Grand slam Sunday was pretty entertaining for once. Yet while the English league leaders, as well as those in Germany and Holland, extended their advantage at the top, the same cannot be said of the front runners in Spain and Italy. Real Madrid and Inter Milan seem insistent on giving Barcelona and Roma respectively a fighting chance, which should ensure that while matters are decided early elsewhere, fans of La Liga and Serie A will be kept entertained until the death.

It was a good weekend for…

Manchester United

A fine 3-0 win over Liverpool was followed by nearest rivals Arsenal being defeated at Stamford Bridge. True, United still have both Arsenal and Chelsea to play, but Alex Ferguson will be surprised and elated to be sitting on a five point lead with only seven games to play.

Avram Grant

The Israeli won his first big domestic game as Chelsea boss, and in doing so his side now have a fighting chance of pulling off an unlikely title coup. Moments before Didier Drogba pulled Chelsea level, cries of “you don’t know what you’re doing” and “Jose Mourinho” could be heard from large sections of the Chelsea crowd, yet even that harsh reality couldn’t dampen this fine moment for Grant, who’s managerial stock has now risen dramatically.

Newcastle United

A win at last and over a fellow relegation struggler. Kevin Keegan’s reign to date has been disastrous however Saturday’s 2-0 win over Fulham was quite simply massive. The revolution starts now.

Barcelona

A 4-1 win over Valladolid coupled with Real’s 3-2 loss at home to Valencia meant that Frank Rijkaards men are now within four points of their great rivals at the top.

Atletico Madrid

A wonderful 2-1 win at Sevilla has cemented Los Colchoneros grip on La Liga’s final Champions League spot. Unsurprisingly Kun Aguero was Atletico’s hero, getting the winner early in the second half.

AS Roma

For almost the entire season Roma have valiantly chased Inter and this weekend saw their tiresome efforts reach the brink of reward. Regardless of being down to ten men, Roma overcame Empoli 2-1 and sensationally, Inter were beaten at home by Juventus by the same scoreline. The gap between the top two is now just four points and with Inter seemingly in self-destruct mode, the smart money is starting to be placed on the Romans.

Bayern Munich

The leaders and now Champions elect took a huge step towards reclaiming the Bundesliga when they beat third placed Leverkusen 2-1 on Saturday. Fellow challengers Bremen and Hamburg were both held making victory all the more sweeter for the expensively assembled Bayern side, who have multi-million pound striker Luca Toni to thank for their new seven point advantage.

It was a bad weekend for…

Arsene Wenger

For all of the fluent football that his side play, as well as his shrewdness in the transfer market, Wenger has built a team which is to be frank, not quite good enough. Arsenal played reasonably well at Stamford Bridge, that is until Chelsea decided to turn it up a notch. Once again the Arsenal back line were bullied by Didier Drogba, while up front the lack of cutting edge is there for all to see. If the Frenchman is to make the most out of the players of real quality that he possesses, he needs to dispatch of the substandard fringe players (Eboue, Diaby, Bentdner), and bring in proven experience and class.

Fans of the Premier League

It was being billed as the most exciting title run in ever yet in a matter of weeks, last year’s champions have built up a lead that looks almost unassailable.

Bernd Schuster

Regardless of whether or not Real retain the title, the German is almost certain to be sacked in the summer. The 3-2 home defeat to Valencia was Real’s fifth in their last eight games and a run of form as poor as that is never tolerated by the reactionaries sitting in the club’s executive tier.

Fulham

The Hodgson renaissance only lasted a week. The defeat at Newcastle has all but washed away the optimism brought on by last week’s win over Everton, and once again, relegation is looking more than a distinct possibility.

Javier Mascherano

What a moron. Mascherano is a splendid player yet his antics on Sunday were bizarre in the extreme and moreover, cost his side dear.

Francesco Guidolin

After Palermo’s latest defeat, their third in succession, Guidolin was shown the door. It was the 52-year-old’s fourth stint on the Palermo bench but don’t bet against the most persistent coach in world football making a comeback in the near future.

Ajax

Their title dream is now seemingly over. Losing 2-1 to Twente in the last minute is most certainly a hammer blow to their chances, and PSV rolling Gronigen over the day before only made matters worse.

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