5 POINT EUROPEAN FOOTBALL WEEKEND ROUND-UP

1) ARSENAL ARE NOT TITLE CONTENDERS

Saturday's lunchtime game provided us with the best evidence yet that Arsenal are not quite up to scratch when it comes to being Premier League contenders. They were demolished by Liverpool at Anfield with two headed goals from Martin Skrtel, Raheem Sterling with a brace of his own and Daniel Strurridge with another in a heavy 5-1 defeat. Liverpool absolutely swamped a shellshocked Arsenal who were, incredibly, 4-0 down after only twenty minutes. Many expected for the Gunners not to compete with Chelsea and Manchester City and this was all the evidence required. Liverpool can only be delighted with the result as it stengthens their push to cement one of those top four spots. And speaking of the top four...

2) EVERTON'S RUN MAY BE OVER

Tottenham were able to brush aside Everton with a 1-0 victory at White Hart Lane on Sunday in a game generally dominated by the Merseysiders until Emmanuel Adebayor's strike half-way through the second half. From there on in, Everton seemed to switch off and had no reply to offer despite Spurs never really having to play very well. The North London club don't exactly look like Champions League material either. A good result no doubt but the performance was poor at times and the team's shape was all over the place. Aaron Lennon was fielded as a right winger with no real equivalent on the left. It was very much a case of just lumping together a starting XI and hoping for the best. Their prayers were answered in the shape of an unextaordinary victory. Whatever about Tottenham's failings this season season however, just have a look at...

3) POOR LITTLE MANCHESTER UNITED

It's genuinely hard to analyse such a mess at this point. Watching Sunday's game between Manchester United and Fulham was something of a circus. Fulham went to Old Trafford to defend and defend they did as centre halves John Heitinga and youngster Brad Burn rejected cross after cross after cross, more than seventy in total! United's "Hail Mary" repetition of the same thing over and over again seems comical in hindsight but it very nearly got them the win...at home against the worst team in the Premier League!

Steve Sidwell gave the away side the lead in the first half, against the run of play, thanks to a fine assist from loanee Lewis Holtby. Fulham proceeded to batten down the hatches and defend incredibly deep. Late in the second half, United managed to overturn the deficit with a flurry of two goals from Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick only 82 seconds apart. Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen appeared defeated afterwards until United somehow conspired to concede a ridiculous counter attack with practically the last action of the match. Kieron Richardson broke down the left and tested David de Gea only for substitute Darren Bent to nod home the rebound from close range. David Moyes pleaded that his side really deserved to win the game afterwards but was anyone even listening anymore? What will it actually take for him to be shown the door this season? Is he completely immune from the sack? If so, the United board have lost their marbles.

4) HAZARD SHOWS BALO HE'S THE BEST YOUNG PLAYER AROUND

As Chelsea brushed aside Newcastle United 3-0 thanks to a superb hat-trick from Eden Hazard, over in Italy, AC Milan and Mario Balotelli were preparing for an away trip to Rafa Benitez' Napoli. As the Rossoneri slumped to a miserable 3-1 defeat despite Adel Taraabt's debut goal, Balotelli was substituted and cried his eyes out whilst sitting on the bench. Balo has all the attributes to be a great player. Technically and physically, he has no flaws to speak of. His mentality, however, is preventing him from excelling the way a young player of his talents should. There is such a gulf in maturity between Balotelli and someone like Hazard. The Belgian, under Jose Mourinho, is growing up quickly and dominating the Premier League. Meanwhile, Balotelli sulks, picks up yellow cards, fails to cover ground for his teammates and cries when things go badly. After EURO 2012, Balotelli was the name of everyone's lips but his progress has stalled and the improvement in the likes of Hazard only illustrate his failings furthermore. I would contend that Hazard is the world's best player under the age of 24 right now.

5) BARCA TAKE THE REINS IN SPAIN AGAIN

In Spain's three horse title race, Barcelona and Real Madrid both picked up wins against Sevilla and Villarreal respectively whilst Atletico Madrid fell to a 2-0 away defeat at lowly Almeria. Diego Simeone's men were frustrated by the Andalucians and conceded two late on after laying siege to the home side's goal for the majority of the game. Perhaps their high intensity style is now taking its toll as the large squads of Barca and Real can hoover up wins despite not being at their very best. Barcelona were especially erratic on Sunday night in Seville. Known for being the hottest city in Europe, last night it was not as the heavens opened up meaning the game was played in a swimming pool of sorts. Barca started badly with go-to guys Xavi and Lionel Messi both looking unusually sloppy.

Alberto Moreno gave Sevilla a deserved lead only for the Catalans to equalise through Alexis Sanchez off a set-piece that clearly should've been given as offside once the replays were shown. Just before half-time, Messi fired home a sumptuous left-footer as the visitors lead despite the deluge. The second half became more of a cruise with Messi and Andres Iniesta in particular, really finding their feet and playing some great stuff. Messi scored the third and substitute Cesc Fabregas added a fourth late on to give Barca the lead at the top of La Liga for now. They're still not entirely convincing but with Atletico falling away and Real still not looking entirely complete either, I would not bet against Los Cules from retaining their title.

D. Ray Morton, 10th Ferbruary 2014.