Europe: The Final Countdown (Part 5)

France / Ligue 1

Bordeaux are the new Ligue 1 champions following their 1-0 win over Caen at the weekend. Yoan Gouffran's goal after 49 minutes not only sealed his team's first championship win in ten years but also confirmed Caen's relegation to Ligue 2.

Olympique Marseille went into their final game knowing they could only win Ligue 1 if they beat Stade Rennes and Bordeaux lost to Caen. To Marseille's credit, they kept their side of the bargain by beating Rennes 4-0, but it was to prove ultimately futile.

Both Bordeaux and Marseille now take their place in the Champions League for 2009/10 while outgoing champions Lyon ensured a place in the qualifiers by finishing third after a goalless draw at Toulouse.

Alain Casanova's side ended a remarkable campaign with a fourth-placed finish that means they'll be taking part in the Europa League next season. Quite a turnaround for Toulouse who last season finished just one place above the relegation zone.

Lille are the last team to earn a shot at European glory next season. They'll enter the Europa League qualifying round thanks to a 3-2 win over Nancy which left them level on points with Toulouse and PSG (who miss out on Europe due to goal difference).

At the foot of the table, there was an exciting finish as next-to-bottom Nantes won against the odds 2-1 at home to Auxerre but sadly for them they were relegated anyway. After a 'will-they-won't-they' saga that's lasted for several weeks, Saint Etienne picked up an excellent 4-0 win over Valenciennes to reach safety and Le Mans scrambled to a vital 1-1 draw at Lorient.

With Caen losing to Bordeaux, it meant they were confirmed as the third team to go down to Ligue 2 and they, along with Nantes and Le Havre will be replaced next season by Lens, Montpellier and Boulogne who come up to Ligue 1. Particularly notable, there, is the inclusion of Boulogne who have just reached the top flight for the first time in their 111 year history, so congratulations to them.

Italy / Serie A

A pair of 2-0 wins for Juventus and Milan ensured the former snatched second place in the final Serie A table ahead of the latter.

Juve's victory at home to Lazio was earned on the back of two goals from Vincenzo Iaquinta who ended the season with twelve in total. Over at Fiorentina, however, the home side only just managed to hang on to fourth place as Kaka and Alexandre Pato bagged one each to give Chelsea-bound coach Carlo Ancelotti a fitting send-off.

Luckily for Fiorentina, their head-to-head record over Genoa was good enough to keep them in fourth place, especially given Genoa's final day 4-0 win over relegated Lecce. By way of consolation, Genoa (along with Roma) go into the hat for next season's Europa League competition.

As mentioned last week, the final relegation spot was due to go to either Bologna or Torino with Il Toro arguably facing the tougher task of having to beat Roma to stay up. And so it proved to be despite Tommaso Vailatti putting Torino 1-0 up after just nine minutes. In the end, however, Roma's fight-back proved too much as Menez, Vucinic and Totti all got their names on the scoresheet to run out as eventual 3-2 winners.

With Bologna predictably winning at Catania, Torino finish up as the third team (along with Lecce and Reggina) to drop into Serie B after a three-year run in the top flight. Coming up to take their place in Serie A next season are Bari and Parma along with the winner of the promotion play-offs which will feature Livorno, Brescia, Empoli and Grosseto.

Spain / La Liga

Sevilla finally confirmed their place in the Champions League next season with a 2-0 away win at Numancia... mind you, they left it a bit late. Diego Perotti finally came up with the first goal for his side with only two minutes left on the clock, and even then there was still time for a Juan Carlos Moreno own goal to double the margin of victory.

That win for Sevilla ensures a third place finish in this season's Primera Division while Atletico Madrid are left to settle for fourth despite a 3-0 victory over Almeria. One of those goals was scored by Diego Forlan who ended 2008/09 as leading scorer with 32 in total. That averages out at about a goal per game where he's concerned - a fabulous achievement and one which will have the Atletico fans licking their lips with anticipation for next season.

At the bottom, the battle to avoid the last relegation place was lost by Real Betis after an amazing escape act by Sporting Gijon and Osasuna. Both teams won 2-1 in their final games to finish with 43 points - one more than Betis and Getafe. In the end, the margin of defeat for Real Betis was agonisingly just a single goal as they and Getafe both played out 1-1 draws in their respective matches against Racing Santander and Real Valladolid.

