Winners
Sarpreet Singh
Replacing Phillipe Coutinho in the 82nd minute – Sarpreet Singh made his Bundesliga debut in Bayern Munich’s 6-1 thumping of Werder Bremen.
After sitting out during the week in Bayern’s Champions League tie with Tottenham, Singh was given the opportunity late in Saturday’s game, becoming just the second Kiwi to play in the Bundesliga.
Singh caught the eye of the German giants after a break-out season with the Wellington Phoenix last season and appears to have made a strong early impression at his new club.
The 20-year-old made 41 appearances for the Phoenix, where he scored nine goals.
Sampdoria
Sampdoria picked up their most important win yet in a relegation six-pointer against fellow battlers Genoa in the Derby Della Lanterna.
Manolo Gabbiadini was the hero for the Doria, netting an 85th minute winner after coming on ten minutes earlier as a substitute.
The win lifts Sampdoria out of the bottom three and into 16th on the table, with Genoa stuck in the bottom three ahead of a busy Christmas period.
Melbourne City
Melbourne City returned to winning ways – rectifying a shock loss at home to Perth Glory – with a commanding win away against the Newcastle Jets.
Two goals either side of the break sealed the win for City, with their Uruguayan imports – Adrian Luna and Javier Cabrera – getting on the scoresheet while Jamie Maclaren became the fastest player to reach double figures in a season.
The return to form is timely for City, who host Melbourne Victory in the Christmas derby this weekend.
Losers
Leeds United
Good old Leeds never fail to disappoint.
Sitting ten points clear of third placed Preston North-End in the Championship – Leeds looked as though they would end the round on top of the league when they jumped out to a three goal lead against 13th placed Cardiff City.
Three goals in 30 minutes saw Cardiff record an incredible comeback in a second half display, with the blue-birds even scoring the equaliser after being reduced to ten-men.
While Leeds are still in the pole position to gain promotion to the Premier League, they miss the opportunity to end the round on top.
Napoli
The trend seen where teams respond with a win after sacking a manager does not appear to apply to Napoli – who went down 2-1 to Parma in Gennaro Gattuso’s first game in charge.
It was a 93rd minute winner from Gervinho which saw Parma steal three very important points, as they now create a buffer between themselves in seventh and Napoli in eighth.
Napoli, meanwhile, is at risk of dropping further down the table – sitting on equal points with tenth placed Milan.
Chelsea
The Blues have now lost two of their last three home matches – against sides in the bottom half.
This weekend’s loss to Bournemouth could prove to be significant with Chelsea’s grip inside the top four loosening, with Tottenham now only sitting three points outside the top-four.
Chelsea also dropped points to West Ham a few weeks ago, but have the opportunity to extend its lead on Tottenham when they travel to Tottenham Stadium next week.
