2013.03.31 - The Results

FRANCE: Ligue 1

14:00 -- Nice - Marseille 0-1 (0-1)
17:00 -- Brest - Lille 1-2 (1-1)
21:00 -- Lyon - Sochaux 1-2     highlights
[0-1]  50' Giovanni Sio
[1-1]  69' Bafetimbi Gomis (pen.)
[1-2]  88' Cedric Bakambu

Current standings:
1 PSG  30 18 7 5 54-20 +34  61p
2 Marseille  30 16 6 8 35-32 +3  54p
3 Lyon  30 15 8 7 49-32 +17  53p
4 Saint-Etienne  30 13 11 6 50-25 +25  50p
5 Lille  30 13 10 7 43-31 +12  49p



NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie

12:30 -- Roda - PSV 2-2     highlights
[1-0]  13' Frank Demouge
[1-1]  19' Ola Toivonen
[1-2]  33' Ola Toivonen
[2-2]  87' Sanharib Malki
14:30 -- Heracles Almelo - AZ Alkmaar 1-2 (1-2)
14:30 -- RKC Waalwijk - ADO Den Haag 4-0 (3-0)
14:30 -- Vitesse - Zwolle 2-1     highlights
[1-0]  9' Wilfried Bony
[2-0]  35' Mike Havenaar
[2-1]  79' Arsenio Valpoort
16:30 -- Ajax - NEC Nijmegen 4-1
[1-0]  21' Viktor Fischer
[2-0]  25' Rens van Eijden (o.-g.)
[3-0]  77' Viktor Fischer
[3-1]  78' Nick van der Velden
[4-1]  81' Ryan Babel

Current standings:
1 ajax  28 17 9 2 66-28 +38  60p
2 PSV  28 18 3 7 85-31 +54  57p
3 Vitesse  28 17 6 5 57-32 +25  57p

2013.03.30 - The Results

PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

17:00 -- Beira Mar - Olhanense 0-1 (0-0)
17:00 -- Moreirense - Estoril 1-1 (1-0)
17:00 -- Setubal - Maritimo 2-4 (0-3)
19:15 -- Academica - Porto 0-3     highlights
16' Eliaquim Mangala
52' Danilo
89' Andre Castro
21:30 -- Benfica - Rio Ave 6-1
[1-0]  12' Lorenzo Melgarejo
[2-0]  16' Nemanja Matic
[3-0]  42' Lima
[4-0]  49' Lima
[4-1]  51' Ricardo Jose Tarantini
[5-1]  75' Lima
[6-1]  81' Enzo Perez

Current standings:
1 Benfica  24 20 4 0 66-15 +51  64p
2 Porto  24 18 6 0 55-11 +44  60p
3 Pacos de Ferreira  24 12 9 3 35-22 +13  45p
4 Braga  23 13 4 6 50-31 +19  43p
5 Maritimo  24 8 9 7 28-36 -8  33p



NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie

18:45 -- Twente - NAC Breda 1-1 (0-0)
19:45 -- Utrecht - VV Venlo 2-1 (2-1)
19:45 -- Willem II - Groningen 1-2 (1-0)
20:45 -- Heerenveen - Feyenoord 2-0     highlights
85' Alfred Finnbogason
89' Yassine El Ghanassy

Current standings:
1 ajax  27 16 9 2 62-27 +35  57p
2 PSV  27 18 2 7 83-29 +54  56p
3 Feyenoord  28 17 5 6 53-35 +18  56p



FRANCE: Ligue 1

17:00 -- Troyes - Saint-Etienne 2-2 (2-2)
20:00 -- Ajaccio - Toulouse 2-3 (2-2)
20:00 -- Bordeaux - Lorient 1-1 (0-1)
20:00 -- Evian - Reims 2-2 (0-1)
20:00 -- Rennes - Nancy 0-2 (0-0)
20:00 -- Valenciennes - Bastia 3-4 (2-1)

Current standings:
1 PSG  30 18 7 5 54-20 +34  61p
2 Lyon  29 15 8 6 48-30 +18  53p
3 Marseille  29 15 6 8 34-32 +2  51p
4 Saint-Etienne  30 13 11 6 50-25 +25  50p
5 Nice  29 13 9 7 41-33 +8  48p

2013.03.29 - The Results

FRANCE: Ligue 1

20:30 -- PSG - Montpellier 1-0     highlights
81' Kevin Gameiro

Current standings:
1 PSG  30 18 7 5 54-20 +34  61p
2 Lyon  29 15 8 6 48-30 +18  53p
3 Marseille  29 15 6 8 34-32 +2  51p
4 Saint-Etienne  29 13 10 6 48-23 +25  49p
5 Nice  29 13 9 7 41-33 +8  48p



PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

21:00 -- Pacos de Ferreira - Gil Vicente 3-2 (2-1)

