Champions League Final Is Madrid Affair

The spirited Atletico Madrid came from 1 - 0 behind to beat Chelsea
3 - 1 in the second leg of the semi final of the Uefa Champions League in London. The two teams played 0 - 0 in the first leg in Madrid.

The visitors were more inspired to win than Chelsea. The hunger to be in the final seemed to drive them than Chelsea. This hunger and determination made them to play much better than they did in the first leg in Madrid.

The Champion League Trophy

Atletico will meet their more illustrous neighbour - Real Madrid who crushed the defending champions, Bayern Munich 4 - 0 in Munich yesterday and booked their place in the final with the aggregate of 5 - 0.

The final will be played on Saturday the 24th of May, at the Estadio do Sport Lisbon, the stadium of Benfica.

Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

Luis Suarez Named PFA Player Of The Year

Luis Suarez (27), the Liverpool and Uruguay international striker, has been named as the English Professional Footballers Association (PFA), player of the year, during the award ceremony in London on Sunday.

The controversial striker, has been the main driving force in the club's first title challenge this season, since 24 years. He has already scored 30 goals, despite the fact that he did not play the first six games of the season, due to suspension by the Football Association (FA).

Luis was suspended for 10 games, after he bit Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, last season during a match against Chelsea. He has been in a devastating form, since he came back from the punishment.

Luis Suarez of Liverpool FC

The obviously euphoric Luis Suarez said, '' The Premier League is full of really great players, and so it is a great honour, when these players recognise your work on the pitch.''

He added, ''I always try my best for the team and it is nice to get awards, but really this is for my team-mates and the staff at Liverpool, because without their help, I wouldn't have this prize.''

Eden Hazard of Chelsea was named as the Young Player of the Year, for his outstanding and energetic performances, which he displayed every week in Chelsea's encounters. Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

Both players - Suarez and Hazard were also named in the EPL team of the year. Suarez and Hazard's two team-mates each were also named in the team. Steven Gerard and Daniel Sturridge of Liverpool and Chelsea's Petr Cech and Gary Cahill.

Also named in the team of the year were Man City's captain Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure. Southampton's duo of Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana. Everton's Seamus Coleman completed the list.

Major European Weekend League Results

German Bundesliga

Hannover 96        0  -  0    Stuttgart
Wolfsburg            2  -  2    Freiburg
Hertha                  2  -  0    E. Braunschweig
Leverkusen          2  -  2    B. Dortmund
Bayern                 5  -  2    Werder Bremen
Hoffenheim         0  -  0    E. Frankfurt
Mainz 05             2  -  0    Nurnberg
Augsburg            3  -  1    Hamburg
Schalke 04          0  -  1    M'gladbach

 

Italian Serie A

Roma                  2  -   0    Milan
Inter                    0  -   0    Napoli
Bologna              0  -   3    Fiorentina
Verona                4  -   0    Catania
Cagliari               1  -   0    Parma
Livorno               0  -   2    Lazio
Sampdoria          2  -   1     Chievo
Torino                2  -    0    Udinese
Atalanta              1  -   1    Genoa

EPL

Stoke                   0  -   1    Tottenham
West Brom          1  -   0    West Ham
Soton                   2  -   0    Everton
Fulham                2  -   2    Hull
Swansea              4  -   1    Aston Villa
Man United         4  -   0    Norwich
Sunderland          4  -   0    Cardiff
Crystal Palace     0  -   2    Man City
Liverpool            0  -   2    Chelsea
Arsenal                    -        Newcastle


Spanish La Liga

Real Madrid       4  -   0   Osasuna
Getafe                 1  -  0    Malaga
Granada              0  -  3    Rayo Vallecano
Real Betis           0  -  1    Real Sociedad
Elche                  1  -  1    Levante
Valencia             0  -  1    Atletico Madrid
Espanyol            1  -  2    Almeria
Athletic Bilboa   3  -  1   Sevilla
Villarreal            2  -  3   Barcelona
Celta de Vigo         -       Real Valladolid

French Ligue 1 

Nantes               1  -   1   Marseille
Ajaccio              1  -   4   Monaco
Rennes               1  -   1   Lorient
Nice                   1  -   0   Reims
Guingamp          1  -   0   Valenciennes
Evian Thonon    1  -   2   St Etienne
Montpellier        2  -   1   Toulouse
Sochaux             1  -   1   PSG
Lyon                  4  -   1   Bastia
Lille                   2  -   1   Bordeaux

