30-31st Jan : Round-up of Eredivisie Results

FC Twente moved level with PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Eredivisie after the weekend's action.

Vitesse Arnhem 0-0 PSV Eindhoven

PSV were held to a 0-0 draw away from home by mid-table Vitesse Arnhem. Both sides had opportunities to take the game but they were rarely more than half-chances and neither goalkeeper was seriously tested.

FC Twente 2-0 Roda JC

Second half goals by Kenneth Perez and Bryan Ruiz secured FC Twente a 2-0 win over Roda JC.

Both sides had chances in a first half which was full of attacking purpose, but Steve McClaren's team did not take the lead until the 71st minute through Perez, with Ruiz sealing victory a minute later.

Feyenoord 1-1 Ajax Amsterdam

Feyenoord drew 1-1 at home against Ajax, and both sides remain well off the pace set by the top two, with third place apparently the best either can hope for this season.

Georgino Wijnaldum netted a 67th-minute equaliser after Marko Pantelic had given visitors Ajax a 25th-minute lead.

FC Utrecht 0-0 Heracles Almelo

FC Utrecht and Heracles Almelo played out a dire goalless draw which damaged both sides' Europa League ambitions.

The match came to life in the first minute of stoppage-time when Utrecht's Mihai Nesu committed a professional foul, hauling down Bas Dost, and was sent off.

Dutch Eredivisie Top Six Standings

Team          Pl  W D L Fr Ag Pts 
PSV Eindhoven 20 16-4-0 47:13  52 
FC Twente     20 16-4-0 40:15  52 
Ajax          20 13-4-3 56:17  43 
Feyenoord     20 11-6-3 31:17  39 
Heracles      20 10-3-7 27:26  33 
FC Utrecht    20  8-8-4 23:18  32

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UEFA Cup Knockout Draw

Aston Villa and Tottenham have a potential last 16 clash - but they will have to get past a pair of quality opponents as they first face CSKA Moscow and Shakhtar Donetsk respectively in the last 32.

Manchester City will face FC Copenhagen in the last 32 but they could meet Deportivo La Coruna in the last 16.

Other last 32 ties include AC Milan up against Werder Bremen, while Ajax meet Fiorentina.

Last 32 draw (first leg 18-19 Feb/ second leg 26 Feb):
Paris Saint-Germain v Wolfsburg
FC Copenhagen v MANCHESTER CITY
NEC Nijmegen v Hamburg
Sampdoria v Metalist Kharkiv
Braga v Standard Liege
ASTON VILLA v CSKA Moscow
Lech Poznan v Udinese
Olympiakos v Saint-Etienne
Fiorentina v Ajax
Aalborg v Deportivo La Coruna
Werder Bremen v AC Milan
Bordeaux v Galatasaray
Dynamo Kiev v Valencia
Zenit St. Petersburg v Stuttgart
Marseille v FC Twente
Shakhtar Donetsk v TOTTENHAM

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Pre-season Friendly : Ajax 2-3 Arsenal (video link)

Emmanuel Adebayor struck twice as Arsenal came from behind to beat hosts Ajax 3-2 at the Amsterdam Tournament.


Bonus Video link ... all five goals

With a Champions League qualifier in Holland against Steve McClaren's FC Twente coming on August 13th, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had suggested this encounter would serve as "ideal preparation" for the opening of the new campaign.

Arsenal named a strong XI, which included a first start of pre-season for Euro 2008 winner Cesc Fabregas - while defender Kolo Toure also featured, fit again following his bout of malaria.

And it proved to be a good test, as the Dutch side - beaten by FC Twente in a play-off for a crack at Europe's elite club competition - went into the break 2-0 ahead following quick-fire goals from Uruguay striker Luis Suarez and highly-rated captain Klaas Jan Huntelaar.

Arsenal rallied in the second half and were given a lifeline through Adebayor's bullet header - before, with 15 minutes left, substitute Nicklas Bendtner levelled the scores.

There was still time for a winner too - which came when Adebayor slotted home from Denilson's pass following another slick passing move by the Barclays Premier League club.

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Preseason wins for Chelsea, Arsenal, Hamburg and Ajax

Nicolas Anelka scored four times as Chelsea tore apart a weakened Milan team 5-0 in their pre-season friendly.

Without Kaka or Ronaldinho, the Italians fell behind to Frank Lampard's second minute opener, and were never in the game as the Blues emphatically settled the third-place play-off in the Railways Cup.

There were four goals for Anelka during a game where Milan looked barely interested, especialy after finding themselves 0-3 down at halftime.

In London, a near-full strength Arsenal beat Real Madrid 1-0 at the Emirates, with Emmanuel Adebayor scoring the winner in the second half.

Unlike yesterday's match against Juventus, Arsene Wenger chose a strong side - led by captain William Gallas, with Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor also featuring, and home start for summer signing Samir Nasri on the left of midfield.

Hamburg won the Emirates Cup with a 3-0 victory over Juventus taking them to 7 points in the mini-league that also awards a point for each goal scored.

Sunderland lost 1-0 at home to Ajax. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the only goal in the 80th minute at the Stadium of Light.

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Arsenal and Ajax look to link-up

Arsene Wenger has said that Arsenal are looking to create a "relationship" with Ajax from next season.

Marco van Basten, who will step down as Holland coach after Euro 2008 to take charge of the Amsterdam club, has visited Wenger this week. The two men discussed the possibility of a mutually beneficial agreement that could see players loaned out from Arsenal to Ajax.

"Van Basten visited us at the training ground this week," Wenger wrote in his programme notes for the Premier League clash with Liverpool.

"We spoke a bit about Euro 2008 and about Ajax, because he is taking over there in the summer. We also spoke about how he wants to see the future of the club and how he wants to work there, and any similarities with our policy at Arsenal, and about whether they can take players on loan for example."

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GOONER ADDS : Obviously this would be a huge boost for both clubs - who these days are well known and admired for their attacking philosophy in football.

For us football oldies who remember the time of "Dutch Total Football" and "Playing The Ajax Way" anything that helps Arsenal to learn and play this way is a great development.

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Marco Van Basten to coach Ajax

Dutch legend coach Marco van Basten will become the new Ajax coach next season.

The former AC Milan striker will manage Holland in Euro2008 before stepping down to take over at his former club on 1 July.

Van Basten, three times a winner of the European player of the year award, had been linked with Chelsea and Barcelona - but he has agreed a four-year deal with Ajax after good friend Johan Cruyff was charged with overseeing an overhaul of the ailing Amsterdam club.

Van Basten - a former Ajax youth coach - will be assisted by John van't Schip and Rob Witschge, who are also currently with the national side.

He will take over from Adrie Koster, who succeeded Henk ten Cate on a temporary basis after he joined Chelsea last October.

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