bottom three. Hertha, meanwhile, have to win. Nothing else will do now. Elsewhere, Bochum need something out of their game at Cologne while the rest are jockeying for position in mid-table.
Freiburg v Nurnberg
Hamburg v Mainz
Wolfsburg v Bremen
Schalke v Monchengladbach
Stuttgart v Leverkusen
Bayern v Hannover 96
Dortmund v Hoffenheim
Eintracht v Hertha
Time pressures and some technical issues at Euroballs Towers means this will have to be brief. Bayern start their canter to the title with a home game against lowly Hannover. The run-in for the Bavarians should see them win all their remaining game and, should that transpire, the championship is theirs. Schalke take on Gladbach while Leverkusen need to win to maintain any hope. What hope there is looks to be forlorn.
Freiburg v Nurnberg is the big one down at the bottom. Lose it, and Freiburg are all but condemned to the bottom three. Hertha, meanwhile, have to win. Nothing else will do now. Elsewhere, Bochum need something out of their game at Cologne while the rest are jockeying for position in mid-table.
Monday, 12 April 2010
Grenoble finally down: Ligue 1 reviews
Toulouse 4-0 Grenoble
Lorient 1-1 Rennes
Monaco 2-1 Valenciennes
Sochaux 0-2 St Etienne
Le Mans 2-2 Montpellier
Lens 3-0 Boulogne
PSG 3-1 Bordeaux
Lyon 1-1 Lille
Nancy 0-1 Auxerre
Marseille 4-1 Nice
Lyon and Auxerre both had spells at the top of Ligue 1 over the course of the weekend as matches developed, but Marseille ended it top as they had been coming into the round. They were last in action, the late Sunday kick-off seeing them dispatch Nice with something to spare. Bakari Koné opened the scoring shortly before the break and it was two a few minutes after through Stéphane Mbia. Two in three minutes later on - Mathieu Valbuena and Souleymane Diawara - made it four and Nice only got their consolation in stoppage time. Auxerre had been in action earlier on Sunday and won through a late Daniel Niculae strike which sent them top, for a couple of hours at least. That was longer then Lyon had spent on top - it was all of about 16 minutes for Les Gones between the time Cris had equalised Pierre-Alain Frau's opener for Lille. Cris's goal came off the back of a free-kick given away by Ricardo Costa who saw red for his actions, but the sides would finish level as Maxime Gonalons followed him down the tunnel ten minutes from time. Bordeaux suffered a major setback, losing heavily to PSG. Bordeaux keeper Ulrich Ramé was sent off on the half-hour and it was an uphill battle from there. Sylvain Armand put PSG ahead before the break and Mevlut Erding made it two halfway through the second period. Ludovic Sané pulled one back, but Guillaume Hoarau headed in the clincher four minutes from time.
Grenoble are down. They're now twenty points shy of safety with eighteen to play for after they were hammered by Toulouse - Franck Tabanou with two and André-Pierre Gignac making a welcome return ahead of the World Cup in a 4-0 win - and St Etienne went and beat Sochaux. Loic Perrin struck just before the break while Gonzalo Bergessio made it safe in the second half. Not only does that condemn Grenoble to their fate, it puts a buffer of eleven points back from Les Verts to Boulogne in 18th. That's not mathematically safe, but it'll take a huge turnaround in form for it to be overhauled. Toifilu Maoulida's hat-trick for Lens sank Boulogne and a point for Le Mans against the once mighty but now stuttering Montpellier wasn't enough to make much of a difference. Roland Lamah put Le Mans in front within seconds of the kick-off, but Karim Ait Fana and a Souleymane Camara penalty turned the game back Montpellier's way. They lost direction after a double sending-off, Le Mans' Gregory Cerdan and Montpellier's Cyril Jeunechamp both going within seconds of each other. Cerdan went for deliberate handball while Jeunechamp attacked the Le Mans coach Arnaud Cormier. Montpellier boss Rene Girard was also shown red before Lamah's second grabbed a point for Le Mans.
Elsewhere, Monaco came from behind at home to beat Valenciennes who were in front through Milan Bisevac. After the break, Nene and Moussa Maazou turned it around. And there was a share of the spoils in the local skirmish between the Bretons of Lorient and Rennes. Sigamary Diarra put Lorient in front, but Romain Danze equalised before the break.
Lorient 1-1 Rennes
Monaco 2-1 Valenciennes
Sochaux 0-2 St Etienne
Le Mans 2-2 Montpellier
Lens 3-0 Boulogne
PSG 3-1 Bordeaux
Lyon 1-1 Lille
Nancy 0-1 Auxerre
Marseille 4-1 Nice
Lyon and Auxerre both had spells at the top of Ligue 1 over the course of the weekend as matches developed, but Marseille ended it top as they had been coming into the round. They were last in action, the late Sunday kick-off seeing them dispatch Nice with something to spare. Bakari Koné opened the scoring shortly before the break and it was two a few minutes after through Stéphane Mbia. Two in three minutes later on - Mathieu Valbuena and Souleymane Diawara - made it four and Nice only got their consolation in stoppage time. Auxerre had been in action earlier on Sunday and won through a late Daniel Niculae strike which sent them top, for a couple of hours at least. That was longer then Lyon had spent on top - it was all of about 16 minutes for Les Gones between the time Cris had equalised Pierre-Alain Frau's opener for Lille. Cris's goal came off the back of a free-kick given away by Ricardo Costa who saw red for his actions, but the sides would finish level as Maxime Gonalons followed him down the tunnel ten minutes from time. Bordeaux suffered a major setback, losing heavily to PSG. Bordeaux keeper Ulrich Ramé was sent off on the half-hour and it was an uphill battle from there. Sylvain Armand put PSG ahead before the break and Mevlut Erding made it two halfway through the second period. Ludovic Sané pulled one back, but Guillaume Hoarau headed in the clincher four minutes from time.