Current standings:
1 Benfica  23 19 4 0 60-14 +46  61p
2 Porto  23 17 6 0 52-11 +41  57p
3 Pacos de Ferreira  24 12 9 3 35-22 +13  45p
4 Braga  23 13 4 6 50-31 +19  43p
5 Estoril  23 9 4 10 34-31 +3  31p

2013.03.27 - The Result

PORTUGAL: Taca de Portugal (Semifinal, leg 1)

21:00 -- Belenenses - Guimaraes 0-2
29' Ricardo Pereira
76' Ricardo Pereira

2013.03.17 - The Results

PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

17:00 -- Beira Mar - Nacional 2-2 (1-0)
17:00 -- Estoril - Academica 2-0 (2-0)
17:00 -- Rio Ave - Moreirense 0-1 (0-0)
19:00 -- Maritimo - Porto 1-1     highlights
[0-1]  34' James Rodriguez
[1-1]  38' Hyun-Jun Suk
x - 63' Jackson Martinez (m. pen. Porto) - x
21:30 -- Guimaraes - Benfica 0-4     highlights
38' Oscar Cardozo (pen.)
61' Ezequiel Garay
82' Eduardo Salvio
90' + 4' Rodrigo

Current standings:
1 Benfica  23 19 4 0 60-14 +46  61p
2 Porto  23 17 6 0 52-11 +41  57p
3 Braga  23 13 4 6 50-31 +19  43p
4 Pacos de Ferreira  23 11 9 3 32-20 +12  42p
5 Estoril  23 9 4 10 34-31 +3  31p



NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie

12:30 -- NAC Breda - Willem II 4-0 (1-0)
14:30 -- AZ Alkmaar - Ajax 2-3     highlights
[0-1]  20' Siem de Jong
[0-2]  22' Daley Blind
[1-2]  47' Markus Henriksen
[1-3]  59' Siem de Jong
[2-3]  74' Jozy Altidore
14:30 -- Feyenoord - Utrecht 2-1     highlights
[1-0]  32' Graziano Pelle
[1-1]  59' Cedric van der Gun
[2-1]  61' Daryl Janmaat
16:30 -- Groningen - Twente 0-3 (0-1)

Current standings:
1 ajax  27 16 9 2 62-27 +35  57p
2 PSV  27 18 2 7 83-29 +54  56p
3 Feyenoord  27 17 5 5 53-33 +20  56p



FRANCE: Ligue 1

14:00 -- Nancy - Nice 1-0 (1-0)
17:00 -- Toulouse - Bordeaux 0-0
21:00 -- Saint-Etienne - PSG 2-2     highlights
[0-1]  9' Javier Pastore
[0-2]  19' Zlatan Ibrahimovic (pen.)
[1-2]  37' Alex (o.-g.)
[2-2]  72' Francois Clerc

Current standings:
1 PSG  29 17 7 5 53-20 +33  58p
2 Lyon  29 15 8 6 48-30 +18  53p
3 Marseille  29 15 6 8 34-32 +2  51p
4 Saint-Etienne  29 13 10 6 48-23 +25  49p
5 Nice  29 13 9 7 41-33 +8  48p

2013.03.16 - The Results

NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie

18:45 -- NEC Nijmegen - Heerenveen 1-3 (0-0)
19:45 -- PSV - RKC Waalwijk 2-0     highlights
6' Dries Mertens (pen.)
69' Georginio Wijnaldum
19:45 -- VV Venlo - Heracles Almelo 0-2 (0-0)
20:45 -- ADO Den Haag - Vitesse 0-4     highlights
8' Wilfried Bony
39' Wilfried Bony
55' Marco van Ginkel
85' Mike Havenaar

Current standings:
1 PSV  27 18 2 7 83-29 +54  56p
2 Ajax  26 15 9 2 59-25 +34  54p
3 Vitesse  27 16 6 5 55-31 +24  54p



FRANCE: Ligue 1

17:00 -- Bastia - Lyon 4-1     highlights
[1-0]  45' Florian Thauvin
[1-1]  54' Lisandro Lopez
[2-1]  56' Anthony Modeste
[3-1]  61' Florian Thauvin
[4-1]  87' Wahbi Khazri
20:00 -- Lille - Evian 1-2 (1-1)
20:00 -- Lorient - Brest 4-0 (3-0)
20:00 -- Montpellier - Troyes 1-1 (1-0)
20:00 -- Reims - Rennes 1-0 (1-0)
20:00 -- Sochaux - Valenciennes 1-1 (1-0)

Current standings:
1 PSG  28 17 6 5 51-18 +33  57p
2 Lyon  29 15 8 6 48-30 +18  53p
3 Marseille  29 15 6 8 34-32 +2  51p
4 Saint-Etienne  28 13 9 6 46-21 +25  48p
5 Nice  28 13 9 6 41-32 +9  48p



PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

18:00 -- Olhanense - Pacos de Ferreira 1-2 (1-2)
20:15 -- Sporting - Setubal 2-1 (2-1)

