After a three year drought, Boca Juniors finally claimed the Argentinian title following last night's 3-0 win at home to CA Banfield in the Torneo Apertura (Opening Championship). Boca only needed one point to be sure of the title but sealed the deal with a win in front of their loyal followers at the Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires and begin the celebrations with two rounds of matches still to be played in the first half of the Argentinian season.

Big day in SPANISH FOOTBALL, & in World Football, as two giants meet in the SPANISH LEAGUE to attempt to shift , or retain, the "Balance of Power". Tonight at the "Santiago Bernabeu Stadium" at 22.00 (hrs) REAL MADRID CF hosts FC BARCELONA in the first of this LIGA season "Clasico" games. A win here by Real Madrid would give them a 9 point advantage over their arch rivals & set them on course

Kashiwa Reysol and Al Sadd have booked their semi-final places in the FIFA Club World Cup following hard fought victories over Monterrey CF and Esperance Tunis respectively.

Kashiwa, representing the host nation Japan as the 2011 J-League champions, needed a penalty shoot-out to get past North and Central American champions Monterrey after the two teams had played out a 1-1 draw.

Universidad de Chile made club history last night by reaching their first ever continental final in South America. The Chilean champions defeated Brazilian giants Vasco da Gama in last night's Copa Sudamericana semi-final 2nd leg by two goals to nil and, thus, went through 3-1 on aggregate.

Gustavo Canales and Eduardo Vargas were on hand to score the goals for Universidad who became the first Chilean team to reach a major final of a South American club competition since Colo Colo played in the final of the Sudamericana in 2006.

The Brazilian national championship has made a habit of last day climaxes in recent years and this season's competition is no exception. Corinthians (Played 38, Points 71) won their fifth Brasileiro tonight, their first league title since 2005, following a goalless draw against arch rivals Palmeiras.

Manchester United have endured a catastrophic week, crashing out of the Champions League and then losing Vidic for the rest of the season due a knee ligament injury. They need to bounce back, and the visit of Wolves to Old Trafford this weekend gives them a glorious opportunity of doing just that. Bookmakers make than a best priced 1.

Karim Benzema's record making goal was not enough to keep Madrid's impressive home record intact as Los Blancos suffered a 3-1 home defeat to arch rivals Barcelona last night.

The win saw the Catalans pip Madrid into first place although both clubs remain level on 37 points.

Real Madrid players have lamented their 3-1 loss to arch rivals Barcelona at the Bernabeu last night with defender Sergio Ramos saying that losing to the Catalans is always more hurtful.

Speaking to the press after the loss, Ramos was also quick to offer his congratulatory remarks to Barca.

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola is refusing to read too much into a 3-1 derby success over arch-rivals Real Madrid, with the title still up for grabs.

The reigning Primera Liga champions returned to the top of the table on Saturday as they picked up three priceless points at Santiago Bernabeu.

FC Barcelona will compete in this year's FIFA Club World Cup following a sensational UEFA Champions League triumph in 2011. The Catalans must first face AFC Asian Champions League winners Al Sadd before they can start dreaming of the possibility of winning the world crown for the second time in three years.

While Barcelona's Clásico win at Real Madrid captured headlines around the world, it was not the only significant result in Europe this weekend.

Spain
The Liga focus fell squarely on the Santiago Bernabéu this weekend as Barcelona injected fresh drama into the title race with a 3-1 comeback win at Madrid.

Deportivo Quito are the new champions of Ecuador following their 2-0 aggregate victory over Emelec in the final of the domestic championship.

In order to qualify for the play-offs Deportivo won the second stage of the league, which was played from July to December, topping the table after 22 games with a four point margin over Barcelona de Guayaquil.

Will Manchester City still top the English league after Christmas?

While the rest of European football shuts down for a well-earned break at Christmas time there is no such luxury in the United Kingdom. It has long been a traditional within the Home Nations to continue over the festive period and this season will should see some interesting action.