News from around the world of football.

FC Barcelona were untouchable as they went to UD Almería and won by a record-equalling 8-0 margin. Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as the Catalan side dominated to take another 3 points, keeping pace with arch rivals Real Madrid. Real Madrid however still hold the La Liga apex as they defeated their opponents, Athletic Club, 5-1. Real lead Barca by only a point, but they shouldn't be too confident as the El Classico nears: Barca, and Lionel Messi, want the Spanish League back. In England meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur FC came back from 2 goals down to defeat Arsenal FC 3-2 in the derby between the two sides, halting the Gunner's dreams of taking the league momentarily. Chelsea were also dealt a loss, losing to the not so ferocious Birmingham City FC. That's the first time Chelsea have lost consecutively in 4 years. All this allowed Manchester United to creep back into the top of the table, even on points with Chelsea. Wolves lost to Blackpool FC in a second half resurgence that they couldn't handle; they were beaten 2-1. At the same time, Italy is still led by the resurgent AC Milan following a 1-0 victory over the capable Fiorentina. Lazio still hold second position with a game to spare while Roma found the net twice against Udinese to take third place, that is, if Napoli loses their next match, against Bologna. Finally, in Germany, the East-West match occurred today, and the East Germans were victorious, beating their old West German equivalents by a 2-1 scoreline. Perry Bräutigam, goalie of the East, had a very good game, denying the likes of West German captain Lothar Matthäus and Jürgen Klinsmann! The Westerners found the net in the first half while the Easterners first scored in the second half through a penalty, scoring once more to put the game to bed. In other German news, Kaiserslautern defeated Nurnberg 3-1 in Nurnberg, a real confidence booster. Mainz meanwhile were able to defeat Monchengladbach 3-2, salvaging 3 points to stay in the chase for Dortmund, who won their match against Freiburg 2-1. Hoffenheim also had a good game, winning 4-0 over the floundering team from Frankfurt. Schalke won by the same margin, handily defeating Werder Bremen. Bayern are still in the doldrums, having only drawn with Bayer Leverkusen. Dortmund control the league by 7 points, second place is still held by Mainz. Hoffenheim, Kaiserslautern, and Schalke all have risen in the German table; holding 5th, 13th, and 14th respectively.