Current standings:
1 Benfica  22 18 4 0 56-14 +42  58p
2 Porto  22 17 5 0 51-10 +41  56p
3 Braga  23 13 4 6 50-31 +19  43p
4 Pacos de Ferreira  23 11 9 3 32-20 +12  42p
5 Rio Ave  22 8 6 8 26-29 -3  30p

2013.03.15 - The Results

FRANCE: Ligue 1

20:30 -- Marseille - Ajaccio 0-0

Current standings:
1 PSG  28 17 6 5 51-18 +33  57p
2 Lyon  28 15 8 5 47-26 +21  53p
3 Marseille  29 15 6 8 34-32 +2  51p
4 Saint-Etienne  28 13 9 6 46-21 +25  48p
5 Nice  28 13 9 6 41-32 +9  48p



PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

21:00 -- Gil Vicente - Braga 1-3 (0-1)

Current standings:
1 Benfica  22 18 4 0 56-14 +42  58p
2 Porto  22 17 5 0 51-10 +41  56p
3 Braga  23 13 4 6 50-31 +19  43p
4 Pacos de Ferreira  22 10 9 3 30-19 +11  39p
5 Rio Ave  22 8 6 8 26-29 -3  30p



NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie

20:00 -- Zwolle - Roda 3-2 (2-2)

Current standings:
1 Ajax  26 15 9 2 59-25 +34  54p
2 PSV  26 17 2 7 81-29 +52  53p
3 Feyenoord  26 16 5 5 51-32 +19  53p

Portuguese Champions, Out!

FC Porto disappointed probably even more people than their die-hard fans, by being eliminated from the Champions League, in Andalusia, today.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan for them.

They had a win, even though it was a small one, in the first leg, and they hadn't conceded goals.

On top of that, referee Rizzoli clearly offered a helping hand to Porto by whistling Saviola's goal off for a non-existent foul, in the first half.

Regardless, Porto played poorly, and many might say justice was done when Isco scored with a brilliant effort from just outside the box, only 2 minutes before the end of the first half.

Porto goalkeeper Helton, who made errors before both the cancelled goal and the one that stood, could be perceived as guilty for the second valid Malaga goal, too. In the 77th minute, he failed to come out for a corner kick cross, and could not do anything to prevent Santa Cruz's powerful header from only a few metres out.

Thus, Porto is out, and Spain still has three teams left to fight for the Champions League title.

And, for Portuguese fans, it's all about Benfica now, who is still alive in the Europa League.

Highlights:

2013.03.13 - The Results

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8-Finals, leg 2

20:45 -- Bayern - Arsenal 0-2, 3-3 on aggregate, Bayern advances on away goals     highlights
3' Olivier Giroud
85' Laurent Koscielny
20:45 -- Malaga - Porto 2-0, 2-1 on aggregate     highlights
43' Isco
77' Roque Santa Cruz



CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Quarter-Final, leg 1

02:00 -- Santos Laguna - Houston Dynamo 3-0, 3-1 on aggregate
23' Juan Rodriguez
28' Herculez Gomez
76' Marc Crosas
04:00 -- Los Angeles Galaxy - Herediano 4-1, 4-1 on aggregate
[1-0]  18' Omar Gonzalez
[2-0]  69' Jose Villareal
[3-0]  83' Robbie Keane
[3-1]  85' Elias Aguilar
[4-1]  90' + 3' John McBean



ENGLAND: FA Cup (Quarter-Final, replay)

20:30 -- Blackburn - Millwall 0-1     highlights
42' Danny Shittu

How the Hell Are These Guys 20 Points Ahead?

This is, unfortunately, I think, the problem with these big football leagues, around Europe. Most of them must be fixed, at least during certain years.

How else can a team like Bayern have a 20-point lead, in the Bundesliga, over a team like Borussia Dortmund?

They must not be playing the same teams. (Or, even more explicit, teams must be playing differently against one (let's say) contender than against the other.)

Real strength is measured better in the Champions League.

And, looking at the Bayern team today, against an only-slightly-above-average team, like Arsenal, I must say "I just don't get it". About Bayern Munich.

Yes, Bayern played better than Arsenal, but Arsenal is weak. No matter which way you look at it, Arsenal is not really a top European team.
Bayern didn't face Manchester United, or City (- yes, I know they suck in the CL, but I had to include them because I'm talking English clubs, here -), or Chelsea.
And they were up 3-1, from the first leg. Away leg!
How did they come to shake and shiver for the entire second leg? Home leg!

I'd look forward to see Bayern play Borussia, in the Champions League, later.

As for Arsenal, they got lucky, to a large extent. They didn't play too great. But they should be proud, because they showed great ambition and tenacity.

I'm sure Wenger is proud. But Wenger and the Arsenal management higher-ups are the only ones close to the London club who shouldn't be proud. Because the Arsenal prestige has been receding, for quite a while now, and this is just a temporary high.

It's quite possible Arsenal won't be in the Champions League, next year, at all.

