BERLIN, Germany, November 26 – Borussia Moenchengladbach took provisional posession of the Bundesliga summit on Friday with a 3-0 win at FC Cologne.
Mike Hanke and Venezualan Jorge Arango had the visitors firmly in control at the break with Hanke adding a second two minutes after the restart to cement Moenchengladbach’s ninth victory of the campaign.
The win, following last weekend’s 5-0 drubbing of Werder Bremen, pushed Moenchengladbach up from third to first on 29 points, but Bayern Munich will be looking to regain the lead when they travel to struggling Mainz 05 on Sunday.
Bayern’s 3-1 win over Villarreal on Tuesday confirmed their place in the Champions League round of 16, but they need to get back to winning ways in the Bundesliga after taking just one point from their last two games.
In Italy, Udinese beat AS Roma 2-0 on Friday to go top of Serie A ahead of Saturday’s clash between Lazio and Juventus.
Udinese seized the occasion courtesy of Antonio Di Natale, who secured his ninth goal of the season in the 79th minute, with Maurizio Isla adding the second one minute from time.
“We produced a great game against a side that are going far. They were very good in the first half, while we defended well and counter attacked,” Di Natale told Sky Sport.
“We don’t look at the standings…what counts is that Udinese win, I’m an attacker, I’m there to provide service to the team.”
Lazio face a stern test at home to Juventus at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, as they bid to prove they are capable of pushing Serie A’s heavyweights all the way in the race for the Scudetto.
Both teams are on 22 points, two behind Udinese, with Juventus, who have a game in hand, placed second on goal difference.
