Beckham playing for Inter Milan
Rafa Benitez’s amazing press conference on Friday set the tone for the weekend, as the Spaniard fired a tirade in the direction of Ferguson. Liverpool’s players failed to deliver in Saturday’s evening kick-off at the Britannia Stadium against Stoke. In truth Liverpool were lucky to gain a point.
On Sunday, Manchester United beat a Chelsea side who after being let off the hook by Howard Webb’s decision to rule out Cristiano Ronaldo’s header from an ingenious set-piece routine, they failed to defend the retaken corner. This time it was Nemanja Vidic left unattended at the far post as Petr Cech’s attempt to claw out the Serbian’s header proved to be in vain just before half-time. Further goals from Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov underlined United’s superiority, watched by Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho - on a scouting mission.
Steve Bruce’s Wigan recorded a sixth league win in seven games as Maynor Figueroa’s last gasp header led Harry Redknapp to conclude his Tottenham side may not have the required character to beat the drop.
West Brom were not outplayed by their Midlands neighbours Aston Villa in what was an entertaining derby, but led by the increasingly impressive Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, O’Neill’s Champions League chasers recorded a 2-1 victory that extended their unbeaten run to nine games.
Arsenal beat Bolton, though for 86 minutes it looked as though Gary Megson’s men had done enough to earn a draw. Substitute Niklas Bendtner, finished from Robin van Persie’s delivery and ended Bolton’s hope of an unlikely point.
Everton’s recent return to form continued at Goodison Park as Hull City, slumped to a deserved 2-0 defeat. It was derby day in the North East as Sunderland made the short trip to Teesside to take on Middlesbrough at The Riverside. Afonso Alves’ well taken effort on the stroke of half-time owed much to wantaway Stewart Downing’s invention, while the manner of Boro’s defending for Kenwyne Jones’ equaliser eight minutes from time will disappoint Gareth Southgate.
The game of the weekend in terms of unadulterated entertainment came at St James’ Park as Newcastle and West Ham played out a 2-2 thriller.
A frozen pitch at Craven Cottage saw Fulham’s clash with Blackburn postponed, while Portsmouth’s game with Manchester City also failed to beat the frost.
Primera Liga
Barcelona continued their relentless march towards the title with a sixth successive victory. Pep Guardiola’s side came from behind to beat Osasuna 3-2, with Samuel Eto’o, Xavi and Lionel Messi on the scoresheet.
Arjen Robben, Raul and Sergio Ramos found the target as Real Madrid crushed Real Mallorca 3-0 to move second.
Valencia and Villarreal shared six goals in a thriller on Saturday and Sevilla defeated Deportivo La Coruna 3-1.
Serie A
Beckham, on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy, was a surprise starter as AC Milan drew 2-2 at Roma, with Alexandre Pato netting a brace for the Rossoneri and Mirko Vucinic scoring both of the home side’s goals.
Also on Sunday, Juventus moved to within four points of leaders Inter Milan as Alessandro Del Piero’s free-kick gave them victory over Siena.
Inter had been held to a surprise 1-1 draw by Cagliari on Saturday, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s strike cancelling out Robert Acquafresca’s opener.
Scottish Cup
Hearts beat 10-man Hibs 2-0 thanks to goals from Christian Nade and Gary Glen, while Dundee United also moved into the fifth round with an emphatic 4-0 win against East Stirlingshire.
Celtic stayed on course for a domestic double as they came from behind to see off Dundee 2-1. Aberdeen, Hamilton, Inverness and Falkirk also advanced in the competition.
Ligue 1
Lyon could only play out a 1-1 draw with Lorient, while in-form Rennes claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over Grenoble.
Bordeaux took advantage of Lyon’s dropped points on Sunday as they thumped Paris St Germain 4-0. Souleymane Diawara, Fernando Cavenaghi, Yoann Gourcuff and Fernando Menegazzo grabbed the goals.
Best of the rest
Porto slipped from first to third in Portugal as they were held to a goalless draw by Trofense. Benfica and Sporting Lisbon occupy the top two spots after wins over Braga and Maritimo respectively.
Europe’s other top leagues remain on winter break. The Eredivisie resumes on Friday but the Bundesliga is not back until the end of the month.