Grenoble are down. They're now twenty points shy of safety with eighteen to play for after they were hammered by Toulouse - Franck Tabanou with two and André-Pierre Gignac making a welcome return ahead of the World Cup in a 4-0 win - and St Etienne went and beat Sochaux. Loic Perrin struck just before the break while Gonzalo Bergessio made it safe in the second half. Not only does that condemn Grenoble to their fate, it puts a buffer of eleven points back from Les Verts to Boulogne in 18th. That's not mathematically safe, but it'll take a huge turnaround in form for it to be overhauled. Toifilu Maoulida's hat-trick for Lens sank Boulogne and a point for Le Mans against the once mighty but now stuttering Montpellier wasn't enough to make much of a difference. Roland Lamah put Le Mans in front within seconds of the kick-off, but Karim Ait Fana and a Souleymane Camara penalty turned the game back Montpellier's way. They lost direction after a double sending-off, Le Mans' Gregory Cerdan and Montpellier's Cyril Jeunechamp both going within seconds of each other. Cerdan went for deliberate handball while Jeunechamp attacked the Le Mans coach Arnaud Cormier. Montpellier boss Rene Girard was also shown red before Lamah's second grabbed a point for Le Mans.
Elsewhere, Monaco came from behind at home to beat Valenciennes who were in front through Milan Bisevac. After the break, Nene and Moussa Maazou turned it around. And there was a share of the spoils in the local skirmish between the Bretons of Lorient and Rennes. Sigamary Diarra put Lorient in front, but Romain Danze equalised before the break.
Leaders stumble again: Bundesliga reviews
Monchengladbach 2-0 Eintracht
Mainz 1-0 Dortmund
Hannover 4-2 Schalke
Hertha 0-1 Stuttgart
Hoffenheim 0-2 Cologne
Bremen 4-0 Freiburg
Leverkusen 1-1 Bayern
Bochum 1-2 Hamburg
Nurnberg 0-2 Wolfsburg
The Bundesliga is rapidly becoming the league nobody wants to win. Neither of the top two won, Schalke going down to a shock loss at struggling Hannover and Bayern being held by erstwhile leaders Leverkusen. Dortmund, in fourth, suffered a knock to their Champions League - if not championship - ambitions with defeat in Mainz. An Arjen Robben penalty for Bayern was quickly cancelled out by Arturo Vidal's free-kick while Schalke really did blow it against Hannover. Heiko Westermann put through his own net early on to give Hannover the lead and it was doubled on the half hour by Didier Ya Konan. A minute after the restart, Edu pulled one back and it was all square thanks to Ivan Rakitic's penalty a few minutes later. Hanno Baltisch swung the game back towards the hosts with a 25-yard rasper and Ya Konan added a fourth in stoppage time for a result which gives Hannover real hope of avoiding the drop. Dortmund went down to Adam Szalai's solo effort while Bremen took advantage, pulling back to a point behind their rivals with a comprehensive defeat of lowly Freiburg, Claudio Pizarro getting two.
That result sees Freiburg slip to second bottom, but it's still Hertha rooted to the foot of the table after Cacau got the only goal for Stuttgart in a 1-0 win. Bochum fall back after an unlucky defeat to Hamburg. Robert Tesche put Hamburg ahead, but Zlatko Dedic, playing with pain killing injections in his broken toe, prodded Bochum level. The Hamburg goal led a charmed life thereafter, but Hamburg broke late on and, under pressure from Ruud van Nistelrooy, Andreas Johansson poked the ball past his own keeper. Nurnberg also remain in trouble after defeat to Wolfsburg. They looked value for at least a point against the champions who bounced back from Europa League disappointment with two goals on the break and a string of top drawer saves from Diego Benaglio. Edin Dzeko went top of the goal scoring standings with the first and Grafite sealed it ten minutes from time.
Hoffenheim's miserable run continued with another home defeat in front of an increasingly grumbly crowd, Adam Matuschyk with both Cologne goals. And Gladbach overcame Eintracht on Friday night with early goals in each half, Danté in the first and Marco Reus in the second.
Mainz 1-0 Dortmund
Hannover 4-2 Schalke
Hertha 0-1 Stuttgart
Hoffenheim 0-2 Cologne
Bremen 4-0 Freiburg
Leverkusen 1-1 Bayern
Bochum 1-2 Hamburg
Nurnberg 0-2 Wolfsburg
The Bundesliga is rapidly becoming the league nobody wants to win. Neither of the top two won, Schalke going down to a shock loss at struggling Hannover and Bayern being held by erstwhile leaders Leverkusen. Dortmund, in fourth, suffered a knock to their Champions League - if not championship - ambitions with defeat in Mainz. An Arjen Robben penalty for Bayern was quickly cancelled out by Arturo Vidal's free-kick while Schalke really did blow it against Hannover. Heiko Westermann put through his own net early on to give Hannover the lead and it was doubled on the half hour by Didier Ya Konan. A minute after the restart, Edu pulled one back and it was all square thanks to Ivan Rakitic's penalty a few minutes later. Hanno Baltisch swung the game back towards the hosts with a 25-yard rasper and Ya Konan added a fourth in stoppage time for a result which gives Hannover real hope of avoiding the drop. Dortmund went down to Adam Szalai's solo effort while Bremen took advantage, pulling back to a point behind their rivals with a comprehensive defeat of lowly Freiburg, Claudio Pizarro getting two.
