Atletico Madrid
With both Jalil Anibaba and Austin Berry in attendance, Atletico fell 2-0 to Real Madrid in a derby match at the Santiago Bernabeu in a derby match Saturday night. The defeat snapped Atletico’s five match winning streak across all competitions.
With the result, Atleti stays in second place though third place Real pulls within five points, while Barcelona’s 5-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao opens their league-lead to six points.
Already through to the next round of the Europa League, Atletico continue their quest to defend their European crown when they return to the field Thursday to close out Group B play away to Czech side Viktoria Pizen.
The team returns to league action on Sunday when they welcome 19th place Deportivo La Coruna to the Calderon.
Sport Club Internacioncal
Internacional closed out the 2012 Campeanto Brasileiro campaign with a 0-0 draw away to Gremio Sunday.
With the result, Inter finished 10th in the 20-team Serie A with 52 points and will look to regroup ahead of the Gaucho state campaign, which kicks off January 19th against EC Passo Fundo.
Besiktas Istanbul
After league-leading Galatasaray drew 1-1 with Gaziantepspor on Friday night, Besiktas would come within one point of the league leaders using goals from Ibrahim Toraman and Oguzhan Ozyakup to earn a 2-1 come from behind victory away to Orduspor Saturday.
With the win, Besiktas move to 7-3-4 in the Turkish Super League, one point behind joint leaders Galatasaray and Antalyaspor. Samet Aybaba’s side will hope to go first when they welcome sixth place Eskiserhispor to the Inonu Stadium on Friday.
Al Ain
Al Ain continued their impressive run at the start of the Emirates Pro-League season, using goals from Asamoah Gyan (13th minute) and Ali Al Wehaibi (61st minute) to down bottom of the table Al Shaab 2-1 on Friday.
The result pushes Al Ain to an 8-1-1 record and top of the table Emirates Pro-League table with 25 points. The club will look to turn their three point advantage to six when they visit second place Baniyas Wednesday.
Raja Casablanca
Much like Al Ain, Raja Casablanca took steps to remain atop the Moroccan Botola Pro League with a 2-1 home win over Khouribga this past Saturday in Marrakech.
With two games in hand, Raja currently sit tied for first on 19 points with cross-town rivals Wydad Casablanca and will hope to take sole possession on Wednesday when the host fifth place Moughreb Tetoun.
