Crisis at Chelsea, Inter in free-fall

Two defeats in two games (away to Queen's Park Rangers 1-0 and at home to Arsenal 3-5) has left Chelsea FC further behind the Manchester duo and tonight Newcastle United could claim third spot in the English Premier League. In Russia, Spartak put an end to any title hopes Lokomotiv may have had and it is now down to the last game, in a photo-finish between Zenit and CSKA Moskva.

England Premier League

Arsenal is back on track after a 5-3 thriller, winning away at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium, the second consecutive defeat for Chelsea, while Arsene Wenger's Arsenal is now in the wider picture, in seventh place. Both Manchester clubs won, City against Wolves at home, 3-1 while United beat Everton away 1-0. Liverpool won at West Brom 2-0, Tottenham won the London derby against newly-promoted QPR. Newcastle United beat Stoke City away 3-1.

English Premier League after 10 games

1. Manchester City 28

2. Manchester United 23

3. Newcastle United 22

4. Chelsea FC 19

5. Tottenham (9 games) 19

6. Liverpool FC 18

7. Arsenal 16

Russian Premier League

After Spartak Moskva beat local rivals Lokomotiv 3-0, ending any title hopes, the race is between Zenit and CSKA. This week Zenit St. Petersburg beat Volga 3-0, while CSKA went one better against Spartak Nalchik, 4-0, both title contenders playing at home. Dinamo Moskva went to Tom Tomsk and won 2-0. Next week in the final game of the season Zenit travels to Kuban and CSKA has a difficult local derby away to Lokomotiv Moskva.

Russian Premier League after 29 games

1. FC Zenit St. Petersburg 60

2. PFC CSKA Moskva 58

3. FC Dinamo Moskva 54

4. FC Spartak Moskva 52

5. FC Lokomotiv Moskva 52

Spain - Primera Liga

Mourinho is where he likes to be - leading. And classically in his second season, he takes charge. He did it at FC Porto, he did it at Chelsea...at Inter, he did it in his first season. Higuaín scored Real's away goal at Real Sociedad, and Mourinho once again has shaped a team to his liking, with his stamp all over it, a team which is lethal and efficient, scoring the goal and closing up at the back. Had there been less interference last season, Real Madrid may have won the championship.

Messi got a hat-trick as Barcelona, hot on Real's heels, thrashed Mallorca 5-0. Valencia beat Getafe 3-1 while Levante lost away to Osasuna in Pamplona 2-0. Málaga beat Espanyol 2-1 and Sevilla completed matchday 10 with a home game against Granada, losing 1-2.

Spanish Primera Liga after 10 games

1. Real Madrid 25

2. FC Barcelona 24

3. Levante UD 23

4. Valencia CF 21  

5. Sevilla FC 17

6. Málaga CF 16

Italy - Serie A

Catania enters the top group with a 2-1 win over Napoli, AC Milan moves up to fourth with a 3-2 away win at Roma. Juve beat Inter Milan away 2-1, compounding this club's nightmare season. Udinese beat Palermo 1-0, while Lazio beat Cagliari 3-0 away.

Italian Serie A after 9 games

1. Juventus 19

2. Udinese Calcio 18

3. SS Lazio 18

4. AC Milan 17

5. SSC Napoli 14

6. Cálcio Catania 14

Germany - Bundesliga

Bayern is unstoppable. A 4-0 thrashing of Nurnberg consolidated top place, 4 points clear of Schalke, which beat Hoffenheim 3-1. Dortmund took a point away from Stuttgart (1-1) while Werder Bremen beat Mainz 3-1 away. In another direct confrontation in the leading group, Moenchengladbach had a home win over Hannover 2-1.

German Bundesliga after 11 games

1. FC Bayern Munchen 25

2. FC Schalke 04 21 

3. Borussia Dortmund 20

4. Werder Bremen 20   

5. VfL Borussia Moenchengladbach 20

6. VfB Stuttgart 18

7. Hannover 96 18

France - Ligue 1

PSG once again, this time a 4-2 home win against Caen, while second-placed Montpellier beat Nancy 2-0. Lyon beat St-Etienne 2-0, while Toulouse leap-frogged ahead of Rennes after a 1-0 home win. Finally, in the top group, Lille came away from Valenciennes with a point (0-0).

French Ligue 1 after 12 games

1. Paris Saint-Germain FC 29

2. Montpellier Hérault 26

3. LOSC Lille Métropole 23

4. Olympique Lyonnais 23

5. Toulouse FC 22

6. Stade Rennais 21

Portugal - Primeira Liga after 9 games

Predictably, FC Porto sits atop a reinvigorated Portuguese Championship, with Benfica, Sporting, Braga and Marítimo giving chase. FC Porto beat Paços de Ferreira 3-0, while Braga could do no better than a 0-0 draw away at Académica (Coimbra). Benfica received and beat Olhanense 2-1. Sporting won away at Feirense 2-0. Marítimo (Madeira) completes matchday 9 with an away game at Gil Vicente's stadium in Barcelos, on the Portuguese mainland.

1. FC Porto 23

2. SL Benfica 23

3. SC Portugal 20  

4. SC Braga 18  

5. CS Marítimo 17 (one game less)

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Pravda.Ru