That result sees Freiburg slip to second bottom, but it's still Hertha rooted to the foot of the table after Cacau got the only goal for Stuttgart in a 1-0 win. Bochum fall back after an unlucky defeat to Hamburg. Robert Tesche put Hamburg ahead, but Zlatko Dedic, playing with pain killing injections in his broken toe, prodded Bochum level. The Hamburg goal led a charmed life thereafter, but Hamburg broke late on and, under pressure from Ruud van Nistelrooy, Andreas Johansson poked the ball past his own keeper. Nurnberg also remain in trouble after defeat to Wolfsburg. They looked value for at least a point against the champions who bounced back from Europa League disappointment with two goals on the break and a string of top drawer saves from Diego Benaglio. Edin Dzeko went top of the goal scoring standings with the first and Grafite sealed it ten minutes from time.
Hoffenheim's miserable run continued with another home defeat in front of an increasingly grumbly crowd, Adam Matuschyk with both Cologne goals. And Gladbach overcame Eintracht on Friday night with early goals in each half, Danté in the first and Marco Reus in the second.
Twente 180 minutes away: Eredivisie reviews
Waalwijk 4-1 Vitesse
Twente 2-0 Heerenveen
NAC 1-0 Roda
NEC 0-0 AZ
Sparta 1-1 Heracles
Utrecht 0-2 Den Haag
PSV 0-0 Feyenoord
Ajax 7-0 VVV Venlo
Groningen 4-0 Willem II
Ajax blasted seven past a hapless VVV Venlo side on Sunday, but it's a measure of how consistent Twente have been that they could double that and more and still not prove a threat to the Enschede side's title ambitions. Three games remain this season and if Twente win two of them, it's signed, sealed and delivered. Considering they've lost just one, still, all season long, the odds are shortening. Chiek Tioté got their opener twenty from time at home to Heerenveen and Luuk de Jong sealed the win in the dying moments. On Sunday, Luis Suarez and Marko Pantelic both hit hat-tricks for Ajax. It was 5-0 by half-time and the eventual total sees them on 96 league goals for the season. And it still doesn't look like being enough.
PSV dropped points in a goalless draw with Feyenoord which all but rules them out of championship glory. It could have ended Feyenoord's long tenure in fourth place, but AZ failed to take advantage of the slip as they were held to 0-0 by NEC.
Down at the bottom, Waalwijk pulled off their fifth win of the season to give themselves an outside chance of saving themselves. More likely, it merely postpones the inevitable, but a 4-1 win over Vitesse leaves them eight points adrift with nine more available. Calvin Jong-a-Pin's own goal set them away and Derk Boeriggter doubled the advantage soon after. In the second half, Dustley Muelder made it three a couple of minutes before Benjamin de Ceulaer added a fourth. Muelder put through his own net late on for a Vitesse consolation. It would still have meant relegation had Willem II not lost - they went down hard as well, 4-0 to Groningen. Thomas Enevoldsen set them off in the first minute and goals flowed at regular intervals. Sparta got a draw at home to Heracles, Edouard Duplan's equalising ensuring a point for the Rotterdammers, but they drop into the bottom three as Den Haag climb out following their good win at Utrecht. Finally, NAC kept up their push for the Europa League play-offs as Donny Gorter's early penalty was enough to beat Roda.
Next up comes a Belgian week with a full round of fixtures over Tuesday and Wednesday:
AZ v Twente
Heracles v Waalwijk
Vitesse v NAC
Roda v VVV Venlo
Willem II v Ajax
Feyenoord v Sparta
Heerenveen v PSV
Den Haag v NEC
Utrecht v Groningen
So Waalwijk will be relegated unless they win and even if they do, a win for Willem II - unlikely though that sounds against a rampant Ajax - will also condemn them to the drop. Twente's trip to Alkmaar is their toughest prospect of the remaining fixtures, but if they win this then they really will be able to start planning where to put the soup dish. A favour from the Tilburgers probably wouldn't go amiss, but they ought to be confident of their own abilities. PSV need to win at Heerenveen or they're out of it. Elsewhere, there's a Rotterdam derby with Sparta and Feyenoord both desperate for points for their own ends. Could be tasty.
Twente 2-0 Heerenveen
NAC 1-0 Roda
NEC 0-0 AZ
Sparta 1-1 Heracles
Utrecht 0-2 Den Haag
PSV 0-0 Feyenoord
Ajax 7-0 VVV Venlo
Groningen 4-0 Willem II
Ajax blasted seven past a hapless VVV Venlo side on Sunday, but it's a measure of how consistent Twente have been that they could double that and more and still not prove a threat to the Enschede side's title ambitions. Three games remain this season and if Twente win two of them, it's signed, sealed and delivered. Considering they've lost just one, still, all season long, the odds are shortening. Chiek Tioté got their opener twenty from time at home to Heerenveen and Luuk de Jong sealed the win in the dying moments. On Sunday, Luis Suarez and Marko Pantelic both hit hat-tricks for Ajax. It was 5-0 by half-time and the eventual total sees them on 96 league goals for the season. And it still doesn't look like being enough.
PSV dropped points in a goalless draw with Feyenoord which all but rules them out of championship glory. It could have ended Feyenoord's long tenure in fourth place, but AZ failed to take advantage of the slip as they were held to 0-0 by NEC.