So it's Real Betis, Numancia and Recreativo Huelva that fall through the trap door to be replaced by three as-yet-unknown teams (they're still playing out the last few weeks in the Segunda Division) although Deportivo Xerez currently lead the way there and look likely to be one of the promoted sides.

And that just about wraps up our end-of-season focus on what's happening in the major European leagues. We hope you'll agree it's been fascinating seeing how matters were concluded across the continent... let's hope we get more of the same next season!

Europe: The Final Countdown (Part 4)

Italy / Serie A

A thrilling 3-2 win for Roma over Milan on Sunday means the former have secured a place in the Europa League for 2009/10 while Milan need to get a draw against 4th-placed Fiorentina next week to enter next season’s Champions League.

Fiorentina lost the chance to close the gap on the top three having only just grabbed a last ditch equalizer at Lecce. Their 1-1 draw means Lecce are officially relegated while The Violets are assured of a Champions League qualifier due to their superior head-to-head record over fifth-placed Genoa. Juventus remain third, level on points with Fiorentina after a comfortable 3-0 win at Siena.

In addition to Lecce, Reggina are also confirmed as Serie B contenders for next season following their 1-0 defeat at Lazio on Friday. That leaves one place left to be decided, and that’ll be between Torino and Bologna. Both teams have 34 points, however Torino slipped into the relegation zone after their 3-2 defeat against Genoa while Bologna picked up a vital point away to Chievo Verona on Sunday.

Next Sunday’s crucial fixtures see Bologna in a winnable home tie against Catania whereas Torino play Roma who haven’t lost in their last four. Perhaps the realization that a secured place in the Europa League will cause them to take their foot off the gas, but only time will tell…

Spain / La Liga

As mentioned last week, the only remaining issue to be resolved at the top of La Liga is the one surrounding the last Champions League place. What was a four-horse race has now been halved following Villareal’s 3-1 win over Valencia. Both teams were contenders to grab third spot, but Atletico’s 4-1 win over Bilbao and Sevilla’s 1-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna means they both stay in the hunt while Villareal and Valencia are left with a less certain future.

Sevilla’s win looked just as uncertain as their winner came in the 90th minute through a Diego Perotti strike. For Atletico, however, their three points came all the easier thanks to a Diego Forlan hat-trick which takes him above Samuel Eto’o to lead the top scorers chart.

So it’s Sevilla in third, three points ahead of Atletico in fourth and while fifth-placed Villareal are assured of at least a Europa League spot next season, they could overtake Atletico Madrid if they beat Mallorca and Atletico lose to Almeria.

At the other end, two of the three relegation places were decided at the weekend when Recreativo Huelva lost 1-0 at home to Racing Santander while Numancia lost by the same score at Getafe.

The final relegation spot is likely to be fought over by Sporting Gijon (17th) and Osasuna (18th). With Barcelona resting their star players for today’s Champions League final, Osasuna found it rather easier to pick up a 1-0 win against their opponents on Saturday than would normally be the case. Walter Pandiani

Sadly for them, Gijon also picked up three points after a 2-1 victory away to Real Valladolid so it’ll be down to the wire this weekend. Gijon are at home to already-relegated Huelva while Osasuna play Real Madrid whose season effectively ended some weeks ago. Should be interesting…

France / Ligue 1

We’ll have to wait a little while longer to find out who will win Ligue 1 this season after Bordeaux and Marseille both won their somewhat nervy games on Saturday. Bordeaux remain the only team unbeaten at home with a game left to play and if they can get a draw in it against Caen (who could go down), they’ll secure their first title since 1999.

Marseille’s outside chances remain intact partly thanks to an own goal by Nancy’s Damian Macaluso which contributed to a 2-1 win for Eric Gerets’ side. They’ll be playing Rennes on Super Samedi and a win for them could bring Marseille their first piece of silverware since their Champions League win in 1993, so long as Bordeaux lose.

Lyon secured third place and a Champions League qualifying round spot after they defeated Caen 3-1. Juninho was on hand to open the scoring from the penalty spot after 34 minutes in what’s likely to be his last home match for the club. He was substituted after 80 minutes and left the field in tears as Lyon’s fans gave him a well-deserved ovation at the end of an 8-year association with the club.

In the battle for the only Europa League spot, Toulouse sneaked into fourth place with a 2-0 away win at Nice to overtake PSG who lost 2-1 at Valenciennes. Toulouse, however, have the ominous task of having to beat Lyon at home next weekend in order to retain their position while PSG play host to Monaco.

