“Francesco Totti was the hero again, scoring a chipped penalty and a 94th minute winner. Gokhan Inler was suspended for Udinese, so fellow Swiss international Almen Abdi took his place. Alexis Sanchez was initially named in the starting XI, but a late injury meant he dropped out of the side, with German Denis coming in. Vincenzo Montella was without Philippe Mexes, Jeremy Menez and Julio Sergio. Aleandro Rosi started on the right, with Matteo Brighi ahead of David Pizarro and Daniele De Rossi in the midfield trio.” Zonal Marking
Valencia 5-0 Villarreal: spare man at the back, and direct football going forward
“Third-placed Valencia demolished fourth-placed Villarreal at the Mestalla. Unai Emery brought Ever Banega back into the side in the centre of midfield, and also recalled Portuguese defenders Miguel and Ricardo Costa at the back. Juan Carlos Garrido was forced to change things at the back, after the news that centre-back Gonzalo Rodriguez is out for the rest of the season with a broken leg. He gave a rare start to Kiko, resisting the temptation to move Carlos Marchena from his ‘new’ central midfield position.” Zonal Marking
Hamburg 1-1 Dortmund: late equaliser snatches a point for the leaders
“Jakub Blaszczykowski scored a thunderous volley in stoppage time, so Dortmund’s lead now stands at five points. Michael Oenning brought back Ruud van Nistelrooy and David Jarolim into his starting XI, playing a 4-1-3-2 formation. Jurgen Klopp played his expected XI – unchanged from the previous weekend’s win over Hannover, and with the exception of long-term injury victim Shinji Kagawa, this was the standard starting line-up throughout the season. This was a decent game – the entertainment value game from the tension and the importance of Dortmund’s result, however, rather than any great technical quality or major tactical interest.” Zonal Marking