Higuain Seals Juventus Win Against Roma

The top-table clash between Serie A leaders Juventus and second-placed Roma was decided early on by Gonzalo Higuain's brilliant goal as Juventus now sit with a comfortable seven-point lead at the top of the table. The Argentine had looked dangerous with an early chance saved by Szczesny, and on the fifteen-minute mark he managed to steal possession from Daniele De Rossi before dribbling past the Roma defence and blasting the ball into the net.

It was a tough blow for Roma as the lead let Juventus sit and defend comfortably. Luciano Spalletti's choice of starting with Gerson instead of Mohamed Salah soon proved to be a failed experiment as the giallorossi were ponderous in possession. Having ex-Roma playmaker Miralem Pjanic run the clinical one-touch passing of the Juventus counter-attacks only highlighted Roma's lack of midfield spark.

Spalletti replaced Gerson with Salah at the start of the second half but Massimiliano Allegri's halftime team talk had clearly revved up his players for a strong start to the second half. Alex Sandro had a few good runs on the left side after his fairly muted first half, and Mandzukic was proving to be a large a nuisance for the Roma defence. While in the 50th minute Pjanic had to be substituted by Cuadrado due to a thigh problem, Roma was constantly giving possession away with poorly placed passes.

Spalletti eventually took De Rossi off for El Sharaawy in the 72nd minute, shifting to a much more attacking 4-3-3 in a desperate attempt to grab a late equalizer. Roma pressed high up into Juve's half with Naingolann and Strootman cleaning up any Juventus attempts to counter, and the rest of the team working hard as Juventus players tired in the later stages of the match. Roma began to create chances but couldn't find a goal: Perrotti failed to beat Buffon after a nice setup by Salah and Manolas was only inches away from an unsavable diving header.

In the end, the best chances of the second half came for the Juventus midfielder Sturaro but Szczesny was imperious in stopping the Italian's shots. The first chance came when the midfielder was served a pass into the box by Mandzukic's brilliant backheel, and the second was also provided by the Croatian who headed the ball into Sturaro's path towards goal. While Roma finished the second half strong, Spalletti's experiment of leaving Salah out along with Higuain's early goal were both enough to give Juventus the victory.

Now with a seven-point lead ahead of Roma and a nine-point lead ahead of AC Milan, it looks like Juventus might run away with the scudetto yet another season. While the bianconeri performance wasn't perfect, Allegri's team yet again managed to do just enough to win when it really mattered.

Cristiano Ronaldo Wins the 2016 Ballon D'Or

Cristiano Ronaldo has been awarded the 2016 FIFA Ballon d'Or for the fourth time, edging out Lionel Messi and cross-town rival Antoine Griezmann. The Portuguese forward has had an extraordinarily successful year after winning the Champions League last season with Real Madrid, followed by Portugal's summer triumph over France at the UEFA European Championships.

For yet another season the 31 year-old has been integral to Real Madrid's success, with his ten goals this season in La Liga only beaten by Messi's eleven for Barcelona. Despite this, Real Madrid is still undefeated this season and maintains a six point lead at the top of the table over Barcelona.

While Ronaldo is still chasing down Lionel Messi's five Ballon d'Or awards, the Portuguese forward has been prospering not just with his club but also with his country in a way that his Argentine rival has never managed. Both players are looking to cement their position as top dog this season in La Liga and the Champions League, but the defining trial between these two champions will be at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Russia will be the stage where these two players will have their best and probably final chance to earn the national trophy and become the undisputed player of this generation. 

Inter Milan Back on Top of Serie A

After last season's disappointing eighth placed finish in the Serie A table, Inter Milan seemed to be slowly devolving into a mid-table club just five years after their historic treble under Jose Mourinho. However, after a strong summer transfer window in which Jovetic, Kondogbia, and Ljajic were recruited, Roberto Mancini was given one last chance in order to bring the nerazzurri back into the Champions League places.

In their midweek fixture against Hellas Verona, Inter Milan managed to grind out their fifth consecutive win of the season, maintaining their perfect streak and sticking to the top of the Serie A table with a three point lead over Fiorentina. While their performances haven't been spectacular (winning their first five matches with only six goals scored), Inter Milan has shown to be much more resilient and focussed compared to their past few seasons.