In the battle to stay up, Sochaux did their chances of survival the world of good with a 2-1 win over Nantes. It means Sochaux fly up to 15th spot in the table and though they could still be relegated next week, their fate looks somewhat more rosy than it did seven days ago.

Nantes, however, stay next to bottom in the table and will need to beat Auxerre next week to have any chance of staying up. They’ll be hoping other results go their way, but that may all be inconsequential as Auxerre have won eight of their last ten games and could condemn the yellow-and-greens to Ligue 2 action next season.

With Le Havre already down, the final place will no doubt go to either the fast-fading Le Mans, the faltering Caen or a Saint Etienne side that slipped back into the bottom three at the weekend after a 1-0 win to the aforementioned Auxerre. They’ll face a tricky Valenciennes next week knowing that only a win will do to keep them up. Sooner them than us.

Portugal / Portuguese Liga

Finally to Portugal where the only remaining issue was that concerning the two relegation places. In the end, the two favourites to go down, Trofense and Belenenses, actually did fall through the trap door.

Trofense’s 1-0 defeat at Paços de Ferreira saw them finish on the bottom of the table while arch-rivals Belenenses also failed to avoid the drop when they were thumped 3-1 by Benfica.

And so another season in Portugal ends. Porto were champions by four clear points at the close of proceedings while Sporting Lisbon were second a massive seven points in front of Benfica in third. Nacional Funchal and Sporting Braga will join Benfica in the Europa League next season with Leixões Matosinhos well short of the required total to do the same.

Europe: The Final Countdown (Part 3)

Italy / Serie A

The title race is all over in Italy as Jose Mourinho's Inter side sealed the championship with a comfortable 3-0 win over Siena yesterday. The only team that could have caught them on points, Milan, surprisingly lost 2-1 to Udinese on Saturday leaving Inter to turn on the style against their hosts with a display of skill and flair that the triumphant home fans lapped up.

It's a tremendous achievement for Mourinho who picks up the Scudetto in his first season at the club and who can now claim to have won five titles in seven years in three different countries. Not a bad set of statistics to put on your CV, we think you'll agree.

With Milan losing, it was up to third-placed Juventus to try and close the gap on them but they failed to do so following a 2-2 draw against mid-table Atalanta. Juve came back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1 after goals by Iaquinta and Zanetti but Pellegrino's equaliser just before half time left Claudio Ranieri's side cursing at a sixth draw in eight games - a run of form which just today has cost Ranieri his job. Contrast that with Fiorentina who have won six out of their last seven and you have an interesting race for the third and final Champions League spot next season.

Lecce are the new team at the bottom of Serie A following their 2-1 defeat to Bologna who themselves remain in the bottom three. 2-1 was obviously the big scoreline of the week for the bottom teams as 19th-placed Reggina beat Cagliari and 17th-placed Torino overcame Napoli by the same result.

Next week, Lecce play the resurgent Fiorentina in a bid to avoid the wooden spoon while Reggina play a very out-of-form Lazio and Bologna take on Chievo Verona. Torino, meanwhile, are at home to Genoa who look like they'll be playing in the Europa League next season.

At the top, Milan look to finish their season on a high by beating Roma while Juventus will be trying not to draw again when they travel to Siena.

Spain / La Liga

Without even kicking a ball, Barcelona finally captured the Primera Division title yesterday. It was all made possible thanks to Real Madrid's 3-2 defeat at Villareal which left them mathematically unable to catch the champions elect with two games remaining. As if to make them feel better, Barca themselves lost at the weekend by two goals to one against Mallorca, but by that stage the hard work had already been done.

Former youth team coach Pep Guardiola can now sit back and reflect on a campaign which has seen Barcelona play some of its best football for many years. The triumvirate of Eto'o, Messi and Henry produced 71 goals between them and their combined efforts were enough even to beat Real 6-2 recently - a scoreline which will rankle with the Madrid fans for many a long year.

All that's left to decide at the top of the league is who will get the final Champions League place, and at the moment that could be any one of four teams - Sevilla (currently 3rd), Atletico Madrid (4th), Villareal (5th) or Valencia (6th).

Atletico Madrid might be the favourites to grab it going on current form. They've won five out of the last six and face two mid-table teams before the season's out - Athletic Bilbao and Almeria. That said one of Sevilla's last two games is against next-to-bottom Numancia and a win there may just be enough to close the contest in all reality.

