The List | 10 Things From The Weekend - 27/01/2014 - Football News

FA Cup action returned to England over the weekend, putting a hold on the Premier League drama. Routine wins coupled with the initial promise of a major upset at Manchester City saw England's big-guns progress to the fifth round. A weekend off for Manchester United didn't stop them from dominating the back pages with the biggest transfer of the window so far.

The rest of Europe also had cup and domestic league duties to take care of, with the race for the Liga and Serie A titles looking more exciting than ever. With that in mind, here are ten things we learnt the weekend's European football.



La Liga will go down to the wire – Real Madrid picked up another result with a 2-0 home win over Granada and are keeping the pressure on league leaders Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti may well have been given the mandate of winning the Champions League, but you can bet your bottom dollar he has one eye on the league and with the players he has, he should be close to winning it.

Luka Modric has been epic this season – Yet another assist for Luka Modric this weekend who set up Cristiano Ronaldo's opening goal. The player who last year was voted the worst signings of the season in La Liga is now showing exactly how good he is. Real Madrid were right to buy him, and the Croat is growing into his role week by week.



AC Milan need to keep hold of Balotelli – After issuing a come-and-get me plea to former boss Jose Mourinho, AC Milan might have a task on their hands to keep Mario Balotelli at the San Siro. The Serie A side recorded their second straight win under new boss Clarence Seedorf and Balotelli has been vital in both games, bending in a 20-yard free-kick in his sides 1-2 over Cagliari. A Mourinho reunion next season? In the mad world of Mario, never say never.



Diego Lopez is bang on form – Another clean sheet and another record that is about to be broken. Lopez is showing exactly why Jose Mourinho decided to buy him and why Carlo Ancelotti has stuck with him. Winning the fans over was difficult for the keeper, but his performances are second to none.



Manchester United fans finally have something to cheer about - In a fixture-less weekend for the red half of Manchester, the club finally showed some signs of post-Fergie progression with the capture of Juan Mata. The Spaniard instantly boosts United's chances of a top-four finish and in Mourinho’s eyes, will hopefully take some points from Chelsea's rivals in the second half of the season.



Consistency concerns for Samuel Eto'o - It's all well and good scoring against Manchester United and Liverpool, but when the forward looks especially poor against the likes of Stoke City, it's clear there is a problem. Chelsea need a clinical forward to score against the league's middle of the table sides. Can Demba Ba step up and help Chelsea's title push? Mourinho will hope so.



Oscar keeps getting better – Another weekend, another goal from Oscar and a sublime one at that. Showing why Mourinho was right to allow Mata to leave, the Brazilian was the difference in the FA Cup game and is Chelsea's first name on the team sheet. It is also worth noting that returnee Nemanja Matic looked well worth the price tag and is only set to get better.



The FA Cup draw threw up some crackers – Manchester City now have to host Chelsea twice in the space of a couple of weeks at home and also have to contend with Barcelona a couple of days later. Massive games and the time for players like Sergio Aguero to really show what they are made of. Liverpool also have a visit from Arsenal whilst the rest of the draw will be looking to see which big guns get knocked out.



Roma had a huge week – Roma had the chance to close the gap to six points in the Serie A title race and duly took it with a massive 3-1 win over Hellas Verona FC as well as knocking Juventus out of the Copa Italia and progressing to the semi finals. Keep up this form and they will begin to ask some serious questions of Antonio Conte’s men.



Horror injuries can happen – The double fracture of Bryan Oviedo's left leg during Saturday's FA Cup tie between Everton and Stevenage reminded us that horror injuries are unfortunately part of the game. The established Costa Rican international will be hard-pushed to make any kind of return in time for the World Cup, where Costa Rica face England on June 24th.

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