5. You had to like that Clint Mathis volley vs. New England yesterday. Javier Morales drove a ball far post solely for Mathis to volley and the veteran executed perfectly. That's not an easy ball to hit.


5. There is no such thing as a tie with Sporting Gijon. These La Liga relegation battlers have 11 wins on the year (more wins than those mid-table like Betis and Racing Santander) and an amazing 22 losses. This past weekend Gijon fell to 10-man Atletico Madrid, 3-1, not helping their prospects for survival. Anybody want to do the math on the most recent team to finish the year without a tie?



4. How about Bordeaux? They started the Ligue One season hot but have since cooled down quite a bit. Les Girondins are still in the Ligue One championship hunt but it was their Coupe de la Ligue campaign that will draw smiles this season. They beat up on cup minnows Vannes, 4-0, to grab some silverware and declare this season a success. That's three Coupe de la Ligue crowns in 15 years for Bordeaux.




4. Barcelona was held by Chelsea at Camp Nou today but things in La Liga and the Champions League worsened when defensive stalwart Rafael Marquez went down with an injury. A scoreless draw despite a disciplined attack and word that Marquez was going to miss the rest of the season could disrupt Barca's form. Now is not a time for disruptions either as Barca not only gears up for the second leg but also everybody's favorite fixture, a Saturday clash with 2nd place Real Madrid.




3. Enter new Sampdoria crowd favorite, 19-year old Guido Marilungo. The youngster earned his first start vs Cagliari this past weekend and celebrated it in historic fashion. He scored a brace to put Sampdoria up 2-0 before leaving in the 56th minute in favor of Giampaolo Pazzini. The outcome was a 3-3 draw but it was an appearance that would give the young striker, behind the likes of Pazzini and Antonio Cassano, a lot of confidence heading into the end of the Serie A season. His two-goal debut in the starting lineup kept Cagliari on the verge of European competition for yet another week.



3.The Mathis strike was easily the most memorable goal of the nascent MLS season, but RSL's second half performance vs. New England was just as exciting. For the Revs, it was just a cold away game that Nicol, among others, would like to forget. If you had to pick a team in Major League Soccer to get slammed like this - 6-0 -, I doubt anyone would pick Steve Nicol's Revs. Nicol put it best - "Things caught up with us tonight. At the end of the day, we're banged up, we're inexperienced, and we made mistakes all around the field".

2. Raaaauuuul - and I'm not talking Ibanez! The Real Madrid veteran continues to find the net for Los Merengues this time scoring 3 vs. Sevilla in rapid succession to bring his season total in all competitions to 24. Despite many questioning his continued run in the Madrid first team, how can you possibly leave him out now? The lead is four points and Raul has already issued a war cry that should lead Real Madrid into Saturday's battle vs. the league leaders. Enjoy the highlights below (the Raul show starts almost :55 in).

2. Imagine this. You have a chance to go five points ahead in a major European league with a win over relegation fodder. Your home form is impeccable but when playing away from home, things are far from peachy. You lose and it's not really a close game, hence keeping the title race wide open - a title that you have never won in a 65-year existence. Can you guess who that is? That would be the story of VfL Wolfsburg who this past weekend lost 2-0 to Energie Cottbus. Now it's up to one of the top attacking duos - Edin Dzeko and Grafite - in Europe to put them back on track.





1. Man United has been on here way too much but how do you look over a team that puts on a comeback performance like that? Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo in the second half vs. Tottenham could do no wrong. Down 2-0, United unleashed five unanswered goals to make another EPL championship all the more likely. And how about Giggsy winning the PFA Player of the Year? I'm not sure I agree with it this year, but who can really argue?

1. Back to France as one former French powerhouse has really fallen by the wayside. Saint Etienne was able to fight and overcome a tough Lille squad last weekend to grab a vital win in their seemingly endless relegation battle. This past weekend, however, their spirit faded as Nice jumped all over them 3-1 and it never seemed close. Coach Alain Perrin will hope they can reignite their fire as a match vs. cellar-dwellars Le Havre looms otherwise (and their proximity to the safety zone is good sign) life in Ligue 2 will surely test Les Verts' stars.