Down at the bottom, Waalwijk pulled off their fifth win of the season to give themselves an outside chance of saving themselves. More likely, it merely postpones the inevitable, but a 4-1 win over Vitesse leaves them eight points adrift with nine more available. Calvin Jong-a-Pin's own goal set them away and Derk Boeriggter doubled the advantage soon after. In the second half, Dustley Muelder made it three a couple of minutes before Benjamin de Ceulaer added a fourth. Muelder put through his own net late on for a Vitesse consolation. It would still have meant relegation had Willem II not lost - they went down hard as well, 4-0 to Groningen. Thomas Enevoldsen set them off in the first minute and goals flowed at regular intervals. Sparta got a draw at home to Heracles, Edouard Duplan's equalising ensuring a point for the Rotterdammers, but they drop into the bottom three as Den Haag climb out following their good win at Utrecht. Finally, NAC kept up their push for the Europa League play-offs as Donny Gorter's early penalty was enough to beat Roda.
Next up comes a Belgian week with a full round of fixtures over Tuesday and Wednesday:
AZ v Twente
Heracles v Waalwijk
Vitesse v NAC
Roda v VVV Venlo
Willem II v Ajax
Feyenoord v Sparta
Heerenveen v PSV
Den Haag v NEC
Utrecht v Groningen
So Waalwijk will be relegated unless they win and even if they do, a win for Willem II - unlikely though that sounds against a rampant Ajax - will also condemn them to the drop. Twente's trip to Alkmaar is their toughest prospect of the remaining fixtures, but if they win this then they really will be able to start planning where to put the soup dish. A favour from the Tilburgers probably wouldn't go amiss, but they ought to be confident of their own abilities. PSV need to win at Heerenveen or they're out of it. Elsewhere, there's a Rotterdam derby with Sparta and Feyenoord both desperate for points for their own ends. Could be tasty.
Friday, 9 April 2010
Bundesliga round 30
Monchengladbach v Eintracht
Mainz v Dortmund
Hannover v Schalke
Hertha v Stuttgart
Hoffenheim v Cologne
Bremen v Freiburg
Leverkusen v Bayern
Bochum v Hamburg
Nurnberg v Wolfsburg
Top game this week sees leaders Bayern take on Leverkusen. This is Leverkusen's last chance to influence the outcome of the championship this season. Lose here and they can forget it. The long-time leaders have lost their last three and sit six points behind Bayern who come off the back of knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League. They've been comically bad on occasion lately, but just keep grinding out the wins. Having beaten Schalke with ten men a week ago, win this and they're well on their way. Schalke will not let go though and face hapless Hannover this week. If they don't win that, they don't deserve a shot at the title.
Hertha have five games to save their skins, but the first of those is against Stuttgart, on the up and chasing European football. Freiburg are the initial target, three points better off than the Berliners, and they face Bremen this week, so even if Hertha lose, they still have a chance. Above them are Bochum, a further three points up the table, who are at home to Hamburg this week. Hamburg will be without Paolo Guererro for this and the remaining games after he picked up a five-match ban for throwing a water bottle into a fan's face after last week's goalless draw with Hannover. Stupid boy.
Dortmund are the form side of the league and sit just a point behind Leverkusen in fourth place. Champions League football is very much in their sights. They'll have to beat Mainz this week to take advantage of any potential stumble from Leverkusen, but Mainz are a tricky outfit, especially at home. Elsewhere, Wolfsburg will try to put Europa League disappointment behind them at Nurnberg, Eintracht travel to Gladbach and Hoffenheim face Cologne.
Mainz v Dortmund
Hannover v Schalke
Hertha v Stuttgart
Hoffenheim v Cologne
Bremen v Freiburg
Leverkusen v Bayern
Bochum v Hamburg
Nurnberg v Wolfsburg
Top game this week sees leaders Bayern take on Leverkusen. This is Leverkusen's last chance to influence the outcome of the championship this season. Lose here and they can forget it. The long-time leaders have lost their last three and sit six points behind Bayern who come off the back of knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League. They've been comically bad on occasion lately, but just keep grinding out the wins. Having beaten Schalke with ten men a week ago, win this and they're well on their way. Schalke will not let go though and face hapless Hannover this week. If they don't win that, they don't deserve a shot at the title.
Hertha have five games to save their skins, but the first of those is against Stuttgart, on the up and chasing European football. Freiburg are the initial target, three points better off than the Berliners, and they face Bremen this week, so even if Hertha lose, they still have a chance. Above them are Bochum, a further three points up the table, who are at home to Hamburg this week. Hamburg will be without Paolo Guererro for this and the remaining games after he picked up a five-match ban for throwing a water bottle into a fan's face after last week's goalless draw with Hannover. Stupid boy.
Dortmund are the form side of the league and sit just a point behind Leverkusen in fourth place. Champions League football is very much in their sights. They'll have to beat Mainz this week to take advantage of any potential stumble from Leverkusen, but Mainz are a tricky outfit, especially at home. Elsewhere, Wolfsburg will try to put Europa League disappointment behind them at Nurnberg, Eintracht travel to Gladbach and Hoffenheim face Cologne.
Eredivisie round 31
Waalwijk v Vitesse
Twente v Heerenveen
NAC v Roda
NEC v AZ
Sparta v Heracles
Utrecht v Den Haag
PSV v Feyenoord
Ajax v VVV Venlo
Groningen v Willem II
One issue can be resolved this week. Waalwijk are down if they lose against Vitesse which would cap an utterly miserable campaign. With just the one automatic relegation place, it's rare to see clubs relegated this early, but they need to win all four remaining games to avoid finishing bottom while Willem II would need to lose all theirs. Trouble is, Waalwijk have only won four games all season so far, so that looks a little implausible. Willem II probably won't win at Groningen, but they'll need points to avoid the relegation play-offs. It's between them, Den Haag - onto a loser at Utrecht this week - and Sparta - also unlikely to win against Heracles.
