Classic joy for Feyenoord

Victory in the Dutch 'classic' went the way of Feyenoord, while Club Brugge KV used the Belgian weather to go top of the First Division.

Feyenoord pressure
Feyenoord kept the pressure on Dutch Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven with a 3-2 victory over rivals AFC Ajax on Sunday; Nicky Hofs, Romeo Castelen and Dirk Kuijt scoring for the Rotterdam club. PSV remain three points clear at the top after a defeating Roda JC 3-2 the previous day, coming back from two goals down. AZ Alkmaar lost ground after a 1-1 home draw against BV Vitesse while NEC Nijmegen moved into fourth after a 3-1 win at RKC Waalwijk. Elsewhere, Willem II won the key relegation battle 3-1 against RBC Roosendaal, while FC Twente and SC Heerenveen both enjoyed 3-0 wins, against FC Utrecht and ADO Den Haag respectively.

Anderlecht advantage
In Belgium, Club Brugge KV took advantage of the frozen pitch which saw R. Standard de Liège's match with RAA Louviéroise postponed, moving into a two-point lead at the top of the First Division. The UEFA Cup hopefuls defeated bottom side K. Lierse SK 3-1, Philippe Clement scoring twice after Ivan Leko had got the first. Two goals from Bart Goor helped RSC Anderlecht move into second with a 4-1 victory against KRC Genk. R. Excelsior Mouscron hit five goals without reply against KVC Westerlo, while there were also wins for fourth-placed SV Zulte-Waregem, KAA Gent and R. Charleroi SC.

Sporting chance
Sporting Clube de Portugal moved into second place in the Liga, level on points with SL Benfica, after Marco Caneira scored the only goal of the game against CD Nacional. There were surprises as UD Leira shocked UEFA Champions League contenders Benfica 3-1 and Gil Vicente FC dismissed Vitória FC 5-0. Bottom side FC Penafiel got only their second win of the season, while A. Académica Coimbra also won. Guimarães side Vitória SC were held to a 2-2 draw at home to CF Os Belenenses. Leaders FC Porto play SC Braga on Monday night.

Lead cut
With leaders Olympiacos CFP not playing until Monday, AEK Athens were able to cut the lead at the top of the Greek First Division to three points. AEK won 2-0 at Egaleo FC while third-placed Panathinaikos FC also picked up three points, 2-0 at home to Levadiakos FC. Meanwhile, there were also wins for Larissa FC, Apollon Kalamaria FC, Panionios NFC and PAOK FC, who won the Thessaloniki derby 1-0 against Iraklis FC behind closed doors.

Missed opportunity
Galatasaray SK missed the chance to claw back some of Fenerbahçe SK's advantage in the Turkish Superleague as both clubs were held to 1-1 draws, by Malatyaspor and Rizespor respectively. Beşiktaş JK defeated Gençlerbirliği SK 2-1 at home and moved two points closer to third-placed Kayserispor, who drew 2-2 against Denizlispor. Samsunspor climbed off the bottom to 12th place after a 3-0 win at Sivasspor.

Glasgow knockout
For the first time since 1987, neither Rangers FC nor Celtic FC have reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup, after Hibernian FC overcame Rangers with a 3-0 win at Ibrox. Second-half goals by Garry O'Connor, Ivan Sproule and Chris Killin gave Hibs their third victory of the season over Alex McLeish's side and set up a quarter-final meeting with either Falkirk FC or Ross County FC. Edinburgh rivals Heart of Midlothian FC are also through to the last eight following a 3-0 victory against ten-man Aberdeen FC.

Zürich on track
FC Zürich remain on track for a successful defence of the Swiss Cup after moving into the semi-finals on penalties following a 1-1 draw with FC Aarau. BSC Young Boys also progressed with a 2-1 victory over second division FC Lugano. Lower-league representatives FC Sion and FC Winterthur enjoyed wins over FC Locarno and FC Servette.