Highlights:

2013.03.12 - The Results

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8-Finals, leg 2

20:45 -- Barcelona - Milan 4-0, 4-2 on aggregate     highlights
5' Lionel Andres Messi
40' Lionel Andres Messi
55' David Villa
90' + 2' Jordi Alba
20:45 -- Schalke - Galatasaray 2-3, 3-4 on aggregate     highlights
[1-0]  17' Roman Neustadter
[1-1]  37' Hamit Altintop
[1-2]  42' Burak Yilmaz
[2-2]  63' Michel Bastos
[2-3]  90' + 5' Umut Bulut



CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Quarter-Finals, leg 2

02:00 -- Monterrey - Xelaju 1-1, 4-2 on aggregate
[0-1]  44' Fredy Santiago
[1-1]  64' Walter Ayovi
04:00 -- Seattle Sounders - Tigres 3-1, 3-2 on aggregate
[0-1]  23' Elias Hernandez
[1-1]  53' Deandre Yedlin
[2-1]  60' Djimi Traore
[3-1]  75' Eddie Johnson

Cue the Comeback

As well as Milan played three weeks ago, they fell into an even bigger extreme today.

Barcelona outplayed them totally, and Milan looked like a third-division squad playing against the masters of football.

Still, Barcelona could have suffered if Boateng had managed to hit the frame of goal, instead of the post, with his reasonably-good effort in the 38th minute, just seconds before Messi ridiculed the inexperienced Milan defense for the second time in the first half.

But the point is that Barcelona needed only 55 minutes to turn the aggregate completely, from 0-2 to 3-2.

Where was the amazing defense from the Giuseppe Meazza? Should we attribute all that was achieved then to luck?

Very, very pathetic, for an Italian team! Almost as pathetic as the final of Euro 2012.
Enough said.

Pound-For-Pound Most Exciting

This was, overall, the most exciting match of the Round-of-16 stage of the Champions League.

I'm talking about Schalke - Galatasaray 2-3.

Okay, so there weren't huge teams involved in this, but the game was one goal away from swinging the other way (or another way, meaning extra time, of course) for all but 21 minutes, roughly. Not even Man. United - Real or Barcelona - Milan had that. And there were 5 goals in this game. And teams were evenly matched. And all through to the end, we could never know for sure which team was going to progress, or even which team deserved more to qualify.

Schalke started as favourites to advance, and they had the better start, up to and including Neustadter's goal in the 17th minute.

But then the Germans seemingly thought they had the tie all wrapped up, and they became a little relaxed. While they were confident of their superiority, Altintop (min. 37) had an amazing shot that brought the teams level on all counts. No more away-goal advantage, too.
Regardless, Schalke players still believed in their own powers, and started to pour forward. But that was their downfall.
Yilmaz managed to score his eighth goal in this year's CL, thus reaching Ronaldo's tally, following a Turkish counter-attack.

Even though the Gelsenkirchen team pulled level in the 63rd minute, through Michel Bastos, they needed a third to progress, and they couldn't get it.
Galata got a third, however, deep in injury time, again thanks to Schalke throwing everybody forward. (Well, actually, and surprisingly, they didn't send the goalkeeper forward... But they still conceded.)
It was the 95th minute, when Fatih Terim's men could finally celebrate.

And here's how deep a squad Galatasaray has. Forget about having players like Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba, and Muslera, Eboue and Altintop, for a minute. There's more:
Their top goalscorer from the Turkish league, and in the Turkish league - until a few weeks ago, when he stopped scoring as much, and he was overtaken by Yilmaz (and a couple of others, from other teams) - Umut Bulut, didn't even play till the 86th minute. Less than 10 minutes later, he put the game beyond the hosts' reach.
Oh, and he probably stopped scoring as much in the Turkish league only because he was put on the substitutes bench.

Highlights:

2013.03.11 - The Result

PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

21:00 -- Setubal - Guimaraes 2-3 (0-1)

Current standings:
1 Benfica  22 18 4 0 56-14 +42  58p
2 Porto  22 17 5 0 51-10 +41  56p
3 Braga  22 12 4 6 47-30 +17  40p
4 Pacos de Ferreira  22 10 9 3 30-19 +11  39p
5 Rio Ave  22 8 6 8 26-29 -3  30p

2013.03.10 - The Results

ENGLAND: FA Cup (Quarter-Finals)

15:00 -- Millwall - Blackburn 0-0
18:30 -- Manchester U. - Chelsea 2-2     highlights
[1-0]  6' Javier Hernandez
[2-0]  11' Wayne Rooney
[2-1]  59' Eden Hazard
[2-2]  68' Ramires



FRANCE: Ligue 1

14:00 -- Nice - Montpellier 2-0 (2-0)
17:00 -- Bordeaux - Bastia 1-0 (0-0)
21:00 -- Lyon - Marseille 0-0

Current standings:
1 PSG  28 17 6 5 51-18 +33  57p
2 Lyon  28 15 8 5 47-26 +21  53p
3 Marseille  28 15 5 8 34-32 +2  50p
4 Saint-Etienne  28 13 9 6 46-21 +25  48p
5 Nice  28 13 9 6 41-32 +9  48p



NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie

12:30 -- Roda - Feyenoord 0-1     highlights
30' Graziano Pelle
14:30 -- Utrecht - RKC Waalwijk 1-0 (0-0)
14:30 -- ajax - Zwolle 3-0
19' Kolbeinn Sigthorsson
26' Siem de Jong
80' Derk Boerrigter
16:30 -- Twente - Vitesse 0-1     highlights
63' Wilfried Bony

Current standings:
1 ajax  26 15 9 2 59-25 +34  54p
2 PSV  26 17 2 7 81-29 +52  53p
3 Feyenoord  26 16 5 5 51-32 +19  53p



PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

17:00 -- Moreirense - Olhanense 1-1 (1-0)
17:00 -- Nacional - Rio Ave 1-1 (1-0)
19:00 -- Pacos de Ferreira - Beira Mar 1-1 (0-1)
21:15 -- Benfica - Gil Vicente 5-0
11' Maxi Pereira
21' Eduardo Salvio
32' Lorenzo Melgarejo
65' Lima
90' + 1' Nicolas Gaitan

Current standings:
1 Benfica  22 18 4 0 56-14 +42  58p
2 Porto  22 17 5 0 51-10 +41  56p
3 Braga  22 12 4 6 47-30 +17  40p
4 Pacos de Ferreira  22 10 9 3 30-19 +11  39p
5 Rio Ave  22 8 6 8 26-29 -3  30p

Still Not Learning Any Lessons

When Rafa Benitez became Chelsea's coach, I was among the first to say that the Chelsea fans were unfair towards him. I thought Benitez should be given time to do good work.

But his work is not improving. In fact, it's probably getting worse and worse.

Granted, maybe the Chelsea players should all be replaced, with the probable exception of Mata, but Benitez is also not showing any kind of strength as an established coach.

In the cup match against Man. U., although Chelsea was not eliminated, one could see that Benitez was not able to make his players learn their lesson, following that abhorrent match against their rivals, in the Premier League, on October 28th, 2012.
Yeah, he wasn't there last fall, but they must have recordings.

What the fuck, Benitez? You're going to coach a team that again concedes two goals in the first ten minutes, or so, like a bunch of amateurs?

People aren't going to say anything yet, because Chelsea just happens to have been able to draw level, so they're still in it, but Chelsea, as a football team, still sucks, big time. Major changes are in order, for them to win anything anymore.

2013.03.09 - The Results

FRANCE: Ligue 1

17:00 -- PSG - Nancy 2-1     highlights
[0-1]  36' Benjamin Moukandjo
[1-1]  59' Zlatan Ibrahimovic
[2-1]  62' Zlatan Ibrahimovic
20:00 -- Ajaccio - Lorient 1-0 (0-0)
20:00 -- Brest - Toulouse 0-1 (0-1)
20:00 -- Evian - Sochaux 5-1 (1-0)
20:00 -- Troyes - Reims 4-2 (1-0)
20:00 -- Valenciennes - Lille 1-3 (1-0)

Current standings:
1 PSG  28 17 6 5 51-18 +33  57p
2 Lyon  27 15 7 5 47-26 +21  52p
3 Marseille  27 15 4 8 34-32 +2  49p
4 Saint-Etienne  28 13 9 6 46-21 +25  48p
5 Lille  28 12 10 6 40-28 +12  46p



ENGLAND: FA Cup (Quarter-Finals)

13:45 -- Everton - Wigan 0-3
30' Maynor Figueroa
31' Callum McManaman
33' Jordi Gomez
18:30 -- Manchester C. - Barnsley 5-0     highlights
11' Carlos Tevez
27' Aleksandar Kolarov
31' Carlos Tevez
49' Carlos Tevez
64' David Silva



NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie

18:45 -- Heerenveen - PSV 2-1     highlights
[1-0]  8' Marten de Roon
[2-0]  38' Yassine El Ghanassy
[2-1]  74' Kevin Strootman
19:45 -- Heracles Almelo - NEC Nijmegen 1-0 (0-0)
19:45 -- Willem II - VV Venlo 1-0 (0-0)
20:45 -- AZ Alkmaar - ADO Den Haag 1-1 (1-1)

Current standings:
1 PSV  26 17 2 7 81-29 +52  53p
2 Ajax  25 14 9 2 56-25 +31  51p
3 Feyenoord  25 15 5 5 50-32 +18  50p



PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

19:00 -- Braga - Maritimo 2-0 (1-0)
21:15 -- Academica - Sporting 1-1 (1-0)

Current standings:
1 Porto  22 17 5 0 51-10 +41  56p
2 Benfica  21 17 4 0 51-14 +37  55p
3 Braga  22 12 4 6 47-30 +17  40p
4 Pacos de Ferreira  21 10 8 3 29-18 +11  38p
5 Rio Ave  21 8 5 8 25-28 -3  29p

Somewhat Interesting, Still, but Really Poor

Dutch football is in the shitter!

