Benitez edges closer to Inter exit

Following a 1-2 defeat away at Chievo, former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez finds his job at Inter Milan hanging by the thinnest of threads. Samuel Eto’o’s late goal counted as nothing more than a consolation for an Inter side that were convincingly beaten; their third defeat already this season.

Whilst the departure of Jose Mourinho left fans of the Nerazzurri fearing last year’s treble would be out of their reach this time round, none of them could have predicted such a pitiful fall from grace. Benitez’s troops find themselves nine points adrift of the top already, with rivals AC leading the way in Serie A. Having overseen five titles in the last five seasons, owner Massimo Moratti is fast losing patience with his Spanish manager, despite only hiring him a mere four months ago.

Inter’s shambolic start to the season has paved the way for others to search for Scudetto glory, with five sides now sitting above them. AC consolidated their position at the top; a solitary Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal enough to see off Fiorentina on Saturday evening. Ibrahimovic caused much amusement in the Italian press immediately after scoring the winner, thrusting his arm into the air in such vigourous celebration that he promptly feel to the ground holding his elbow. All joking aside, the loanee from Barcelona is in superb form, having notched 7 goals in just 12 league games so far.

Behind AC, Lazio slipped up with a 1-1 draw away at Parma, and now trail the leaders by three points. Just over their shoulder lies the trio of Napoli, Juventus and Roma, all of whom registered comfortable victories at the weekend.

At the bottom, one would be forgiven for thinking relegation to Serie B is a valued prospect amongst the relegation candidates. The bottom three remains unchanged from last week; Bari, Cesena and Brescia all succumbing to defeats. Of the three, Brescia’s was most disappointing, as they conspired to lose 1-2 at home to fellow relegation candidates Cagliari.

In Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona warmed up for Monday’s Clàsico in admirable fashion.

At the Bernabéu, Real overcame Athletic Bilbao with a resounding 5-1 victory, though that scoreline perhaps flattered the hosts. For much of the opening half, Bilbao threatened Iker Cassilas’ goal; but two penalties and a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick ensured Jose Mourinho’s men held onto top spot in La Liga.

Matching Ronaldo all the way in the tussle for the league’s most outstanding player is Barcelona’s Argentine wizard, Lionel Messi. Not to be overshadowed, the man from Rosario also notched a treble, this time in Barca’s 8-0 away demolition of Almeria – the biggest away victory ever in La Liga. Almeria, though second bottom, had previously only conceded 10 goals in 11 games; Saturday evening’s thumping defeat left coach Juan Manuel Lillo searching for a new job.

The battle of third and fourth place between Villareal and Valencia ended in a 1-1 draw at the Estadio El Madrigal. Aritz Aduritz, Valencia’s €4m summer signing from Mallorca, put the away side ahead, before ex-Manchester United striker Guiseppe Rossi salvaged a point for the hosts. This result allowed Espanyol to sneak into fourth, their 3-0 victory over Hercules coming thanks to two late penalties, from Pablo Osvaldo and Luis Garcia respectively.

Away from the weekend’s results, Atletico Madrid were buoyed by the news that the 2010 World Cup Golden Ball winner Diego Forlan wishes to end his career at the club. In an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca, the Uruguayan striker stated he “would love to retire at Atletico Madrid”, a statement seen by many as a direct snub to the reported advances from English sides Tottenham and Liverpool.

Rafael Benitez was not the only one left unsure of his future this week. Michael Meier, general manager of German side Cologne, was backed publicly by the club amid pressure from supporters for him to be sacked, but it remains to be seen how long this vote of confidence will last. Having seen coach Zvonimir Soldo sacked recently, fans have quickly made Meier their new scapegoat, blaming him for the club’s ills. Cologne’s 1-0 win away at fellow strugglers Stuttgart appears to have kept the wolves from his door – for now.

At the top end of the Bundesliga, the Borussia Dortmund bandwagon rolls on. Presented with a testing trip to fourth-placed Freiburg, Jurgen Klopp’s side scored two in four minutes to remain seven points ahead of nearest rivals Mainz. Third-placed Bayer Leverkusen had to settle for a point at home to Bayern Munich, who dropped to a lowly eighth following wins for both Hoffenheim and Hannover.

The other notable result of the weekend in Germany came at Schalke, where a Raul hat-trick saw helped them beat Werder Bremen 4-0. The Spaniard’s relatively slow start to the season seems to have picked up; that treble takes him to six goals for the season now. For Werder things were only to worsen this week, as their slim chances of getting through the Champions League group stages were shattered in a 0-3 defeat at Tottenham on Wednesday evening.

Elsewhere in Europe, Lille’s 2-1 victory at home to Monaco saw them go top of a particularly tight Ligue 1. Brest, top last week, now find themselves down in sixth after a 1-2 defeat at Rennes. Lyon’s mini-revival goes on; a 3-1 win away at relegation candidates Lens sees them still in eighth, but a mere two points behind the league leaders. In Holland, the much-anticipated clash between Ajax and leaders PSV petered out into a drab 0-0 draw, whilst FC Twente missed their chance to close the gap at the top, losing 1-2 at home to AZ. Herenveen thrashed the woeful Willem II 5-0; Hans Westerhof’s side lie rooted to the bottom, with just two points from fifteen games in which they have conceded a colossal fourty-four goals.