Roberto Mancini has solved the defensive problems (Inter have conceded only one goal in these opening five matches) with new signing Alex Telles and the returning Davide Santon finally providing a bit of stability in the fullback positions. Gary Medel has proven to be a fairly acceptable centre back with the injury of Miranda, and the new signing (and former Juventus midfielder) Felipe Melo has been exceptional in giving the side a much tougher midfield to break down. It was in fact the Brazilian who scored a powerful header to beat Hellas Verona 1-0.

The Inter team celebrating five wins in their first five matches

In terms of attacking options, the faithful Mauro Icardi continues to be Mancini's chosen centre forward, with Jovetic, Perisic, Ljajic, and Palacio being rotated in and out of the attacking trident. Although Jovetic has been the only truly outstanding attacking player for the nerazzurri, Perisic has shown flashes of his ability, Ljajic is a known talent, and Palacio provides plenty of leadership and experience seeing as he is the only one of these players who is above the age of 25.

While it's still early on in the season, this revitalized Inter Milan side has already managed to defeat AC Milan in the Milan derby, and perhaps most importantly manages to trudge their way to victories even when not performing anywhere near their best. However, Roberto Mancini's true test will come this upcoming weekend when Inter hosts second-placed Fiorentina at the San Siro. While the Viola will be looking to end the nerazzurri's streak and make up the current three point deficit, if Inter manages to grind out yet another victory, then the nerazzurri will have truly returned to their top level form of seasons passed.

Ruthless Chelsea Overpower Nine-Man Arsenal

After finally managing to break out of their astonishing streak of two losses in their midweek Champions League victory against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Jose Mourinho's Chelsea hosted Arsenal in an intense derby. While many eyes at Stamford Bridge were fixed on the two managers curtly shaking hands without even glancing at each other, many of the Chelsea faithful also had an eye on the benched John Terry who was replaced by Kurt Zouma in the starting eleven.

Both sides took a few minutes to rev their engine as the match continuously built in rivalry and excitement. Arsenal's speed created a few early difficulties for the questioned Chelsea defence, however Chelsea's speedy counter-attack was always a threat. With two former players on the pitch, it had to be former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas to spark Chelsea into life with sharp passing. Pedro's return to the lineup gave plenty of attacking support as Hazard and Diego Costa's interplay threatened in bursts.

Partway through the first half, the most integral cog in Arsenal's midfield, Francis Coquelin, looked like it was about to break down. The Frenchman played on despite not looking completely healthy, maybe also because the Arsenal bench didn't have a proper replacement to hold the midfield. While this might have seemed unfortunate for Wenger's side, it was in the final minutes of the half that events swung definitively against Arsenal.

Gabriel's not-so sneaky kick against Diego Costa

Diego Costa's tempestuous physicality up front led to a stray elbow and hand, both nastily being slapped across Koscielny's face. The Chelsea forward then proceeded to chest Koscielny to the ground as the French defender tried to stand up, leading to the heated Gabriel coming over to wrestle Diego Costa away from his teammate. Referee Mike Dean must have missed Diego Costa's initial elbow, and thus gave Costa and Gabriel a yellow each. In the following arguments and discussions, Gabriel lost his cool and earned himself a second yellow with an aggressive kick of the heel at Costa.

Arsene Wenger started the second half by replacing the partly injured Coquelin with Callum Chambers, however, Diego Costa's dark magic already left its mark, and Arsenal's ten men were unable to stop Kurt Zouma from heading in the opener from Fabregas's free kick. As the second half continued, Diego Costa was continuously in the middle of events as he played what could be considered one of the best matches of his season. Arsenal's ten men had difficulty managing Chelsea's advances, however were still able to occasionally create a dangerous opportunity with the darting Alexis Sanchez.

Struggling to compete in the match, the Gunners lost another man when Santi Cazorla's tackle on Fabregas was just a fraction too late (and a bit too forceful as well), earning him a second yellow with ten minutes remaining. While it seemed like destiny that Diego Costa would score the sealing goal, the opportunity came to Eden Hazard. The Belgian's deflected shot gave Cech no chance, the former Chelsea keeper defeated by his former team in his former stadium.