EPL: In the only league game of the round, Wayne Rooney added his name to the elite list as he single-handedly put Manchester United back on top of the Premier League. The sensational striker struck four times as United beat struggling Hull City 4-0 at Old Trafford.

FA Cup: Chelsea continues to show their strength as they dispatched their lower league opponents 2-0. Goals from Nicolas Anelka and Daniel Sturridge who continue to impress, did the job for the cup holders. One of the giant killers of the competition continued where they left off and brushed aside another Premier league side. A late goal from Gylfi Sigurdsson gave reading the victory over Burnley and sent them through to the next round.

Fulham laboured to flattering score line as their match with Accrington Stanley 3-1. Aston Villa narrowly got pass League One outfit Brighton 3-2. Owen Coyle earned his first win as Bolton manager with his side’s 2-0 win over Sheffield United. Birmingham reached the fifth round of the competition for the first time in four years as they got pass high flying Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park.

A resounding second half comeback from the Premier League’s most inconsistent club earned them a fourth round replay with Notts County. Wigan clawed themselves back from a two goal deficit to end the match 2-2.

In another all Premiership tie, troubled Portsmouth defeated Sunderland two goals to one. Forgotten John Utaka scored a brace to give Pompey the win. Leeds Striker Jermaine Beckford was the FA Cup hero again when he scored a last gasp penalty at White Heart Lane to earn his side a replay.

Crystal Palace also earned themselves a replay against Premier League Wolves after a 2-2 draw. Stoke clinched a memorable 3-1 victory Arsenal with Ricardo Fuller getting a double. Manchester City survived a tense battle to defeat Scunthorpe 4-2.

Barca cruise

La Liga: Barcelona cruised pass Real Valladolid 3-0 to creating history as they reached the mid-point of the season unbeaten for the first time. Xavi, Daniel Alves and Lionel Messi all scored to cap a fine performance by the champions. Sevilla beat Almeria 1-0 on a waterlogged pitch thanks to some quick thinking by striker Alvaro Negredo.

Deportivo overcame Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home, thanks to Filipe, Juca and Pablo Alvarez. In form, Valencia could only take a point in their game against Tenerife as it ended 0-0. Racing Santander and Getafe both had 1-0 victories over Sporting Gijon and Atletico Madrid respectively. Mallorca scored an 80th minute penalty to earn a share of the spoils with Espanyol.

Xerez managed just their eighth goal of the season but it wasn’t enough to stop them going down 2-1 against Osasuna. Villarreal defeated Real Zaragoza 4-2 in a thrilling encounter at El Madrigal. Real Madrid blew past Malaga with a 2-0 victory thanks to a Christiano Ronaldo brace.

Revenge

Serie A: Claudio Ranieri exacted revenge on his old club as Roma scored a last minute winner through John Arne Riise to defeat Juventus 2-1 in Turin. Alessandro Del Piero opened the scoring for the home side, but that was cancelled shortly afterwards by a Francesco Totti penalty.

Catania kept their hopes of avoiding relegation with a crushing 3-0 victory over promoted Parma. Lazio versus Chievo and Siena against Cagliari both ended in 1-1 draws.

Bologna and Sampdoria both had close victories over Bari and Udinese respectively. Bari lost 2-1 and Udinese 3-2. Genoa and Napoli had similar 2-0 wins over Atalanta and Livorno respectively.

Palermo outclasses Champions League spot contenders Fiorentina 3-0 with a brace from Abel Hernandez. Nine-man Inter crushed Milan’s title ambitions with a commanding 2-0 win in an exciting encounter.

Train continues to roll

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich edged Werder Bremen 3-2 in a five goal thriller to secure their sixth successive win. Aaron Hunt put Bremen ahead in to 10th minute, but Bayern responded with goals from Thomas Muller and Ivica Olic to go ahead at the break. Hugo Almeida leveled the score in the 75th minute, but Arjen Robben stole all three points for Munich three minutes later.

Schalke conceded two goals in the final eight minutes including a stoppage time equaliser at Bochum to leave with only a point. Borussia Dortmund edged Hamburg 1-0 through a nelson Valdez strike. Cellar dwellers Hertha Berlin have their keeper to thank after a saving a first-half penalty to deny Borussia Monchengladbach as the game ended goalless.

Nuremberg’s run of five successive defeats ended with a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. Mainz also ended a winless run with a 1-0 victory over Hannover. Bayer Leverkusen opened up a two point gap atop of the table with a 3-0 at Hoffenheim. Cologne put in a spirited performance against champions VfL Wolfsburg to win the game 3-2.