Dutch Eredivisie

Feyenoord          5  -  1    Cambuur
Heracles             1  -  1    Ajax
Ado Den Haag   2  -  1    AZ Alkmaar
NEC                   2  -  5    Twente
Zwolle                1  -  2    PSV
Roda JC              1  -  2    Groningen
NAC                   1  -  1    RKC
Heerenveen        4  -  1    Utrecht
Vitesse               2  -   2   G.A. Eagles

Note: AFC Ajax have won the Dutch League title with only one game remaining for the season to be completed.
Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

'' Proudest Moment Of My Life'' Says Giggs

The Manchester United player and now the intrim manager Ryan Giggs (40) of the club, said in his first press conference with the media at the club's training location, that being appointed to take control of the remining four Premier League games was ''the proudest moment'' of his life.

He was given the duties after the manager David Moyes, who had a six year contract was sacked on Tuesday, following a series of poor performances of the team, after just ten months on the job.

Giggs said to the club TV channel (MUTV), ''I have got to say, it is the proudest moment of my life.''

Ryan Giggs

''I am proud, I am happy and a little nervous.'' He said that he wants to put back smiles on the faces of their fans.

"I have supported Manchester United all my life, I have been a part of the club since I was 13. I am proud, I am happy, a little nervous and, just like playing, can't wait for the game on Saturday,'' he sasid.

''I want to see goals, tackles, players taking players on and getting the crowd up. I want the passion that should come with being a Manchester United Player,'' he added.

To achieve these objectives, he invited three of his former team-mates to come and assist him in the task - namely Paul Scholes, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt. Phil Neville was already there as an assistant also to Moyes.

Giggs is hoping that since the club cannot qualify for the Champions League, at least they will strive to qualify for the Europa League.

His first test in charge will be on Saturday at home against Norwich City. That is when the challenge will begin for him. Time will tell if the management made a mistake or not.

The match is not going to be easy because Norwich is fighting against relegation. It is going to be interesting because both teams need to win.

Roger Schmidt Appointed New Leverkusen Coach

Roger Schmidt (47), the successful coach of Red Bull Salzburg, has been appointed the new chief coach of Bayer Leverkusen, starting from next season. The deal is for two seasons.

He will be replacing former coach Sami Hypia, who was sacked earlier on this month.

Schmidt has already led the Austrian team, Red Bull to clinch the nation's league with some matches still remaining. He also led the club to the round of 16 of the Europa League, including beating Ajax home and away.

Roger Schmidt

The Sporting Director of Bayer Leverkusen, Rudi Voller, said in the club website, ''We sounded out the market and very quickly made up our minds to opt for Roger Schmidt.''

''His approach to playing football fits in perfectly with Bayer Leverkusen.''

The intrim boss Sacha Lewandowski, who has been in control of the team since the sacking of Hypia, will return to his former role as youth coach.
Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

After he was appointed, Roger Schmidt said in reaction to the appointment,
''I'm really looking forward to the new challenge at a great club, and am delighted to be able to work in the Bundesliga.''

Champions League And Europa League Results

The Champions League and Europa League semi final matches were played this week. The first of the two legs encounters were prosecuted and the results are as follows.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Champions League

Atletico Madrid  0  -  0   Chelsea

Real Madrid        1  -  0   Bayern Munich

Europa League

Benfica       2  -  1   Juventus

Sevilla        2  -  0    Valencia

Man United Sacks Coach Moyes

The Manchester United manager, David Moyes (50), has been sacked by the club management after a series of poor performances, which culminated to 11 Premier League defeats, but the 2 - 0 loss to Everton last Sunday, seem to be the last straw for the English giants.

Mr Ed Woodward, the Executive vice chairman of the club, had a meeting  with David Moyes on Tuesday morning at the training ground (Carrington), where he informed the coach of his sacking.

A short statement from the club read, ''Man United announces that David Moyes has left the club.''

''The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and intergrity he brought to the role.''

Another statement read Giggs (40), '' the club's most decorated  player, will assume responsibility for the first team until a permanent appointment can be made.''

David Moyes

Ryan Giggs is a player and was also assistant coach to Moyes. He has appeared 962 times for the club, won 13 Premier League titles, 2 Champions League Cups, 4 FA Cups, 3 League Cups and 1 Fifa Club World Cup.