This weekend's fixtures saw Numancia climb off the bottom of La Liga by beating the team directly above them, Recreativo Huelva. Elsewhere, most of the other bottom-dwellers picked up valuable points - Osasuna drawing 0-0 with Sevilla, Getafe drawing 1-1 with Deportivo La Coruna and Sporting Gijon beating Malaga 2-1.

All of that means a whole raft of teams are in danger of going down as we enter the final fortnight so watch this space to see what transpires...

France / Ligue 1

The big news here is that Marseille's push for the title has been massively derailed thanks to a 3-1 home defeat to outgoing champions Lyon. Claude Puel's men are now out of the running for this year's Ligue 1 championship, but a place in next year's Champions League proved more than enough motivation as Benzema scored two and Juninho picked up a third in the dying moments.

Sylvain Wiltord had given Marseille some hope when he pulled a goal back for the home side with ten minutes remaining but it proved insufficient to stop Bordeaux knocking them off the top of the table.

Bordeaux also had a fight on their hands this weekend as they laboured to a 3-2 win at home to relegation strugglers Le Mans. It all looked very optimistic for Le Mans when Anthony Le Tallec broke the deadlock on 24 minutes but that just instigated a ding-dong battle which saw Bordeaux come from behind twice to win the match.

That win means Laurent Blanc's side are now three points clear of Marseille with two games remaining while Lyon, (third) could yet catch Marseille as long as they win both their remaining matches.

At the bottom, it was a bad week for most of the strugglers with the notable exception of Saint Etienne who are finally hauling themselves out of the relegation zone. A midweek 4-2 win away to bottom club Le Havre plus a good draw at home to Toulouse means they're now one place above the bottom three.

That means Le Havre are now officially relegated to Ligue 2 next season and they'll be joined by any two from Nantes, Saint Etienne, Sochaux, Caen and Le Mans. On current form, we'd have to go for Sochaux and Nantes - the two teams currently occupying the remaining two relegation places.

And that brings us nicely onto next week's fixtures in which, incredibly, Nantes and Sochaux face each other in a hugely important six-pointer. Saint Etienne won't have it easy either, though - they'll be playing away to Auxerre who have won each of their last five games. At the top, Bordeaux play host to Monaco while Marseille travel to mid-table Nancy who won 3-0 at the Stade Velodrome earlier this season.

Portugal / Portuguese Liga

You'll remember last week we broke the news that Porto were unofficially crowned league champions due to their superior goal difference over Sporting Lisbon. Well this week we can break the news officially thanks to Porto's 4-1 win away to Trofense.

Credit where credit's due though - Sporting also won their game on Saturday (2-1 over Maritimo), but with just one game remaining Porto's six point lead is finally now beyond the reasoning of Sporting's most ardent doubters.

So with Porto automatically qualifying for the Champions League and Sporting Listbon heading for the qualifying round of same, it was left to Benfica, Nacional and Sporting Braga to confirm their places in next season's Europa League. This they did largely thanks to the points tally they had going into this weekend's games rather than the games themselves, but no matter. European football is assured for them next season.

Finally at the other end, the bottom two switched places once again. Belenenses earned a crucial 1-0 win at home to Rio Ave while Trofense were being thrashed by Porto, so that leaves Trofense at the bottom on 23 points and Belenenses just above them on 24.

Vitoria Setubal (14th) and Rio Ave (13th) could both yet be dragged into the mire on the last day, so all eyes will be on Trofense's match at Paços de Ferreira, Belenenses' trip to Benfica, Vitoria's home game against Academica and Rio Ave's match at home to Estrela Amadora. By way of a prediction, we're going for the current bottom two to remain in situ when the final whistle's blown across Portugal on Sunday evening.

Europe: The Final Countdown (Part 2)

Continuing our look at the end-of-season run in across Europe...

Italy / Serie A
This weekend will be referred to as The Great Stalemate of '09 in years to come - you mark our words. Out of the top six sides, only one - Fiorentina - managed to win a match while the other five drew theirs.

Fiorentina's 2-0 victory at Catania wasn't enough to see them move up from fourth place in the table, but they are now within touching distance of the automatic Champions League spots. Stevan Jovetic and Luciano Zauri were the men on target for Viola to create some breathing space between them and fifth-placed Genoa who could only draw 1-1 at Atalanta.

The big game of the weekend ended in another 1-1 draw, this time between Milan and Juventus. Both goals came near the hour mark, Clarence Seedorf putting the home side in front after directing home Massimo Ambrosini's scuffed shot before Vincenzo Iaquinta's diving header equalised for Juve.

