Sampdoria end Juve's winning home streak

Sampdoria ended Juventus's run of 25 successive Serie A home wins when they drew 1-1 against the Serie A leaders on Sunday thanks to a second-half goal by substitute Manolo Gabbiadini.

Juventus dominated the first half and went ahead when Patrice Evra was left unmarked at a corner to head his first Serie A goal since his move from Manchester United in the close season.

The Frenchman's goal was debatable, however, as television replays showed that Claudio Marchisio had placed the ball outside the quadrant when he took the corner.

Sampdoria goalkeeper Sergio Romero kept the visitors in the game, and they stunned the home crowd by equalising with their first real chance early in the second half.

Gabbiandini scored with a delightful goal, curling a left-foot past Gianluigi Buffon from the edge of the penalty area.

Sampdoria, who were the last Serie A side to win away to Juventus in January 2013, nearly snatched a winner when another Gabbiadini effort was brillianty saved by Buffon.

Juventus lead Serie A with 36 points from 15 games while Sampdoria are fifth on 26.

AS Roma can reduce Juve's lead to one point if they win at third-placed Genoa later on Sunday.

Moyes can emulate Toshack impact

Manchester United's loss is Real Sociedad's gain according to midfielder Esteban Granero, who believes David Moyes can emulate former manager John Toshack and become a fan favourite at the Basque Country club.

Moyes joined the struggling Spanish side last month looking to rebuild a reputation badly damaged by an ill-fated 10-month spell at Old Trafford where he replaced retired Alex Ferguson.

Toshack also arrived for the first of three spells at the northern Spain club with something to prove after an underwhelming one-year reign at Portuguese side Sporting.

He won the King's Cup in 1987 and endeared himself to the club's fans for coining a new brand of "Spanglish", literally translating English phrases into Spanish with comic effect.

Moyes has already been teased for saying "uno, dos, tres, cuatro" in Spanish at a recent news conference and was pictured mistakenly shouting "Stefano" to Granero in his first game in charge.

"Toshack was a legend because of what he achieved, not because of the phrases but they added to the legend," Granero said in an interview in the Independent.

"Aside from the excellent translator (Moyes) has alongside him, there are five or six players who speak English and our goalkeeper Enaut Zubikarai has just started with an English teacher, too.

"Harry's [Redknapp, Granero's manager at Queens Park Rangers in 2013] London accent made him tougher for me to understand than David."

When Moyes was confirmed as their new manager Granero phoned close friend Juan Mata, who Moyes brought to Old Trafford for a then club record transfer fee of £37.1 million in January.

"Juan spoke very highly of him," Granero added.

"We all know what the big clubs are like, the criticism comes quickly and the coach always pays. But their loss is now our gain."

Sociedad finished fourth in La Liga in 2012-13 and seventh last season but have struggled so far in this campaign, winning only three of 14 league games to sit 15th.

But Granero, a La Liga winner at Real Madrid in 2012, believes Moyes can lead the side back to the Champions League.

"That is the challenge. The president wants it and I think the coach has come for that. We achieved it last season and we want it again. We know we have to go one step at a time but we have to be confident and ambitious.

Stuani helps Espanyol down Granada

Espanyol substitute Christian Stuani scored in the 90th minute to snatch a 2-1 win over 10-man Granada in the Spanish league on Sunday.

The Uruguay forward raced in at the far post to volley home Lucas Vazquez's cross after Granada was left a man down in the 82nd when Juan Carlos Perez received his second booking for handling the ball.

Vazquez had already played a part in Espanyol's first goal in the 34th when his deflected cross fell to Felipe Caicedo, who poked it past goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez.

Granada equalised through Youssef El Arabi in the 61st after forward Ivan "Riki" Sanchez-Rico made his season debut as a substitute to energise the visitors.

Espanyol rose to 11th place. Under first-year coach Sergio Gonzalez the Barcelona-based side hasn't lost in seven straight home games after losing its home opener.

Stuani, a starter in recent seasons, has flourished coming off the bench and leads Espanyol with six goals in the league.

"It was a very important goal after we lost at Barcelona (5-1)," said Stuani. "We had a debt to settle with our fans."

Granada, in 16th, remained winless in 11 rounds and two points above the relegation zone.