Among the potential coaches that could take over on a long time basis are the Dutch national coach, Louis Van  Gaal (62), whose contract will expire after the World Cup. He has expressed his desire to work in the EPL.

Another coach is Borussia Dortmund coach, Jurgen Klopp (46), but he told the Guardian newspaper recently that he intend to stay with Dortmund.

''Man United is a great club and I feel very familiar with their wonderful fans. But my commitment to Borussia Dortmund and the people is not breakable,'' he said.

The other coach who was under consideration when Sir Alex Ferguson retired was Pep Guardiola, who is now coaching Bayern, but may be tempted to join Man United.

Though he said before in a press conference that he want to stay and complete his contract with Bayern.

''I want to stay at Bayern for two more years. Bayern are my team, I 'm comfortable here,'' he said to the press.

So it seem like the only available big time coach is Van Gaal. But one is never sure in this cut throat football business.
Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

Fireworks Disrupted Dutch Cup Final

The fireworks and smoke bombs which disrupted the Dutch Cup final between the Amsterdam based Dutch giant AFC Ajax and PEC Zwolle did not detar Zwolle from handing Ajax their most crushing and humiliating defeat since the beginning of this season. The end score was 5 - 1.

The scoreline was something that nobody can in true honesty have predicted, because Ajax is a much bigger club, richer, is on course to claim their fourth straight title of the Eredivisie and also plays regularly in Europe, - Champions League or Europa League, while FC Zwolle was just promoted to the Eredivisie a couple of Years ago.

Anyway, barely three minutes after the kickoff time, Ajax player, Ricardo van Rhijn, sent a thunderous of a missle-like shot from the outside the box, which the goalkeeper had no answer for.

Soon after the goal, fireworks and smoke bombs were thrown into the pitch, which made the referee to halt the match briefly. An advertising sign even caught fire as a result of the action of the unruely fans.

 

After the clearance of the debris from the pitch, the match restarted but this time, it seem like the action of the Ajax fans invigorated the Zwolle players, because by half time, they changed the scoreline to 4 - 1. This was a massive shock to not only the Ajax fans but also every football fans in Holland.

Ryan Thomas and Guyon Fernandez scored a brace each, with Bram van Polen adding one more as the icing on the cake.

The match was held up twice due to the fireworks and smoke bombs. The second time it happened, the game was stopped for a longer time and the players were removed from the pitch.

Ajax coach Frank de Boer and former goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who is now the chief marketing officer for the club, went and appealed to their fans, to stop throwing fireworks and smoke bombs into the field or the match will be abandoned.

''Stop throwing fireworks on the field, it's dangerous. If it happens again, the game will be abandoned,'' Van der Sar told them.

The game was then completed with PEC Zwolle winning their first KNVB Cup final (FA Cup). Zwolle had previously played and lost two finals in their history and that was in 1928 and 1977. So they were lucky in their third attempt. The match was played at Rotterdam's De Kuip Stadium, the home of FC Feyenoord.

 

Meanwhile, Ajax is still on course to win their fourth straight Eredivisie title. They are leading Feyenoord with six points and only two games are remaining to the end of the season. Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

Some Major European Weekend League Results

EPL   (English Premier League)

Aston Villa         0  -  0    Southampton (Soton)
Cardiff                1  -  1    Stoke
Tottenham          3  -  1    Fulham
Newcastle           1  -  2    Swansea
West Ham          0  -   1    Crystal Palace
Chelsea               1  -  2    Sunderland
Hull                    0  -   3    Arsenal
Norwich             2  -   3    Liverpool
Everton              2  -   0    Man United
Man City               -         West Brom

 

German Bundesliga 

Hamburg             1   -  3    Wolfsburg
E. Frankfurt         2  -   3     Hannover 96
Werder Bremen   3  -   1     Hoffenheim
SC Freiburg         4  -   2     B. M'gladbach
Augsburg             0  -   0     Hertha Berlin
E. Braunschweig  0  -   2    Bayern
B. Dortmund        4  -   2    Mainz  05
Nurnberg              1  -   4    Leverkusen
Stuttgart                3  -   1   Schalke  04

Spanish La Liga 

Atletico Madrid    2  -  0    Elche
Real Sociedad       2  -  1    Espanyol
Levante                 0  -  0    Getafe
Osasuna                1  -   1    Valencia
Almeria                 2  -  4    Celta de Vigo
Rayo Vallecano    3  -  1     Real Betis
Sevilla                   4  -  0     Granada
Barcelona              2  -  1     Athletic Bilboa
Malaga                      -         Villarreal