That result ended Milan's run of five straight wins but also extended Juve's run without a win to six. On current form, Fiorentina look likely to make sure The Old Lady plays in the Europa League next season rather than the Champions League.

Elsewhere Inter could have virtually wrapped up the title had they not found Chievo Verona such tough opposition to break down. Goals from Crespo and Balotelli were equalised on both occasions to ensure the Nerazzurri will have to wait at least one more week before getting their hands on the Serie A title.

There were more draws involving teams at the bottom, except for Reggina who are now two points adrift of the opposition following their 5-0 thumping at Sampdoria. Lecce and Torino - both in the bottom four - drew 1-1 at the Stadio Olimpico while Lecce made it three games unbeaten by drawing 1-1 at home to Napoli.

Spain / La Liga
As if more proof were needed that nerves are getting the better of Europe's finest teams at this stage of the season, both Barcelona and Real Madrid failed to win their games this week.

A draw for Barcelona would, in hindsight, have been enough to clinch the Primera Division title after Real spectacularly crashed 3-0 away to Valencia. Former Real player Mata Garcia along with David Silva put the home side 2-0 up just after the half hour mark before Rubén Baraja added a third in the 68th minute to inflict a second successive defeat on Los Blancos.

Barca, meanwhile, were moments away from celebrating victory against Villareal, however Joseba Llorente struck in the 90th minute to seal a 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu. That means a win at Mallorca next week will be enough to end Real's feint hopes of claiming the title.

In other news, Sevilla did their chances of grabbing a Champions League play-off place no harm after beating Mallorca 3-1 while Atletico Madrid leapfrogged Villareal into fifth thanks to a 3-2 victory over Espanyol.

In the battle to avoid relegation, it's still 'any three from eight' as six of the bottom eight lost at the weekend. Getafe's 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Osasuna was enough to move them up two places to 15th while bottom club Numancia managed what was on reflection a creditable goalless draw against Real Valladolid.

Portugal / Portuguese Liga
Leaders Porto can finally start celebrating following their 3-0 win away to Maritimo at the weekend. With two games remaining, they are now six points ahead of Sporting in second but with a goal difference of +40 compared to the Lisbon club's +22.

Porto are more than deserving of their 24th title win. Unbeaten in the league since the start of November 2008, they're ending their campaign with a run of eight straight victories which will, in all likelihood, go up to nine if they beat relegation-threatened Trofense next week.

Last week's draw with Academica looks to have been the spanner in the works for Sporting who came back with a 2-1 win against Vitoria Setubal on Saturday. Brazilian striker Liédson scored both goals to maintain the pressure on Setubal who are one of four teams that could drop into Liga de Honra next season.

As reported last week, the bottom two teams played each other last Monday, the result being an unlikely 2-1 win for Trofense over Belenenses. An admirable 2-2 draw for Trofense against 3rd-placed Benfica on Saturday means Belenenses are now adrift at the bottom of the table by two points.

Elsewhere, Rio Ave did their chances of staying up the world of good by beating Vitoria Guimaraes 1-0 but they'll have to repeat that score or do better at Belenenses next Sunday to confirm their top flight status for another season.

France / Ligue 1
No Ligue 1 action this week as the Coupe de France Final was held on Saturday. For the record, Guingamp from Ligue 2 beat Stade Rennais 2-1. All three goals were scored in a 15-minute period - Carlos Bocanegra putting the Ligue 1 side ahead after 69 minutes before Eduardo Dos Santos got both goals for Guingamp with 72 and 83 minutes on the clock.

Finally...
It's going down to the wire in Belgium as with only one game to go, Anderlecht and Standard Liege remain level on points with only four goals separating one from the other.

Both teams won at home on Saturday, Anderlecht beating lowly Roeselare 3-1 and Standard beating Club Brugge 2-0. The smart money, however, will be on leaders Anderlecht who next week travel to 8th-placed Genk while Standard have the altogether more tricky trip to Gent, placed just one position below them in the Jupiler League title.

Expect the margin of victory to be critical for both teams in next Saturday's season finalé.

Europe: The Final Countdown (Part 1)

With just four games remaining in many of the top leagues in Europe, we thought we'd give you a regular round-up of what's happening around the continent as the 2008/09 comes to an end.

