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FIFA: Mixed bag for frontrunners

/noticias.info/ Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, leaders of the Bundesliga and La Liga respectively, suffered shock league defeats at the weekend. Arsenal, top of the Premier League going into the round, drew their fourth match in a row and were knocked off the summit as a Portuguese superstar thrust Manchester United into the driving seat.

By contrast, there was no slip-up from serial French champions Lyon, while Italian frontrunners Inter appear to have overcome a wobbly spell. FIFA.com reviews the weekend action in Europe's leading leagues.

Premier League: United take over at the top
A late effort from Portugal international Cristiano Ronaldo, coupled with Arsenal's latest failure to claim maximum points, sent Manchester United top of the Premier League. The Red Devils huffed and puffed their way to a 1-0 victory over bottom club Derby County, Ronaldo bagging the only goal of the game and his 22nd of the season.

The Gunners were held 1-1 at home by Middlesbrough and lose the lead on goal difference. Chelsea continued their title charge with a hard-fought 1-0 triumph at Sunderland, skipper John Terry netting their goal.

In the battle for UEFA Champions League qualifying places, Liverpool tightened their grip on fourth place thanks to a fifth win on the trot. Everton lost ground on their city rivals in a surprise 1-0 defeat away to relegation-haunted Fulham.

Top three: Manchester United, Arsenal (both 67 points), Chelsea (64)
Bottom three: Bolton Wanderers (25 points), Fulham (23), Derby County (10)
Top scorers: Cristiano Ronaldo (22 goals), Fernando Torres (20), Emmanuel Adebayor (19)
Weekend stat: Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough was the fourth stalemate in a row for Arsene Wenger's men. The Gunners have now drawn on ten occasions this term.

La Liga: Real and Barça both stumble
The mini-crisis at Real Madrid sparked by their premature exit from the Champions League was exacerbated by another La Liga defeat, a surprise 1-0 reverse at Deportivo. However, the Madrid giants need not start worrying about missing out on the title just yet.

With superstar Lionel Messi out injured, closest chasers Barcelona did Real an unintended favour by dropping points in a 2-2 away draw against surprise package Almeria. Villarreal beat Real Saragossa 2-0 to revive their hopes of a direct Champions League qualifying finish.

Top three: Real Madrid (62 points), Barcelona (55), Villarreal (53)
Bottom three: Recreativo Huelva (32 points), Real Murcia (23), Levante (19)
Top scorers: Luis Fabiano (22 goals), Diego Milito, Daniel Guiza (both 15)
Weekend stat: Getafe, Bayern Munich's next UEFA Cup opponents, beat Racing Santander 2-1 and have now gone 11 games without defeat.

Serie A: Setback for Milan in Rome
Roma beat AC Milan 2-1 in the biggest Serie A fixture on Matchday 28 to send the Milanese home in despondent mood. The men from the capital came from behind with two goals in three minutes against the Champions League holders, severely denting Milan's hopes of qualifying for Europe's elite club competition.

By contrast, Fiorentina stayed on course for the Champions League with a crucial 3-1 victory over Genoa, although the men from Florence were unable to claw back ground from promoted Juventus, 1-0 winners over Napoli late on Sunday evening. Roberto Mancini's Inter side maintained their grip on top spot with a 2-1 home win over Palermo.

Top three: Inter Milan (67 points), Roma (61), Juventus (54)
Bottom three: Reggina (25 points), Empoli (25), Cagliari (21)
Top scorers: Marco Borriello, David Trezeguet (both 16 goals), Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Adrian Mutu (both 15)
Weekend stat: No away team managed a victory in Serie A this weekend. Matchday 28 resulted in eight home wins and two draws.

Bundesliga: Pair climb, pair stumble
Bayern Munich's shock 2-0 defeat away to Energie Cottbus, the bottom club before play began on Matchday 24, injected new life into the Bundesliga title race. Hamburger, 1-0 winners at home to Borussia Dortmund, and Bayer Leverkusen, comfortable 4-1 victors over Nuremberg, both made up ground, helped not only by Bayern's slip, but also Werder Bremen's 1-0 home defeat by Wolfsburg.

Schalke, who beat the now-bottom Duisburg 2-1 on Friday evening, and holders Stuttgart continue to dispute the final UEFA Cup qualifying spot.

Top three: Bayern Munich (50 points), Hamburger (45), Bayer Leverkusen (44)
Bottom three: Arminia Bielefeld (20), Nuremberg, Duisburg (both 18 points)

Top scorers: Luca Toni, Mario Gomez (both 14 goals), Marko Pantelic, Mladen Petric (both 11)
Weekend stat: Energie's first victory in four months, condemning Bayern to only their second league defeat of the season, enabled Cottbus to escape the drop zone for the first time since Matchday 2.

Ligue 1: Lyon cement lead
Leaders Lyon continue to set the pace and the standard in France. They completed a routine 3-0 win away to Monaco and maintained their comfortable cushion in Ligue 1, although pursuers Bordeaux have by no means thrown in the towel yet, beating promoted Strasbourg 3-0 to keep the title race alive.

The battle for Champions League places also remains in the balance after Nancy dropped two points away to cup holders Sochaux, mired deep in the relegation dogfight. Marseille were unable to capitalise with a 3-3 draw at Lens.

Top three: Lyon (61 points), Bordeaux (55), Nancy (49)
Bottom three: Sochaux (32), Toulouse (30 points), Metz (18)
Top scorers: Karim Benzema (17 goals), Mamadou Niang, Tulio (both 12)
Weekend stat: Lille, one of only two home winners on Matchday 29, beat Caen 5-0 for their biggest victory of the season.

Season underway in Russia
The opening day in the Russian Premier League featured a clash of the titans which ultimately failed to live up to its billing, as UEFA Cup quarter-finalists and reigning champions FC Zenit played out a goalless draw with Spartak Moscow. Amkar Perm and Krylja Sovjetov Samara share the lead after Round 1 following respective 3-0 wins. Curiously, Spartak Nalchik were the sole home winners of the weekend. notas_de_prensa_archivo