Italian Serie A

Atalanta             1  -   2     Verona
Genoa                1  -   2     Cagliari
Chievo               0  -   1     Sassuolo
Catania              2  -   1     Sampdoria
Lazio                 3  -   3     Torino
Milan                 3   -  0     Livorno
Udinese             1   -  1     Napoli
Juventus            1   -  0     Bologna
Parma                0  -   2     Inter
Fiorentina          0  -   1     Roma

French Ligue 1  

St Etienne          0  -  0     Rennes
Monaco             1  -   0    Nice
Bastia                2  -   1    Ajaccio
Reims                0  -   1    Sochaux
Bordeaux           5  -   1    Guingamp
Lorient               4  -   4    Montpellier
Valenciennes     2  -   6    Nantes
Marseille           0  -   0    Lille
PSG                       -         Evian Thonon
Toulouse               -         Lyon

Portuguese Premeira Liga

Vitoria Guimaraes   2  -  3   Arouca
Belenenses               0  -  1   Sporting
Pacos de Ferreira     0  -  5    Nacional
Maritimo                  3  -  1   Academica
Gil Vicente               0  -  0   Estotil Praia
Benfica                     2  -  0   Olhanense
Vitoria Setubal             -       Sporting Braga
Porto                             -       Rio Ave

Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

Bale Wins Copa del Rey For Real Madrid

Gareth Bale (24), scored an amazing winning goal in the Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and their arch rival Barcelona, at the Mestalla Stadium, in Valencia.

In the 85th minute of the match, the scoreline was still 1 - 1, when Bale who joined Real Madrid from Tottenham last summer, as the most expensive player in the world (€100m), received a pass about 50 to 60m in the left flank inside his own half of the pitch.

 He then kicked the ball forward and took off after it, with such a lightening speed, that the Barcelona player marking him, Marc Bartra, was in shock. Even Bale had to step outside the pitch, as he out ran Bartra and scored a fantastic goal, in between the legs of the goalkeeper, Jose Pinto. A beautiful solo action that was decisive, indeed.

Gareth Bale, Luke Mudric and the Trophy

Gareth Bale, really delivered as everyone was looking at him to do so, especially as Cristiano Ronaldo was out due to the injury, he suffered during the Champions League quater final encounter against Schalke 04.

During the press conference after the match, the Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, said that he was in a perfect position and saw the action of the Welshman at the critical moment of the game.

''I had the perfect view. It was a fantastic goal from an extra-ordinary player. We 're lucky he plays for Real Madrid. It's certainly the most important goal of his career. It came at a decisive point of the match,'' the very elated coach said.

Bale's team-mate Xabi Alonzo added, ''It was incredible, I have never seen anything like it.'' He further described it as ''amazing''.

Gareth Bale said about his action, ''I had to get round the player and go off the pitch to do it,'' he laughed. It was good to get the goal.''

''It looked like the ball was going out, but he kept pushing and ran off the field to get it. It was amazing,'' Xabi Alonzo, added.

When Bale was asked what did Ronaldo say to him as the team was celebrating winning the cup, he replied, he said ''Congratulations.''

There is nothing left to be said in such a performance at a critical moment, in such a big stage, but to join Ronaldo and say congratulations.
Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

Manchester City - Best Paid Sport Team

The English Premier League club, Manchester City is the best paid sport team in the world according to the research conducted by ESPN Magazine and Sportingintelligence.

According to the report Man City players top the 10 best paid sport teams. The first team players of the club earns an average of €6.488m per annum. Of the ten listed teams in the survey, two are from basketball and two from Baseball. Six teams are from football.

The second best paid team is baseball team of NY Yankees, €6.426m, the third team that pays their players very high is the baseball team of LA Dodgers around €6.223m.

4th is Real Madrid €6.070m
5th.  Barcelona  €5.958m
6th.  Brooklyn Nets €5.452m
7th.  Bayern Munich €5.351m
8th.  Man United  €5.254m
9th.  Chicago Bulls €4.844m
10th. Chelsea €4.843m

The above mentioned earning is only for playing sport and it those not contain endorsements etc according to Sportingintelligence.

''The Global Sports Salaries Survey looks solely at earnings for playing sport, not for endorsements or other extra-curricular activities,'' states the Sportingintelligence website. Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

Pacquiao Defeats Bradley In Second Match

The Filipino boxer, Manny Pacquiao (35), defeated Timothy Bradley (30), on Saturday, in Las Vegas in a World Boxing Organisation (WBO) welterweight Champion bout.

