Manchester beats London

England Premier League
Manchester 1 North London 0. Manchester United came away from Arsenal with three points (2-1) while City held off a Tottenham revival to take the game 3-2 at home, leaving the Manchester duo further ahead at the top, chased by three London clubs (Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal), followed by Newcastle United and Liverpool FC. Chelsea drew away with Norwich City 0-0; Newcastle was thrashed at Fulham 5-2 and Bolton beat Liverpool 3-1.

English Premier League after 22 games
1. Manchester City 54
2. Manchester United 51
3. Tottenham  46
4. Chelsea FC 41
5. Arsenal 36
6. Newcastle United 36
7. Liverpool FC 35

Spain - Primera Liga
Smacking wins for top two Real Madrid and Barcelona, draws for the Valencia duo Valencia CF and Levante UD reinforce the fact that the Spanish Primera Liga is once again a two-horse race, and at the moment it looks like Real, five points ahead with all guns blazing, despite recent defeats to Barça in the League and Cup. Barcelona went to Malaga to thrash the local team 4-1 (Messi hat-trick), while Real beat Athletic Club (Bilbao) with the same score at home.
 
Espanyol joined the pack with a 3-0 win over Granada; Osasuna and Valencia drew in Pamplona 1-1; Levante drew 0-0 at home with Zaragoza;

Spanish Primera Liga after 19 games
1. Real Madrid 49
2. FC Barcelona 44
3. Valencia CF 35 
4. Levante UD 31
5. RCD Espanyol 28
6. CA Osasuna 27
7. Athletic Club (Bilbao) 26
 

Italy - Serie A
Victory for leader Juventus, second-placed AC Milan one point behind, Udinese in third and Inter (now fourth) keep the pressure on Juve. Juventus went to Atalanta to win 2-0; AC Milan won away at Novara 3-0; Udinese beat Catania 2-1 at home; Inter beat Lazio 2-1; Roma thrashed Cesena 5-1 and Napoli drew 1-1 at Siena

Italian Serie A after 19 games
1. Juventus 41
2. AC Milan 40
3. Udinese Calcio 38
4. Inter Milan 35
5. SS Lazio 33
6. AS Roma 30 (18 games)
7. SSC Napoli 29
 
Germany - Bundesliga
Back after a break, the Bundesliga sees Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke equal on 37 points. Bayern lost to Borussia Moenchengladbach , now one point behind, 3-1 away. Borussia Dortmund thrashed Hamburg away 5-1, Schalke beat Stuttgart 3-1, Werder Bremen drew 0-0 at Kaiserslautern; Bayer Leverkusen won against Mainz at home 3-2, Hannover drew 0-0 at Hoffenheim and enters the pack.

German Bundesliga after 18 games
1. FC Bayern Munchen 37
2. Borussia Dortmund 37
3. FC Schalke 04 37
4. VfL Borussia Moenchengladbach 36
5. Werder Bremen 30   
6. Bayer 04 Leverkusen 29
7. Hannover 96 24
    
Portugal - Primeira Liga
Home wins for Benfica (3-1 against Gil Vicente), FC Porto (3-1 against Vitória SC, Guimarães) and Braga (2-1 against Rio Ave), a draw for Sporting CP (0-0 away at Olhanense in the Algarve) means the team managed by Domingos Paciência is out of the running, now equal on 29 points with Maritimo, 2-1 winner at Beira-Mar  in Aveiro. Académica de Coimbra drew 0-0 at home with Leiria

Primeira Liga after 16 games
1. SL Benfica 42
2. FC Porto 40
3. SC Braga 34
4. SC Portugal 29  
5. CS Marítimo 29
6. Vitória SC (Guimarães) 20
7. A. A. Coimbra 19

France - Ligue 1
No League games this week

French Ligue 1 after 20 games
1. Paris Saint-Germain FC 43
2. Montpellier Hérault 40
3. LOSC Lille Métropole 36
4. Olympique Lyonnais 35
5. Stade Rennais 35
6. Olympique de Marseille 34
7. AS Saint-Étienne 33

Russian Premier League - Final standings (League closed for winter)

Russian Premier League after 30 games
1. FC Zenit St. Petersburg 61
2. PFC CSKA Moskva 59
3. FC Dinamo Moskva 55
4. FC Spartak Moskva 53
5. FC Lokomotiv Moskva 53

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
Pravda.Ru