Up at the top, it won't be resolved this week, or next for that matter. Twente just need to do what they've done all season long for four more games. At home to Heerenveen this week, they look good to do just that. Ajax won't give up the chase and will see off VVV Venlo while PSV have a trickier task at home to Feyenoord who themselves need points to maintain fourth ahead of resurgent AZ. The outgoing champions are away in Nijmegen this week and a win for them couple with a Feyenoord loss and fourth place changes hands. NAC and Roda have both flirted with the Europa League play-offs, but both dropped out in the last few weeks. They face off against each other this week. No European football next season for the losers.
Twente v Heerenveen
NAC v Roda
NEC v AZ
Sparta v Heracles
Utrecht v Den Haag
PSV v Feyenoord
Ajax v VVV Venlo
Groningen v Willem II
One issue can be resolved this week. Waalwijk are down if they lose against Vitesse which would cap an utterly miserable campaign. With just the one automatic relegation place, it's rare to see clubs relegated this early, but they need to win all four remaining games to avoid finishing bottom while Willem II would need to lose all theirs. Trouble is, Waalwijk have only won four games all season so far, so that looks a little implausible. Willem II probably won't win at Groningen, but they'll need points to avoid the relegation play-offs. It's between them, Den Haag - onto a loser at Utrecht this week - and Sparta - also unlikely to win against Heracles.
Up at the top, it won't be resolved this week, or next for that matter. Twente just need to do what they've done all season long for four more games. At home to Heerenveen this week, they look good to do just that. Ajax won't give up the chase and will see off VVV Venlo while PSV have a trickier task at home to Feyenoord who themselves need points to maintain fourth ahead of resurgent AZ. The outgoing champions are away in Nijmegen this week and a win for them couple with a Feyenoord loss and fourth place changes hands. NAC and Roda have both flirted with the Europa League play-offs, but both dropped out in the last few weeks. They face off against each other this week. No European football next season for the losers.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Marseille emerge from the shadows: Ligue 1 reviews
Ligue 1 has been like a 400m race this season. With a number of factors - terrible weather, mainly - contributing to a number of postponements which hasn't given the table a stable look. Now, however, we're at the top of the final bend and it's all beginning to unwind.
Lyon 2-0 Grenoble
Nancy 5-1 Lens
Le Mans 1-3 Rennes
Lorient 4-0 St Etienne
PSG 3-0 Boulogne
Toulouse 0-2 Nice
Lille 4-1 Montpellier
Monaco 0-0 Auxerre
With Bordeaux not in action, here was Montpellier's chance to seize the initiative. Lille had other ideas and blew them off the Metropole park. Gervinho put LOSC in front in the first half, but Souleymane Camara equalised a minute after the break. Quickfire goals from Yohan Cabaye - a penalty - and Pierre-Alain Frau broke the southerners and Larsen Touré wrapped it up. Lyon assumed the position by beating ten-man Grenoble, Bostjan Cesar sent off in between goals from Michel Bastos and César Delgado. That sent them top as Auxerre could only muster a goalless draw with Monaco, a result which rules them out of the title, according to manager Juan Fernandez.
The bottom three look dead and buried now. Le Mans copped a beating at home from Rennes, Jimmy Briand getting two in a 3-1 win, and ten-man Boulogne went down hard to PSG. St Etienne look out of range even though they also lost heavily, Kevin Gameiro getting two as Lorient ran out 4-0 winners. There were goals elsewhere as Issiar Dia's hat-trick helped Nancy to a big win over Lens and ten-man Toulouse went down at home to Nice.
Grenoble 1-2 Lorient
Valenciennes 1-0 Lille
Nice 0-0 Sochaux
Rennes 1-2 Lyon
Bordeaux 1-2 Nancy
St Etienne 2-0 Le Mans
Montpellier 0-0 Monaco
Boulogne 1-1 Toulouse
Marseille 1-0 Lens
Auxerre 1-1 PSG
Marseille 3-0 Sochaux
Bordeaux were back in action, but lost at home to Nancy, that man Issiar Dia with the winner after Fernando Cavenaghi had equalised Youssouf Hadji's opener. Montpellier were held 0-0 by Monaco, Auxerre also drew, 1-1 with PSG, and Lille went down by a single goal to Valenciennes, so Lyon's win at Rennes consolidated their top spot for a time. Asamoah Gyan put Rennes ahead, but Michel Bastos and Lisandro Lopez struck in the second half to seal the points. But hang on. What's this coming up in the rails? Why it's Marseille and they've a real head of steam up. They beat Lens at the Vélodrome, Brandao with the goal and they hung on after Stephane Mbia was sent off, and in midweek finally played a rearranged game against Sochaux where they blew their opponents off the park. Gabriel Heinze had them in front inside ten minutes and Hatem Ben Arfa's penalty made it two before the break. Bakari Koné wrapped it up late on and Marseille now sit atop the league. The top five are covered by just three points though, and Bordeaux have played 29 times to Marseille's 30 and everybody else's 31.
One more defeat and Grenoble are officially down. Nassim Akrour gave the long suffering GF38 fans the illusion of hope in the third minute against Lorient, but they soon reverted to type. Kevin Gameiro equalised before the break and James Fanchone won it with five minutes to go. Daniel Braathen's late equaliser denied Boulogne a rare win while Le Mans went down to St Etienne. Cedric Varrault and Yohan Benaloaune got the goals, but Kevin Mirallas was sent off late on which may yet hurt Les Verts' chances of survival. Nice got a point from a draw with Sochaux, all but sealing the Ligue 1 status of both clubs for next season.