Pacquiao topped Bradley in a convincing 12 round unanimous decision to avenge his loss to him in 2012 split verdict.

The last weekend fight was a duel that many thought that Pacquuiao could not win, because Bradley was not only very strong and had beaten him before in their last fight, but he was also an unbeaten champion.



Pacquiao vs Bradley

Many people who used this logic to bet against Pacquiao in the match, forgot that he was an eight - time World Champion and an incredible resilient fighter. He demostrated that in the fight on Saturday.
Read also: africanfootie.blogspot.com

After he regained the champions belt, he sets his sight on fighting the WBC welterweight champion, Floyd Mayweather, which many boxing fans wants to see happen for many years, but it seems very elusive due to one thing or the other every time.

The new champion, Pacquiao said about a fight against Mayweather, ''The line is open 24 hours, seven days a week. If he wants to fight, the fight will be on.''

The fight record of Manny Pacquiao is 56 wins, 5 losses, and 2 draws while that of Floyd Mayweather (37) is 45 wins, no loss and no draw.

Some Major Weekend European league Results

Dutch Eredivisie

Groningen           2  -  1    NAC Breda
G.A Eagles          0  -  2    Heerenveen
Twente                3  -  0    Roda JC
Cambuur             4  -  3    Vitesse
Ajax                    3  -  2    Ado Den Haag
Utrecht                2  -  1    Heracles
RKC Waalwijk   1  -  1    Zwolle
AZ Alkmaar        1  -  1   NEC
PSV                     0  -  2   Feyenoord

EPL

Crystal Palace    1  -  0    Aston Villa
Fulham               1  -  0    Norwich
West Brom         3  -  3    Tottenham
Stoke                  1  -  0    Newcastle
Sunderland         0  -  1    Everton
Soton                  0  -  1    Cardiff
Liverpool            3  -  2    Man City
Swansea              0  -  1    Chelsea

Spanish La Liga

Osasuna             0  -  0    R. Valladolid
Real Madrid       4  -  0   Almeria
Granada             1  -   0   Barcelona
Villarreal           1  -   0   Levante
Celta de Vigo    2  -   2   Real Sociedad
Real Betis          0  -   2   Sevilla
Velencia            2  -   1   Elche
Getafe               0  -   2   Atletico Madrid
Espanyol           2  -   2   Rayo Vallecano
Athletic Bilboa     -        Malaga

German Bundesliga

Mainz 05           3  -  0    Werder Bremen
M'gladbach       1  -  1     Stuttgart
Hannover 96     2  -  1     Hamburg
Freiburg            2  -  0     E. Braunschweig
Wolfsburg        4  -  1      Nurnberg
Bayern              0  -  3     Dortmund
Hoffenheim      2  -  0     Augsburg
Leverkusen      2  -  1      Hertha
Schalke 04       2  -  0      E. Frankfurt

Italian Serie A

Roma              3  -   1     Atalanta
Milan              1  -   0     Catania
Sassuolo         1  -   1     Cagliari
Verona            3  -   5     Fiorentina
Torino             2  -   1     Genoa
Sampdoria      0  -   4      Inter
Napoli            4  -    2     Lazio
Livorno          2  -    4     Chievo
Bologna         1  -    1     Parma
Udinese               -         Juventus

French Ligue 1

Montpellier       2  -  3    Marseille
Sochaux            2  -  0    Toulouse
Rennes              0  -  1    Monaco
Nice                  1  -  2    Lorient
Evian Thonon   2  -  1    Bastia
Ajaccio             1  -  1    Bordeaux
Lille                  1  -  0    Valenciennes
Lyon                 1  -  0    PSG
Reims               2  -  2    St Etienne
Nantes              1  -  0    Guingamp

Portuguese Premeira Liga

Academica           1  -  1   Vitoria Setubal
Sporting Lisbon   2  -  0    Gil Vicente
Rio Ave                1  -  2   Olhanense
Belenenses           3  -  1    Vitoria Guimaraes
Nacional               2  -  0    Maritimo
Braga                    1  -  3    Porto
Arouca                  0  -  2    Benfica

Sanders Sorry For Marijuana Use

The NBA star, Larry Sanders (25), who plays for the NBA franchise Milwaukee Bucks, said that he was sorry for having used marijuana, which was a violation of the NBA's drug policy.