After the amazingly sucky performance by the Dutch national team at last year's European Championships, top Dutch teams are doing the same, in their own league and in Europe.
They have all been ousted from European competitions, in humiliating ways. And, in the league, none of the top teams seem to be managing a string of wins longer than 2-3 in a row.

As a consequence, a team like Vitesse Arnhem has become title contender.

And the likes of Heerenveen have started to beat the leader (and even change the leader, most likely, if ajax manages to pull out a win, at home, tomorrow).

Today, the highlight is on PSV's truly weak performance at Heerenveen.

To give but one example, the second goal they conceded was a goal that second-league teams, in other top countries would have probably done better with. It's no surprise that a team that defends like this loses to Heerenveen.

(Last year, Heerenveen - PSV ended 1-5.)

Highlights:

2013.03.08 - The Results

PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

21:00 -- Porto - Estoril 2-0     highlights
4' Maicon
14' Jackson Martinez (pen.)

Current standings:
1 Porto  22 17 5 0 51-10 +41  56p
2 Benfica  21 17 4 0 51-14 +37  55p
3 Pacos de Ferreira  21 10 8 3 29-18 +11  38p
4 Braga  21 11 4 6 45-30 +15  37p
5 Rio Ave  21 8 5 8 25-28 -3  29p



FRANCE: Ligue 1

20:30 -- Rennes - Saint-Etienne 2-2 (1-1)

Current standings:
1 PSG  27 16 6 5 49-17 +32  54p
2 Lyon  27 15 7 5 47-26 +21  52p
3 Marseille  27 15 4 8 34-32 +2  49p
4 Saint-Etienne  28 13 9 6 46-21 +25  48p
5 Nice  27 12 9 6 39-32 +7  45p



NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie

20:00 -- Groningen - NAC Breda 1-1 (0-0)

Current standings:
1 PSV  25 17 2 6 80-27 +53  53p
2 Ajax  25 14 9 2 56-25 +31  51p
3 Feyenoord  25 15 5 5 50-32 +18  50p

2013.03.07 - The Result

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Quarter-Final, leg 1

02:00 -- Herediano (Costa Rica) - Los Angeles Galaxy 0-0

2013.03.06 - The Results

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8-Finals, leg 2

20:45 -- Juventus - Celtic 2-0, 5-0 on aggregate
24' Alessandro Matri
65' Fabio Quagliarella
20:45 -- PSG - Valencia 1-1, 3-2 on aggregate     highlights
[0-1]  55' Jonas
[1-1]  66' Ezequiel Lavezzi



CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Quarter-Finals, leg 1

02:00 -- Xelaju (Guatemala) - Monterrey 1-3
[0-1]  9' Hiram Mier
[0-2]  43' Aldo de Nigris
[1-2]  58' Julio Estacuy
[1-3]  76' Jesus Corona
04:00 -- Tigres (Mexico) - Seattle Sounders 1-0
74' Alan Pulido

Deserving?

PSG made it to the last eight, in the Champions League, today.

But it wasn't the same. No easy win, like at the Mestalla stadium, three weeks ago. (It was 2-1, but if it had been 4-0, back then, it wouldn't have been an unjust result.)

Without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, suspended for two CL matches, PSG seemed content to just pass the ball around and attack (without conviction) whenever they saw an opening.

Looking at the other side, Valencia played better at the Parc des Princes, but not by much.
And this should be a worrying sign for Carlo Ancelotti and his men, because there will be far better teams waiting for them ahead, in the competition.

Still, to break the deadlock, on this day, it took a very inspired shot from the Brazilian Jonas, ten minutes after half-time, to put the visitors ahead on the scoreboard, and to awaken PSG, a little, from their lethargy.

Even though Lavezzi took advantage, on his second try, of Gameiro's ridiculing a couple of Valencia defenders, in the 66th minute, to tie it all up again, Valencia was still only one goal away from prolonging their Champions League campaign (into extra time).
But they failed. The lack of incisiveness that plagued PSG, the team with the best record, match-for-match, in this year's Champions League, was also to be found in the ranks of the Spanish team. Soldado, especially, played badly for Valencia.

So, PSG goes through, in the end; but they were very close to having to play extra time, on their own turf, after winning the first leg, away, quite easily. That's not impressive. And maybe the Reims and Sochaux defeats, in Ligue 1, were not flukes.

Highlights:

2013.03.05 - The Results

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8-Finals, leg 2

20:45 -- Borussia D. - Shakhtar 3-0, 5-2 on aggregate     highlights
31' Felipe Santana
37' Mario Gotze
59' Jakub Blaszczykowski
20:45 -- Manchester U. - Real Madrid 1-2, 2-3 on aggregate     highlights
[1-0]  48' Sergio Ramos (o.-g.)
[1-1]  66' Luka Modric
[1-2]  69' Cristiano Ronaldo



CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Quarter-Final, leg 1

02:00 -- Houston Dynamo - Santos Laguna 1-0
89' Brad Davis

Wow, Look at the Germans Go!