Lyon 2-0 Grenoble
Nancy 5-1 Lens
Le Mans 1-3 Rennes
Lorient 4-0 St Etienne
PSG 3-0 Boulogne
Toulouse 0-2 Nice
Lille 4-1 Montpellier
Monaco 0-0 Auxerre
With Bordeaux not in action, here was Montpellier's chance to seize the initiative. Lille had other ideas and blew them off the Metropole park. Gervinho put LOSC in front in the first half, but Souleymane Camara equalised a minute after the break. Quickfire goals from Yohan Cabaye - a penalty - and Pierre-Alain Frau broke the southerners and Larsen Touré wrapped it up. Lyon assumed the position by beating ten-man Grenoble, Bostjan Cesar sent off in between goals from Michel Bastos and César Delgado. That sent them top as Auxerre could only muster a goalless draw with Monaco, a result which rules them out of the title, according to manager Juan Fernandez.
The bottom three look dead and buried now. Le Mans copped a beating at home from Rennes, Jimmy Briand getting two in a 3-1 win, and ten-man Boulogne went down hard to PSG. St Etienne look out of range even though they also lost heavily, Kevin Gameiro getting two as Lorient ran out 4-0 winners. There were goals elsewhere as Issiar Dia's hat-trick helped Nancy to a big win over Lens and ten-man Toulouse went down at home to Nice.
Grenoble 1-2 Lorient
Valenciennes 1-0 Lille
Nice 0-0 Sochaux
Rennes 1-2 Lyon
Bordeaux 1-2 Nancy
St Etienne 2-0 Le Mans
Montpellier 0-0 Monaco
Boulogne 1-1 Toulouse
Marseille 1-0 Lens
Auxerre 1-1 PSG
Marseille 3-0 Sochaux
Bordeaux were back in action, but lost at home to Nancy, that man Issiar Dia with the winner after Fernando Cavenaghi had equalised Youssouf Hadji's opener. Montpellier were held 0-0 by Monaco, Auxerre also drew, 1-1 with PSG, and Lille went down by a single goal to Valenciennes, so Lyon's win at Rennes consolidated their top spot for a time. Asamoah Gyan put Rennes ahead, but Michel Bastos and Lisandro Lopez struck in the second half to seal the points. But hang on. What's this coming up in the rails? Why it's Marseille and they've a real head of steam up. They beat Lens at the Vélodrome, Brandao with the goal and they hung on after Stephane Mbia was sent off, and in midweek finally played a rearranged game against Sochaux where they blew their opponents off the park. Gabriel Heinze had them in front inside ten minutes and Hatem Ben Arfa's penalty made it two before the break. Bakari Koné wrapped it up late on and Marseille now sit atop the league. The top five are covered by just three points though, and Bordeaux have played 29 times to Marseille's 30 and everybody else's 31.
One more defeat and Grenoble are officially down. Nassim Akrour gave the long suffering GF38 fans the illusion of hope in the third minute against Lorient, but they soon reverted to type. Kevin Gameiro equalised before the break and James Fanchone won it with five minutes to go. Daniel Braathen's late equaliser denied Boulogne a rare win while Le Mans went down to St Etienne. Cedric Varrault and Yohan Benaloaune got the goals, but Kevin Mirallas was sent off late on which may yet hurt Les Verts' chances of survival. Nice got a point from a draw with Sochaux, all but sealing the Ligue 1 status of both clubs for next season.
Stuttering rivals hand Bayern initiative: Bundesliga reviews
It's down to a two-horse race in Germany now as the Neverkusen curse overwhelmed the long-time leaders which leaves them six points adrift with five matches left. And Bayern seized the initiative in a crucial game last week. But we'll start with the previous round, round 28.
Bochum 1-2 Eintracht
Bayern 1-2 Stuttgart
Hannover 1-4 Cologne
Hertha 0-0 Dortmund
Mainz 0-2 Wolfsburg
Bremen 4-2 Nurnberg
Leverkusen 0-2 Schalke
Hoffenheim 1-1 Freiburg
Monchengladbach 1-0 Hamburg
Schalke went top after this round of fixtures after they eased to a two-goal win over Leverkusen. Kevin Kuranyi got both in the first half while Bayern went down to Stuttgart. Ivica Olic gave the Bavarians the lead, but goals either side of the break from Christian Trasch and Ciprian Marica gave the Swabians the spoils. Hamburg's challenge has hit the buffers and they went down to a single Roel Brouwers goal and now face a struggle to reach Europe at all as Dortmund, despite being held 0-0 by Hertha, and Bremen leapfrog them. Two early Per Mertesacker goals gave Werder the lead against Nurnberg and Tim Borowski made it three on the half hour. Mike Frantz pulled one back early in the second half and Eric Choupo-Moting another from the penalty spot. Torsten Frings' late dismissal set up a grandstand finish, but Clemens Fritz sealed it in stoppage time. Eintracht and Wolfsburg are both in the running for Europe as well after both won. Bochum were ahead through Lewis Holtby against Eintracht, but Marco Russ and Caio ensured the win. Edin Dzeko, inevitably, helped Die Wolfe to victory over Mainz. He got both within the last ten minutes.
Hannover went down heavily again, 4-1 against Cologne for whom Zoran Tosic got two, while Hoffenheim denied Freiburg late on, Joe Simunic with an equaliser ten minutes from time after Mohamadou Idrissou had put the strugglers in front.
