European Football Betting: Round the world in 600 words

Champions League / Ben Lyttleton / 27 October 2008 / Leave a Comment

Samuel Eto'o can't stop scoring for in-form Barcelona, Inter drop points at home to ten-man Genoa, Lyon may not have it all their own way in France this year and Bayern Munich continue their Bundsliga re-building process. Ben Lyttleton talks us through it all.

Barcelona followed up their 5-0 Champions League win over Basle with another 5-0 win, this time against Almeria, and briefly joined Valencia at the top of La Liga on Saturday night. Valencia moved one point ahead after drawing1-1 with Recreativo Huelva on Sunday, but it was the first sign that Unai Emery's side might wobble this campaign.

Real Madrid beat Athletic 3-2 in a stormy encounter while two other title contenders, Villarreal and Sevilla, dropped points. Sevilla lost 1-0 to newly-promoted Malaga while Villarreal drew their traditional goal-fest against Atletico Madrid ­ despite being 4-2 ahead and with a player
advantage after Ever Banega's dismissal, Atletico scored twice in the last seven minutes to secure an unlikely 4-4 draw. All of which means that Barcelona, who are [2.0] for the title, are level with Real, ([3.25]), just one point behind Valencia, ([13.5]). Who is the ultimate champion may depend on the Pichichi winner, for top scorer: hat-trick hero Samuel Eto'o is [2.16],
in-form Gonzalo Higuain [7.0] and David Villa [2.2].

The chasing pack made ground on leaders Inter in Italy after Jose Mourinho's side could only draw 0-0 at home to ten-man Genoa. AC Milan and Fiorentina are now just one point behind the leaders after away wins while Udinese beat struggling Roma 3-1 and Napoli won at Lazio to join Inter at the top. Juventus striker Amauri scored his third goal in a week to relieve the
pressure on Claudio Ranieri, who has overseen wins over Real Madrid and now Torino in the last five days. Inter are still clear favourites at [1.93] but Milan and Fiorentina are now [3.15] and [38.0] respectively, with Napoli [50.0] and Udinese [55.0].

Hoffenheim continue to impress in Germany and are now clear Bundesliga leaders after laying down a marker to the rest of the division with a 3-0 win over previous leaders Hamburg. Top scorer Vahid Ibisevic got another but more impressive was the manner of the success: at [12.5] for the title, the new boys should certainly be taken seriously. Bayer Leverkusen are in second
after beating Cologne 2-0 while Stuttgart won their fourth home game on the
trot to move fourth. Also on the up are Bayern Munich, who were 2-0 down at home to Wolfsburg but recovered to win 4-2. It was a huge win for Jurgen Klinsmann, whose side are now up to fifth and only four points off the lead. At [2.14], they are still the team to beat in the title race.

There was a huge opportunity to close the gap in France after Lyon could only draw 0-0 with Auxerre but Bordeaux let slip a two-goal lead to draw with Nice while Marseille, who could have gone top, lost their first league match of the season, going down 4-2 at home to rivals Paris Saint-Germain. None of the top five won, which allowed PSG to move into sixth place and a
bit more breathing-space for their under-pressure coach Paul le Guen. Lyon remain [1.65] favourites, and Marseille are now [4.3].

In Holland, PSV Eindhoven lost their second straight game to slip four points behind leaders Groningen and NAC while AZ won their fifth game in a row to remain one point behind. Portuguese champions Porto lost their first match of the season, to joint-leaders Leixoes, while Benfica moved into third with a 2-1 win over Naval.

In Brazil, Palmeiras lost 3-0 to Fluminense and slip to fifth place, out of the Copa Libertadores qualifying places, while leaders Gremio beat Recife to remain three points clear of Sao Paulo, 1-0 victors over Vitoria.