The German league really has improved a lot, it seems.

They overtook the Italians in the UEFA country league rankings, and I believe they might just be on their way to overtake the English, too, soon.

Borussia Dortmund, a team that has almost zero chances and fewer than zero hopes of winning their national title this year, is outplaying every opponent, by far, in this year's Champions League. And we're talking opponents such as Real Madrid (aka the La Liga current champions), the English champions from last year, the team that eliminated last year's Champions League champions, and the Dutch current champions. (Okay, that last one isn't saying much at all, but everything else is still impressive.)

I thought a team that is crushing almost everybody in Ukrainian football, including their bitter rivals, would put up a better fight against a Dortmund team seemingly on the decline. (They were champions in the previous two seasons, in Germany, but they won't be this year, unless a miracle occurs.)

Santana (in minute 31), Gotze (37) and Blaszczykowski (59) scored to make for a crushing defeat, but a large part of that was due to poor defending from the Ukrainian team. (Or should I say "Brazilian team made in Ukraine"?)
To comment on the last goal, Pyatov cannot remain the uncontested goalkeeper for the Ukrainian national team with such poor handling of the ball.

Shakhtar started their Champions League campaign with a bang and ended with a whimper.

And Germany might, very likely, have three teams in the quarter-finals. Schalke is basically in the same situation as Borussia, but against Galatasaray (- probably a weaker team than Shakhtar -), while Bayern is as good as qualified, because Arsenal has to score three goals at the Allianz Arena to even have a chance.

Cut the Bitching, Sore Losers!

Living in an English-speaking country, I heard a lot of sports programs after the Man. U. - Real Madrid match condemning the referee for giving a red card to Nani. -- "It should have been a yellow...", "His eyes were on the ball the whole time...", "It was reckless, not malicious...", "What was the referee thinking?!...", and so on.

That's all bullshit! Enough with the sympathy for this huge conglomerate called "United", from Manchester! The only thing this club is innocent of is paying the referee who made that call.

Alright, so the decision could have gone either way. God forbid, for once, the referee takes the road that doesn't give a break to this giant of football, Manchester United!...

Also, it's not a decision that was match-altering. Not at all. You see players sent off in other matches, for lesser offenses, and their teams don't make such a big fuss. They just play, 10 versus 11. (It wasn't 8 versus 11. It wasn't a clear penalty, not given. And may I remind you that Real lost a crucial piece of their puzzle, di Maria, in the first half? Mourinho did some shuffling around, and he fixed it. I'm sure he could have fixed having his team play 10 versus 11, too.)
So, these people who are condemning the Turkish referee should save their bitching for real crucial decisions. Like Lampard's unseen goal in that match against Germany, at World Cup 2010. That was a match-altering bad call. Nani's red card is small potatoes. United was still one goal up, at that point. And the incident did not lead to conceding a dangerous free kick, or anything of the sort, either. And I've seen so many teams playing 10 against 11, from worse positions, and winning. So, saying that the elimination of Nani - who's not always in the starting eleven (!!!) - was the main factor in Man. U.'s elimination is nothing more than trying to find an easy scapegoat.

What, the English team could not have played with 10 players, and without Nani, and won?
As a matter of fact, looking at the last twenty minutes independently, they seemed to do quite well, especially in attack. Where Nani would have had most of his contribution. They just didn't score (but it's not like Nani is a born goalscorer or had scored a lot of goals recently).

And what did Ferguson do, to help his team? Instead of doing any good switches and changes, he started bellowing at the referees, like he always does when things don't go his way.
(Maybe in the English league United players don't get sent off for those high challenges, but in international competitions you don't always get the favouritism you think you're entitled to, Ferg!)

So, yeah, basically I'm saying ferguson is not a very good coach. Apparently he built a team that seemed to crumble like a house of cards, in three minutes, for a reason so banal as having to play 10 versus 11.

But it wasn't the red card that changed the match. I don't think so. For me, the match-changing moment was Mourinho's genius move in substituting Luka Modric for Arbeloa. Not Nani's elimination. It was Modric's insertion. And his brilliant shot, in the 66th minute, that came out of nowhere.
If Modric had not scored then, who knows what the final score would have been. So, there!

Also, if you want to talk about unfair, how about Ramos' stupid own goal, three minutes after the interval?
Don't you think the mentality of the Real players could have been shattered at that point? But they came back.

Really, that's where I think a great coach makes the difference. Real had one, United didn't.

The Champions League is better with Real in it, now, than it had been had the English progressed.
I mean, really, this is a so-called contender that was beaten/humiliated by the likes of Galatasaray, Basel and CFR Cluj, in the Champions League over the past two years. (And they keep getting results in the English league way too easily.)
Maybe they didn't deserve to lose the match, but they deserved to go out.