Sanders was suspended for five days without pay.After the decision to suspend him was taken, he issued an apology on friday for his violation of the drug policy, while still maintaining his support for marijuana for medicinal use.

He said that he has taken the responsibility for his action. '' I take full responsibility for my actions.''

Larry Sanders of Milwaukee Bucks

 

In his interview with the NBA website, he defended the use of marijuana.
'' It's something I feel strongly about, just to let you know something personal about me, I will deal with the consequences from it,'' he said.

''It's a banned substance in my league. But I believe in marijuana and the medical side of it. I know what it is if I'm going to use it.''

''I study it and I know the benefits it has. In a lot of
 ways we've been deprived. You can't really label it with so many other drugs that people can be addicted to and have so many negative effects on your body and your family and your relationships and impairment. This is not the same thing.''

''The stigma is that it's illegal. I hate that. Once this becomes legal, this all will go away. But I understand for my work it's a banned substance. I will deal with the consequences and I apologise again to my fans for that,'' he said.

His team Milwaukee Bucks management released a statement which read,
''Larry Sanders has a responsibility to every person in our organisation and our fans. We are all disappointed by the news of his suspension.''

Some Major European Weekend League Results

EPL

Fulham             1  -  3    Everton
Man United      4  -  1    Aston Villa
C. Palace          1  -  0    Chelsea
Soton                4  -  0    Newcastle United
Stoke                1  -  0    Hull
Swansea           3  -  0    Norwich
West Brom       3  -  3    Cardiff
Arsenal             1  -  1    Man City
Liverpool          4  -  0    Tottenham

Spanish La Liga

Getafe               0  -  1    Villarreal
Real Sociedad   1  -  0    Real Valladolid
Almeria             2  -  2    Valencia
Levante             1  -  3    Real  Betis
Espanyol           0  -  1    Barcelona
Celta de Vigo    1  -  0    Sevilla
Athletic Bilbao  1  -  2   Atletico Madrid
Osasuna             1  -  1   Real Sociedad
Real Madrid       5  -  0   Rayo Vallecano
Valencia             1  -  3   Getafe

German Bundesliga  

Schalke 04         2  -  0    Hertha Berlin
Wolfsburg          2  -  1    E. Frankfurt
Stuttgart             2  -  3    B. Dortmund
Freiburg             3  -  2    Nurnberg
Bayern               3  -  3    Hoffenheim
Leverkusen        1  -  1    E. Braunschweig
Mainz 05           3  -  0    Augsburg
Hannover 96      1  -  2    Werder Bremen
M'gladbach        3  -  1     Hamburg

Italian Serie A

Inter                   0  -  0    Udinese
Bologna             0  -  2    Atalanta
Milan                 3  -  0    Chievo
Sassuolo            0  -  2    Roma
Lazio                 3  -  2    Parma
Sampdoria         0  -  0    Fiorentina
Torino                2  - 1    Cagliari
Verona               3  - 0    Genoa
Napoli                2  - 0    Juventus

French Ligue 1

Rennes               3  -  0   Bastia
Nice                   0  -  1   PSG
Reims                 1  -  1   Lorient
Evian Thonon    1  -  0   Monaco
Nantes                0  -  0   Bordeaux
Ajaccio               2  -  2   Toulouse
Montpellier         0  -  0   Valencienes
Sochaux              1  -  1    Marseille
Lyon                    1  -  2   St Etienne
Lille                     1  -  0   Guingamp

Dutch Eredivisie

NAC Breda           2  -  2    Utrecht
PSV                       2  -  3    Groningen
Vitesse                   2  -  2    Heerenveen
NEC                       1  -  2    Heracles
Ado Den Haag       1  -  1    Zwolle
Cambuur                0  -  0    AZ
Roda JC                 0  -  1    RKC
Ajax                       3  -  0    Twente
Feyenoord              5  -  0    Go Ahead Eagles

Portuguese Premeira Liga

Belenenses             1  -  1    Pacos de Ferreira
Sporting Lisbon     1  -  0    Vitoria Guimaraes
Academica             2  -  1    Olhanense
Sporting Braga       0  -  1    Benfica
Arouca                    1  -  0    Vitoria Setubal
Estoril Praia            0  -  1    Rio Ave
Gil Vicente             1  -  1    Maritimo
Nacional                 2  -  1    Porto