Top 10 Performances from Around the World for the Weekend of Jan. 9-11
Another weekend has come and gone in the world of football, with some rather startling and important results coming in all of the major leagues still in action.
Serie A and La Liga are back with us, the Premier League has always been in place throughout the winter, and we also look to France and Portugal for some of the biggest performances and results this time around.
Here's our top 10, featuring some of the biggest names in the game...and some of those who defeated the bigger names.
10. Real Madrid
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Real Madrid had a completely easy time of things at the weekend, beating Espanyol 3-0 as the away team put up next to no resistance, but they still had to make sure their own game was on point to secure the win.
An early goal from James Rodriguez was the highlight as far as cutting-edge play went, coming after a fine lofted pass and first-time cutback from Cristiano Ronaldo, while Gareth Bale's superb free-kick and a late Nacho strike made sure of the win after Fabio Coentrao had been sent off.
Real remain top of La Liga in Spain, one point clear with a game in hand.
9. Benfica
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Not too far away from Real's own league, Portugal's top flight now has a traditional look about the top three after Benfica, Porto and Sporting all claimed victory, with the latter finally moving into the top three as a result.
It was Benfica's own performance and result which merited the most attention though, beating Vitoria Guimaraes by a comfortable 3-0 scoreline, pushing them down into fourth and giving Sporting the chance to move into third as a result.
Jonas, Ola John and Nico Gaitan were on the scoresheet as Benfica made it eight league wins in a row. They are top by six points.
8. Arsenal
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The first of a couple of games from the Premier League to feature this week, Arsenal often find themselves struggling away to Stoke City—but it's a different matter at home, where they continue to best the Potters and did so at the weekend, winning 3-0.
Alexis Sanchez scored twice more, a superb solo goal and a free-kick which should have been saved, after Laurent Koscielny's movement saw him evade Glenn Whelan and head home an early opener.
Arsenal were comfortable throughout and moved up to fifth, one point outside the top four now.
7. Inter Milan
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Into Serie A in Italy, Roberto Mancini finally managed to pick up a notable victory after taking over the Nerazzurri before the winter break.
Inter beat Genoa, who were sixth in the table, 3-1 at the Giuseppe Meazza to rise back into the top half themselves, thanks to goals from Rodrigo Palacio, Mauro Icardi and Nemanja Vidic.
Much work still remains ahead for Inter if they are even to manage a marginally respectable finish this season, let alone ending in a European spot, but this was a step in the right direction.
6. Elche
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Back over in Spain, relegation strugglers Elche picked up a vital and unexpected win at the weekend as they beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 at the Nuevo San Mames.
Elche had only managed two wins all season and had conceded 19 in eight games on the road before this fixture, but they scored on either side of half-time to put themselves in a great position. Despite a late reply from the home team, Elche held on for the win.
It puts them off the bottom of the table, with all three clubs in the drop zone now on 14 points.
5. Southampton
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Back to the Premier League and inside the top four, Southampton won the big battle of the weekend, beating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Dusan Tadic scored the only goal of the game after a telling counter-attack by Saints, who more than matched their opponents in terms of style and threat in open play, and they were decidedly better in defence.
Southampton leapfrogged Manchester United into third with the win, with three points now between themselves and fifth.
4. Montpellier
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Over to France and Ligue 1 now, where a seismic change took place at the top of the table.
Montpellier have been on a tough run against the top sides of late, drawing with PSG in the league and then losing to them in the cup, but this time, they managed a victory—against table-toppers Marseille.
The win sees Montpellier back into the top half, now in ninth, giving them the chance to propel themselves even higher over the coming weeks as they face relegation-threatened Metz and Lorient within the next three games, a slightly easier run than they have had to put up with of late!
3. Juventus
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With Roma being held to a 2-2 draw by local rivals Lazio, Juventus knew this game was an opportunity for them to grasp firmly onto the top spot, and they made sure it counted by beating Champions League-spot hopefuls Napoli 3-1 away from home.
Paul Pogba scored a classy strike before Martin Caceres and Arturo Vidal added further goals in the second half.
The win wasn't without some controversy—per the Italian press (h/t Press Association, via the Daily Mail), Napoli boss Rafael Benitez felt too many decisions went against his team. But Juve continue their admirable league record this term, just one defeat from 18 now, and they go three points clear at the top.
2. Bastia
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The biggest shock result of the weekend in France was not Montpellier's win over Marseille but Bastia's destruction of Paris Saint-Germain.
Bastia were in the relegation zone before the game but leaped up to 14th—two points separate them from 19th in the tight top flight—after showing tremendous resolve, character and clinical edge to overcome the reigning champions.
It looked all so ordinary when PSG took a two-goal lead in the opening 20 minutes, but Bastia had levelled matters before the break and won 4-2 when Julian Palmieri scored a second-half brace.
1. Barcelona
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The big performance of the weekend came in Spain's La Liga, where a table-topping clash saw Barcelona overcome Atletico Madrid 3-1 at the Camp Nou.
A positive start was rewarded with Neymar's opening goal, with Barcelona's expensive and talented front three all pitching in to the performance. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi duly got their names on the scoresheet, too, as Barcelona overcame an aggressive, resolute and dangerous Atleti side.
Barcelona give themselves a three-point buffer to Atleti, who are in third, and they remain a point behind Real, who are in first.
