European Football: Round the world in 600 words

Champions League / Ben Lyttleton / 29 September 2008 / Leave a Comment

It was a fantastic weekend of football across Europe that included a Ronaldinho header to win the Milan Derby, nine goals as Werder Bremen continue to be the great entertainers and a very, very late winner from Messi to hand Barca victory over Espanyol.Ben Lyttleton tells us all.

Only a detail of the fixture list stopped Jose Mourinho ending his four-year unbeaten home record as a coach as AC Milan, deemed the home side, beat Inter 1-0 at the San Siro for the Portuguese's first loss in charge of his new club. Ronaldinho's first Milan goal proved the match-winner, Mourinho claimed a draw would have been a fair result, while Inter failed to keep a clean sheet for the fourth league game in five. Inter are still title favourites at [2.2] but Milan have come in to [3.85] and with no Champions League distraction, could be worth a look.

There were also wins for Fiorentina and top-of-the-table Lazio, with their main strikers Alberto Gilardino, [6.2] to be top scorer, and Mauro Zarate, currently best-priced [4.1], both on the score-sheet. Juventus drew their second successive game, 0-0 with Sampdoria, and are yet to play in a match with more than two goals in it.

There was late drama in Spain as Lionel Messi scored a dramatic winner in the Barcelona derby with Espanyol by converting a penalty with the last kick of the game. The little Argentine has been eclipsed by Sergio Aguero at the start of the season but Barca's season could hinge on his form: he is an unmatched [3.5] in a quiet market for the Pichichi, the top scorer.

Real won their fourth straight game thanks to a last-minute Ruud van Nistelrooy winner, but it's no change at the top after Villarreal, [10.5] for the title, beat Sporting Gijon 1-0 and Valencia, looking good under Unai Emery and [12.0] in the same market, came from behind to beat Deportivo 4-2. This could be one of the most open Spanish seasons for years, and it's worth
backing a team from outside the big two to win La Liga.

The Bundesliga remains one of Europe's most open leagues after Bayern Munich, still smarting from last week's 5-2 hammering by Werder Bremen, lost again, this time 1-0 to Hannover. As leaders Schalke also slipped to a 1-0 loss at Cologne, Hamburg took advantage and are new leaders after beating Moenchengladbach 1-0. Bayern are still overwhelming favourites at [2.04], with Schalke [8.0] and Hamburg [9.6], but the better bet must be to continue following Bremen in the over-goals market: they hit five again as they narrowly beat Hoffenheim 5-4.

There were upsets in France too, where Lyon continued their seemingly inevitable procession to title number eight, while Marseille and Bordeaux both drew and Paris Saint-Germain lost at home to newly-promoted Grenoble in the shock of the season so far. The Grenoble match-winner was 34-year-old Algerian Nassim Akrour, a player who began his career at Sutton United and played for Woking before moving to France. Lyon have come in to [1.44] ­
from [1.79] only a fortnight ago ­ for the title in a race that looks almost over already.

Elsewhere, PSV and Ajax got back to winning ways in Holland, while Heerenveen continued to ship goals in a 4-2 defeat at NAC. The biggest winners were AZ Alkmaar, who followed up last week's win over PSV with a 5-2 success at Willem II. Louis van Gaal's side on a roll at the moment, and their title price of [17.0] could a worth backing with a view to a lay later
in the season.

Porto's worst start for four seasons ended with a 2-0 home win over Pacos Ferreira, with new signing Hulk, nicknamed The Incredible Hulk, on the score-sheet, while Benfica beat Sporting 2-0 in the Lisbon derby. Porto, [1.41] for the title and Benfica, [4.0], are now both one point behind
leaders Nacional and Sporting.