Sergio Ramos nodded in a late winner, as Real beat Barca for the second time in a week.

Jose Mourinho rested his entire midfield and attack ahead of the game against Manchester United, and reshuffled in defence, too.

Jordi Roura was without Xavi Hernandez so played Thiago Alcantara. He played Javier Mascherano instead of Carles Puyol, and David Villa rather than Cesc Fabregas.

This was the sixth Clasico of the season and the third in the last five weeks. On the basis that (1) This wasn’t a particularly important game for Real and (2) A usual tactical review would go over a lot of old ground, here are ten bitesize points. Read more »

Second-placed Napoli performed well after the break, but a draw puts Juve in a great position to retain their title.

Walter Mazzarri continued with Miguel Britos on the left of his back three, and favoured the experience of Goran Pandev rather than Lorenzo Insigne’s directness.

Antonio Conte selected Federico Peluso as his left-wing-back rather than Kwadwo Asamoah, while Giorgio Chiellini was fit to return just behind him. Sebastian Giovinco and Mirko Vucinic continued upfront.

Juventus looked stronger in the first half, before Mazzarri’s half-time switch changed the pattern of the game in the second period. Read more »

Arjen Robben’s superb goal won the game, but Bayern’s nine shots on target to Dortmund’s one demonstrates the home side’s overall dominance.

Jupp Heynckes used the XI that triumphed over Arsenal last week, with one exception – Franck Ribery was out, so Robben started on the left. Daniel van Buyten was alongside Dante again.

Jurgen Klopp was unable to call upon Mats Hummels, so Felipe Santana played alongside Neven Subotic. Kevin Grosskreutz got a start in midfield.

This wasn’t a fascinating tactical battle, but Bayern were by far the better side – pressing well, mixing short intricate passing with longer balls, and featuring good variety and movement in the centre of midfield. Read more »

Barcelona suffered their second major defeat within the space of a week, and Real are through to the Copa del Rey final.

Jordi Roura brought in Jose Pinto for Victor Valdes in goal – as always in this competition. The rest of the side was the same as against Milan with both Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta in the side, despite David Villa’s impact against Sevilla at the weekend.

Jose Mourinho chose Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos at centre-back, with Pepe on the bench. Gonzalo Higuain, as expected, started upfront.

Real outplayed Barcelona. Their defensive shape was good, their breaks were typically direct and efficient. 3-1 didn’t flatter them. Read more »

A closer game than the scoreline suggests.

With injury problems in defence, Carlo Ancelotti named Sylvain Armand as his left-sided centre-back. David Beckham was on the bench.

Élie Baup named an unchanged side from the XI that triumphed over Valenciennes last week.

PSG’s four outright attackers combined effectively at times, but Marseille will feel they had enough chances to get something from the game. Read more »

Inter upped their performance after a terrible first-half display.

Andrea Stramaccioni gave a rare start to Ricky Alvarez on the left, after his impressive performance against Cluj in midweek. Diego Milito is out for the season, so Antonio Cassano and Rodrigo Palacio started upfront together.

Max Allegri made changes from the victory over Barcelona – Mario Balotelli, cup-tied in Europe, returned in place of Giampaolo Pazzini, while Riccardo Montolivo played in Massimo Ambrosini’s deep-lying role to allow Antonio Nocerino to play.

Stramaccioni managed to alter things to get his side back into the game, but only Milan profligacy and another fine Samir Handanovic performance prevented the ‘away’ side from victory. Read more »

Chelsea played negatively, and afforded City too many goalscoring opportunities.

Roberto Mancini surprisingly played Yaya Toure behind Sergio Aguero, a combination he’s rarely used this season. Jack Rodwell started alongside Javi Garcia, while Vincent Kompany wasn’t fit, so Kolo Toure started at the back.

Rafael Benitez used Demba Ba instead of Fernando Torres. John Terry was on the bench, as were Cesar Azpilicueta and Oscar, with Branislav Ivanovic used at right-back and Ramires on the right of midfield.

City dominated the first half but broke through in the second, after Mancini turned to his bench. Read more »

Milan restricted Barcelona to only one shot on target – a hopeful effort from 25 yards – and pounced at the other end with a set-piece and a counter-attack.

Max Allegri was without cup-tied Mario Balotelli, so Giampaolo Pazzini played upfront. Kevin-Prince Boateng replaced M’Baye Niang on the right, and Max Ambrosini returned to the side.

Jordi Roura selected what appears to be Barcelona’s first-choice XI – Alexis Sanchez and David Villa on the bench, and Cesc Fabregas in his roaming free role. Aside from Victor Valdes’ return, it was the same XI that started the recent Copa Clasico against Real Madrid.

This was a highly impressive display from Milan, and arguably the most convincing defeat of Barcelona since the current era started in 2008. Read more »

Bayern took a commanding lead following a dominant first leg performance.

Arsene Wenger chose to leave out Olivier Giroud, using Theo Walcott as the primary striker with Santi Cazorla right and Aaron Ramsey in midfield. Left-back problems forced Thomas Vermaelen into that position.

Jupp Heynckes was without Jerome Boateng and long-term injury victim Holger Badstuber, so Daniel van Buyten came in at centre-back.

Arsenal made another poor start at the Emirates, and despite a promising spell for Wenger’s side after the break, Bayern always looked the better side. Read more »