Highlights:

2013.03.04 - The Results

PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

19:15 -- Guimaraes - Academica 2-0 (2-0)
21:30 -- Olhanense - Braga 0-1 (0-1)

Current standings:
1 Benfica  21 17 4 0 51-14 +37  55p
2 Porto  21 16 5 0 49-10 +39  53p
3 Pacos de Ferreira  21 10 8 3 29-18 +11  38p
4 Braga  21 11 4 6 45-30 +15  37p
5 Rio Ave  21 8 5 8 25-28 -3  29p

2013.03.03 - The Results

FRANCE: Ligue 1

14:00 -- Brest - Lyon 1-1
[1-0]  8' Kamel Chafni
[1-1]  53' Tripy Makonda (o.-g.)
17:00 -- Marseille - Troyes 2-1 (0-0)
21:00 -- Lille - Bordeaux 2-1 (0-1)

Current standings:
1 PSG  27 16 6 5 49-17 +32  54p
2 Lyon  27 15 7 5 47-26 +21  52p
3 Marseille  27 15 4 8 34-32 +2  49p
4 Saint-Etienne  27 13 8 6 44-19 +25  47p
5 Nice  27 12 9 6 39-32 +7  45p



PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

17:00 -- Gil Vicente - Nacional 1-2 (1-0)
17:00 -- Maritimo - Moreirense 1-1 (0-0)
17:00 -- Rio Ave - Estoril 0-2 (0-0)
20:30 -- Beira Mar - Benfica 0-1
16' Oscar Cardozo (pen.)

Current standings:
1 Benfica  21 17 4 0 51-14 +37  55p
2 Porto  21 16 5 0 49-10 +39  53p
3 Pacos de Ferreira  21 10 8 3 29-18 +11  38p
4 Braga  20 10 4 6 44-30 +14  34p
5 Rio Ave  21 8 5 8 25-28 -3  29p



NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie

12:30 -- NEC Nijmegen - Feyenoord 0-3
11' Jean-Paul Boetius
42' Graziano Pelle
83' Jean-Paul Boetius
14:30 -- RKC Waalwijk - AZ Alkmaar 2-1 (1-0)
14:30 -- Roda - Groningen 4-1 (3-1)
16:30 -- ADO Den Haag - Heracles Almelo 3-1 (0-0)

Current standings:
1 PSV  25 17 2 6 80-27 +53  53p
2 Ajax  25 14 9 2 56-25 +31  51p
3 Feyenoord  25 15 5 5 50-32 +18  50p

2013.03.02 - The Results

NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie

18:45 -- NAC Breda - Heerenveen 1-2 (0-0)
19:45 -- PSV - VV Venlo 2-0
3' Memphis Depay
90' Mark van Bommel
19:45 -- Zwolle - Willem II 2-0 (0-0)
20:45 -- Twente - ajax 0-2
4' Niklas Moisander
35' Toby Alderweireld

Current standings:
1 PSV  25 17 2 6 80-27 +53  53p
2 Ajax  25 14 9 2 56-25 +31  51p
3 Vitesse  25 14 6 5 50-31 +19  48p



PORTUGAL: Primeira Liga

18:00 -- Pacos de Ferreira - Setubal 2-0 (1-0)
20:45 -- Sporting - Porto 0-0

Current standings:
1 Porto  21 16 5 0 49-10 +39  53p
2 Benfica  20 16 4 0 50-14 +36  52p
3 Pacos de Ferreira  21 10 8 3 29-18 +11  38p
4 Braga  20 10 4 6 44-30 +14  34p
5 Rio Ave  20 8 5 7 25-26 -1  29p



FRANCE: Ligue 1

17:00 -- Reims - PSG 1-0
64' Grzegorz Krychowiak
20:00 -- Bastia - Ajaccio 1-0 (0-0)
20:00 -- Lorient - Valenciennes 1-1 (1-0)
20:00 -- Saint-Etienne - Nice 4-0 (1-0)
20:00 -- Sochaux - Nancy 1-2 (0-2)
20:00 -- Toulouse - Evian 0-0

Current standings:
1 PSG  27 16 6 5 49-17 +32  54p
2 Lyon  26 15 6 5 46-25 +21  51p
3 Saint-Etienne  27 13 8 6 44-19 +25  47p
4 Marseille  26 14 4 8 32-31 +1  46p
5 Nice  27 12 9 6 39-32 +7  45p

2013.03.01 - The Results

NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie

20:00 -- Vitesse - Utrecht 2-0 (1-0)

Current standings:
1 PSV  24 16 2 6 78-27 +51  50p
2 Ajax  24 13 9 2 54-25 +29  48p
3 Vitesse  25 14 6 5 50-31 +19  48p



FRANCE: Ligue 1

20:30 -- Montpellier - Rennes 2-0 (0-0)

Current standings:
1 PSG  26 16 6 4 49-16 +33  54p
2 Lyon  26 15 6 5 46-25 +21  51p
3 Marseille  26 14 4 8 32-31 +1  46p
4 Nice  26 12 9 5 39-28 +11  45p
5 Saint-Etienne  26 12 8 6 40-19 +21  44p