Eintracht 3-2 Leverkusen
Freiburg 1-1 Bochum
Dortmund 2-1 Bremen
Schalke 1-2 Bayern
Nurnberg 2-0 Mainz
Stuttgart 2-1 Monchengladbach
Cologne 0-3 Hertha
Wolfsburg 4-0 Hoffenheim
Hamburg 0-0 Hannover
After his heroics the previous week, Zoran Tosic turned villian, sent off late in the heavy defeat the Hertha. He was the second Colonge player dismissed, Youssef Mohamad having seen red earlier. They were two down by then, Raffael with both, and Cicero wrapped it up. It still looks an impossible job to avoid the drop though. Hannover got a point despite Jiri Stajner's red card, but still look favourites to join Hertha in Bundesliga 2 next season. Freiburg also remain in trouble, though they too picked up a point against Bochum. Demba Cissé put them in front, but Christoph Dabrowski equalised for an important point for Bochum. They're now three points clear of the bottom three, but haven't been in good form. They're there to be shot at. So are Nurnberg, but they're going in the right direction now after beating Mainz for whom Andreas Ivanschitz was sent off four minutes into the contest. Mike Frantz and Eric Choupo-Moting gave Nurnberg the win.
Big game of the week was in Gelsenkirchen where Bayern seized the league lead despite playing the entire second half a man short. Franck Ribéry and Thomas Muller struck in the space of a couple of minutes midway through the first half to establish a lead, but Kevin Kuranyi pulled one back and Hamit Altiptop was sent off five minutes from half time. Try as they might, Schalke just couldn't break Bayern down and it ended ten-a-side when Marcelo Bordon was sent off late on. Leverkusen lost again despite taking the lead with a Stefan Kiessling double after Selim Teber's penalty gave Eintracht the lead. But Daniel Schwaab was sent off shortly after half-time and Caio and, two minutes from time, Maik Franz, turned the game around to give Eintracht the win. Dortmund beat Bremen in the battle of the Europa League challengers, Kevin Grosskreutz and rumoured Arsenal target Neven Subotic giving them the lead and they held on after Aaron Hunt reduced the arrears with 25 minutes to go. Stuttgart still harbour hopes of European football and won again despite going behind to Gladbach and Marco Reus. Ciprian Marica and, with time ticking down, Zdravko Kuzmanovic turned it around. And Wolfsburg might still have a say, Edin Dzeko again getting two as they easily beat a disappointing Hoffenheim side.
Bochum 1-2 Eintracht
Bayern 1-2 Stuttgart
Hannover 1-4 Cologne
Hertha 0-0 Dortmund
Mainz 0-2 Wolfsburg
Bremen 4-2 Nurnberg
Leverkusen 0-2 Schalke
Hoffenheim 1-1 Freiburg
Monchengladbach 1-0 Hamburg
Schalke went top after this round of fixtures after they eased to a two-goal win over Leverkusen. Kevin Kuranyi got both in the first half while Bayern went down to Stuttgart. Ivica Olic gave the Bavarians the lead, but goals either side of the break from Christian Trasch and Ciprian Marica gave the Swabians the spoils. Hamburg's challenge has hit the buffers and they went down to a single Roel Brouwers goal and now face a struggle to reach Europe at all as Dortmund, despite being held 0-0 by Hertha, and Bremen leapfrog them. Two early Per Mertesacker goals gave Werder the lead against Nurnberg and Tim Borowski made it three on the half hour. Mike Frantz pulled one back early in the second half and Eric Choupo-Moting another from the penalty spot. Torsten Frings' late dismissal set up a grandstand finish, but Clemens Fritz sealed it in stoppage time. Eintracht and Wolfsburg are both in the running for Europe as well after both won. Bochum were ahead through Lewis Holtby against Eintracht, but Marco Russ and Caio ensured the win. Edin Dzeko, inevitably, helped Die Wolfe to victory over Mainz. He got both within the last ten minutes.
Hannover went down heavily again, 4-1 against Cologne for whom Zoran Tosic got two, while Hoffenheim denied Freiburg late on, Joe Simunic with an equaliser ten minutes from time after Mohamadou Idrissou had put the strugglers in front.
Eintracht 3-2 Leverkusen
Freiburg 1-1 Bochum
Dortmund 2-1 Bremen
Schalke 1-2 Bayern
Nurnberg 2-0 Mainz
Stuttgart 2-1 Monchengladbach
Cologne 0-3 Hertha
Wolfsburg 4-0 Hoffenheim
Hamburg 0-0 Hannover
After his heroics the previous week, Zoran Tosic turned villian, sent off late in the heavy defeat the Hertha. He was the second Colonge player dismissed, Youssef Mohamad having seen red earlier. They were two down by then, Raffael with both, and Cicero wrapped it up. It still looks an impossible job to avoid the drop though. Hannover got a point despite Jiri Stajner's red card, but still look favourites to join Hertha in Bundesliga 2 next season. Freiburg also remain in trouble, though they too picked up a point against Bochum. Demba Cissé put them in front, but Christoph Dabrowski equalised for an important point for Bochum. They're now three points clear of the bottom three, but haven't been in good form. They're there to be shot at. So are Nurnberg, but they're going in the right direction now after beating Mainz for whom Andreas Ivanschitz was sent off four minutes into the contest. Mike Frantz and Eric Choupo-Moting gave Nurnberg the win.
Big game of the week was in Gelsenkirchen where Bayern seized the league lead despite playing the entire second half a man short. Franck Ribéry and Thomas Muller struck in the space of a couple of minutes midway through the first half to establish a lead, but Kevin Kuranyi pulled one back and Hamit Altiptop was sent off five minutes from half time. Try as they might, Schalke just couldn't break Bayern down and it ended ten-a-side when Marcelo Bordon was sent off late on. Leverkusen lost again despite taking the lead with a Stefan Kiessling double after Selim Teber's penalty gave Eintracht the lead. But Daniel Schwaab was sent off shortly after half-time and Caio and, two minutes from time, Maik Franz, turned the game around to give Eintracht the win. Dortmund beat Bremen in the battle of the Europa League challengers, Kevin Grosskreutz and rumoured Arsenal target Neven Subotic giving them the lead and they held on after Aaron Hunt reduced the arrears with 25 minutes to go. Stuttgart still harbour hopes of European football and won again despite going behind to Gladbach and Marco Reus. Ciprian Marica and, with time ticking down, Zdravko Kuzmanovic turned it around. And Wolfsburg might still have a say, Edin Dzeko again getting two as they easily beat a disappointing Hoffenheim side.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Status quo still intact: Eredivisie reviews
The Eredivisie is still FC Twente's to lose. The top three just keep rolling along and little has changed on the table since our last round-up. We'll have a quick look back at rounds 29 and 30 as we catch up following a busy period.