As you'll be aware by now, the latest Bundesliga action is summarised in Duffman's Bundesbag report every Tuesday or Wednesday here at SPAOTP, so for the purpose of these updates we'll concentrate on the top flight elsewhere...

Italy / Serie A
After a three-match stumble, leaders Inter finally won again, 2-0 at home to mid-table Lazio. Former Portsmouth midfielder Muntari picked up his third goal of the season before Ibrahimovic returned to the top of the goalscoring list with his 21st.

Milan kept up the pressure with their fifth straight win that saw Catania defeated 2-0. Inzaghi and Kaka split the bill with a goal each to extend Milan's lead over third placed Juventus who now haven't won a game since the end of March. The Old Lady could only manage a 2-2 draw with relegation-bound Lecce.

As well as Lecce, bottom-placed Reggina also did their chances of survival some good with a 2-1 away win at third-bottom Bologna. Those results mean Torino are now only one point above the drop zone as things hot up near the bottom of the table. There's also another 'sei puntatore' next week as Torino play host to Bologna while the big match at the top end sees Milan at home to Juventus.

Spain / La Liga
Result of the Week was undoubtedly Barca's 6-2 away win at Real Madrid. Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry grabbed a brace each while Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique scored one each to inflict a defeat on Real for the first time since Barca beat them at the Nou Camp back in December.

That result means Barcelona are now seven points clear at the top with only twelve remaining, therefore if Barca beat Villareal next Sunday and Real lose to Valencia the day before, the title will be Barca's.

Elsewhere, the SPAOTP anti-jinx worked a treat once again as Sevilla won away to Villareal directly after we pointed out their poor recent form last week. Their 2-0 win came just at the right time as fourth-placed Valencia surprisingly lost 3-0 to Espanyol to increase their chances of grabbing a place in the Champions League qualifying round next season.

The bottom two in La Liga, Numancia and Recreativo Huelva, both took maximum points to almost completely close the gap on Sporting Gijon who played out a 1-1 draw with Bilbao. Getafe and Osasuna both slipped nearer the bottom after losing their games 2-1 to Mallorca and Huelva respectively so it remains very squeaky in a 'bum time' sense going into the final four games...

France / Ligue 1
Without question the tightest and most interesting title race in France for years is nearing its climax as Marseille lead the table by a single goal after this weekend's matches. After Eric Geret's men could only draw 2-2 with an impressive Toulouse on Saturday, Bordeaux drew level with them on points by beating Sochaux 3-0 yesterday.

That was Bordeaux's seventh straight win (a run that goes back to March 14th) and the end of Marseille's six-win run, all of which leaves Lyon practically out of the running following their shock 2-0 defeat away to Valenciennes.

A seven point gap has now appeared between the top two and Lyon who would have dropped to fourth had it not been for a rejuvenated PSG losing 1-0 to Stade Rennes. Elsewhere, it was a bad weekend for the teams near the foot of the table apart from Le Havre who picked up a 2-1 win against fellow strugglers Nantes. Le Havre are now only nine points adrift of Saint Etienne in 19th but must remain the favourites to return to Ligue 2 in a month's time.

Portugal / Portuguese Liga
Porto extended their lead at the top of the table to six points this weekend after a comfortable 3-0 win away to Maritimo. Sporting Lisbon's run of four straight wins came to a shuddering halt when they played out a tame goalless draw against mid-table Academica but Benfica in third were unable to take advantage when they lost 3-1 away to Nacional.

Benfica now look doubtful to grab the second Champions League spot and may yet suffer the indignity of going into the Europa League qualifying round now that Nacional are only three points and one place below them in the table.

The two teams occupying the bottom two places, Trofense and Belenenses, play each other tonight with the latter capable of escaping the relegation zone if they win. Trofense fans, however, won't be optimistic having seen their side win only one game in the last thirteen.

Next weekend's games see Porto at home to Nacional while Trofense get the fixture they were desperately hoping for - an away match at Benfica. Sporting are at home to struggling Vitoria Setubal while at the other end, Belenenses are at home to the team third from bottom and just outside the relegation zone, Rio Ave.

Finally...
To the Netherlands where Steve McLaren managed to secure a spot in the Third Qualifying Round of next season's Champions League after his FC Twente side won 3-0 against the team already crowned champions for this season, AZ.

With only one game remaining, Twente are now assured of their runner-up spot after Ajax crashed 4-0 to Sparta Rotterdam yesterday. Ajax will take their place in the Europa League along with either PSV or Heerenveen.