A beating for FC Twente and points dropped for PSV have blown the race for the Eredivisie crown wide open this weekend, with Groningen still defying the odds and Ajax starting life after Martin Jol with a win.
With Inter Milan involved in the Club World Championship, much of the focus moved away from under pressure manager Rafa Benitez and onto the rest of the league and in particular, their cross town rivals AC Milan.
The big news coming out of Holland's premier division this week is of course the departure of the (now former) Ajax manager Martin Jol. The ex-Spurs boss’ last game in charge of the Amsterdam club was not a happy one as the side lost out in a weekend where the rest of the title contenders really showed their determination to win this season's Eredivisie.
After last week’s fireworks at the Nou Camp, which saw Barcelona do the unthinkable and silence Jose Mourinho, this weekend’s La Liga action was in danger of being something of an anti climax.
“And the 2018 world cup goes to....”
Yes that's right, the obvious first choice. The country with the best technical bid, the stadia, the infrastructure, the passion, history and love of the game, with a bid put forward by a king to be, a current prime minister and a worldwide footballing idol. All of these were not enough to secure the honour of holding the world cup.