NAC 3-0 Den Haag
AZ 3-2 Heracles
Roda 4-2 Heerenveen
Vitesse 2-1 Willem II
Twente 3-0 Sparta
NEC 0-0 Feyenoord
Ajax 3-0 Groningen
Utrecht 2-0 Waalwijk
VVV Venlo 2-4 PSV
Feyenoord 2-1 Vitesse
Bryan Ruiz hit a four-minute hat-trick as Twente saw off Sparta. After his first, Milano Koenders was sent off and the Costa Rican Ruiz converted the penalty for number two. And the hat-trick, his first in Dutch football, was complete seconds later. Ajax maintained the gap at four points with a comfortable win over Groningen, Jan Vertoghen thumping in two towering headers and the prolific Siem de Jong on target, while PSV kept the pressure on by sticking four past VVV Venlo. Otman Bakkal, the second from a stupidly tight angle. Feyenoord are in danger of losing their long-held fourth place after being held by NEC while AZ beat Heracles thanks to a Jeremain Lens hat-trick. Waalwijk are all but down after defeat to Utrecht and it's two from three for the play-off spots. NEC are still in bother, as are Willem II, Den Haag and Sparta.
VVV Venlo 0-2 Twente
AZ 2-0 Utrecht
Roda 5-1 Waalwijk
Vitesse 3-0 Groningen
Heerenveen 4-1 Sparta
Den Haag 0-1 Ajax
Feyenoord 0-0 NAC
Heracles 2-0 NEC
Willem II 0-1 PSV
Ruiz was on target again for Twente, grabbing a late second after Blaise N'Kufo set them on the way to a win over VVV. Ajax weren't so good this week, scoring just the one in a below-par performance in Den Haag. Only after Barry Ditewig was sent off did Ajax look likely and Toby Alderweireld snatched the win seconds from time. PSV weren't on song either, but a late Balázs Dzsudzsák penalty helped them beat Willem II. Feyenoord dropped more points despite winning their game in hand against Vitesse thanks to a goalless draw against NAC, allowing AZ - 2-0 winners over Utrecht - to close in further, the gap back to just two points. Roda hammered five more nails into Waalwijk's coffin - they've been truly awful this season - while NEC - beaten by two late Samuel Armenteros goals in Almelo - and Sparta - hammered by ten-man Heerenveen - are also in the mire along with Den Haag.
Elsewhere, it much of a muchness. Heracles and Utrecht swapped positions as a result of the round 30 games, but that's the only change in position on the table in two weeks.
NAC 3-0 Den Haag
AZ 3-2 Heracles
Roda 4-2 Heerenveen
Vitesse 2-1 Willem II
Twente 3-0 Sparta
NEC 0-0 Feyenoord
Ajax 3-0 Groningen
Utrecht 2-0 Waalwijk
VVV Venlo 2-4 PSV
Feyenoord 2-1 Vitesse
Bryan Ruiz hit a four-minute hat-trick as Twente saw off Sparta. After his first, Milano Koenders was sent off and the Costa Rican Ruiz converted the penalty for number two. And the hat-trick, his first in Dutch football, was complete seconds later. Ajax maintained the gap at four points with a comfortable win over Groningen, Jan Vertoghen thumping in two towering headers and the prolific Siem de Jong on target, while PSV kept the pressure on by sticking four past VVV Venlo. Otman Bakkal, the second from a stupidly tight angle. Feyenoord are in danger of losing their long-held fourth place after being held by NEC while AZ beat Heracles thanks to a Jeremain Lens hat-trick. Waalwijk are all but down after defeat to Utrecht and it's two from three for the play-off spots. NEC are still in bother, as are Willem II, Den Haag and Sparta.
VVV Venlo 0-2 Twente
AZ 2-0 Utrecht
Roda 5-1 Waalwijk
Vitesse 3-0 Groningen
Heerenveen 4-1 Sparta
Den Haag 0-1 Ajax
Feyenoord 0-0 NAC
Heracles 2-0 NEC
Willem II 0-1 PSV
Ruiz was on target again for Twente, grabbing a late second after Blaise N'Kufo set them on the way to a win over VVV. Ajax weren't so good this week, scoring just the one in a below-par performance in Den Haag. Only after Barry Ditewig was sent off did Ajax look likely and Toby Alderweireld snatched the win seconds from time. PSV weren't on song either, but a late Balázs Dzsudzsák penalty helped them beat Willem II. Feyenoord dropped more points despite winning their game in hand against Vitesse thanks to a goalless draw against NAC, allowing AZ - 2-0 winners over Utrecht - to close in further, the gap back to just two points. Roda hammered five more nails into Waalwijk's coffin - they've been truly awful this season - while NEC - beaten by two late Samuel Armenteros goals in Almelo - and Sparta - hammered by ten-man Heerenveen - are also in the mire along with Den Haag.
Elsewhere, it much of a muchness. Heracles and Utrecht swapped positions as a result of the round 30 games, but that's the only change in position on the table in two weeks.
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