Later, Atletico Madrid host Villarreal and look to capitalise on Barcelona's 0-0 draw at Getafe on Saturday. A win would lift Atletico level with the Catalan club in second place behind leader Real Madrid.

Athletic Bilbao also visits Real Sociedad in a Basque Country derby, while Sevilla hosts Eibar.

BVB have 'awesome' problems - Klopp

Borussia Dortmund's Jurgen Klopp says the 2013 Champions League finalists have "awesome problems" after dropping back into the relegation places following their defeat at Hertha Berlin.

Hertha striker Julian Schieber, who quit Dortmund for Berlin at the end of last season, scored the hosts' first-half winner which saw them overtake 16th-placed Borussia to go 13th in the table.

Dortmund qualified for the Champions League's last 16 as group winners ahead of Arsenal, but their dire domestic form this seaso has seen them win just four of their 15 Bundesliga matches.

They are the only team in Germany's top flight to have lost nine matches having started December bottom of the table.

Despite Saturday's defeat, Dortmund's fans applauded the squad after the final whistle at Berlin's Olympic Stadium and Klopp led his side to their fans' corner to acknowledge them.

"We need all the support we can get, we hear week after week that we are a great team, but this 'awesome' team also has awesome problems," admitted Klopp.

"The first half was the complete opposite of how we wanted to play.

"We weren't determined enough which is completely the wrong path to take in a game like this."

Klopp, who steered Borussia to the 2011 and 2012 Bundesliga titles, has a contract until 2018 and has been told his job is safe, but last season's runners-up were poor in Berlin.

"We're in a relegation battle, we've accepted the situation the way it is," admitted Klopp.

Dortmund host second-placed Wolfsburg on Wednesday, then are away to fellow strugglers Werder Bremen next Saturday in the last game of the year before the Bundesliga breaks for the winter.

"We now have two games left to dramatically improve our league position in the second half of the season and that is our task," said Klopp.

There was more bad news in Berlin as Armenia play-maker Henrikh Mkhitaryan came off after 35 minutes and could be ruled out of their last two games.

"He felt a sharp pain, which is not good when you have three games in a week, and it looks like he won't play again this year," said Klopp.

Bayern go ten clear, BVB crash

Bayern Munich underlined their status as Bundesliga champions-in-waiting as Saturday's 4-0 thrashing of Augsburg moved them 10 points clear at the top of the German league.

With second-placed Wolfsburg playing Paderborn on Sunday, Bayern seized the chance to extend their lead at third-placed Augsburg and remain on course for a third straight title.

Bayern, who started with Thomas Mueller and Mario Goetze on the bench, can further hammer home their superiority later this week when they host Freiburg on Tuesday before travelling to face Mainz on Friday in their last league match of 2014.

"I am very, very proud, because I know how hard it is to win at Augsburg," said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola.

"We were much more aggressive and combined quicker in the second-half.

"Once again, I am surprised by the mentality of these players, who have already won everything, but they always just want to win, win, win.

"We have two more games now this week which we'll try to win.

After a goalless first-half, Bayern burst into life after the interval as Arjen Robben netted twice while Medhi Benatia and Robert Lewandowski were also on target.

Centre-back Benatia headed his first Bayern goal on 58 minutes, then Robben slotted his ninth in all competitions just two minutes later when he curled his shot in around the post.

Poland striker Lewandowski claimed their third when he fired home a final pass from captain Bastian Schweinsteiger on 68 minutes.

Robben added the fourth three minutes later as Augsburg's defence capitulated.

Despite qualifying for the Champions League's last 16, Borussia Dortmund dropped back into the relegation places after slumping to a 1-0 defeat at Hertha Berlin.

Dortmund's ninth defeat in 15 league games – the most in Germany's top flight – saw them drop to 16th from 14th having started December at the bottom.

To rub salt into the wounds, Julian Schieber scored the first-half winner against his old club.

"We hear week after week that we are a great team, but this 'awesome' team also has awesome problems," admitted Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.

Klopp had to replace attacking midfielder Heinrikh Mkhitaryan, who has injured his thigh, for Poland's Jakob Blaszczkowski with 35 minutes gone.

Blaszczkowski lost possession in midfield, Norway's Per Skjelbred pounced on the loose ball and fed Berlin striker Schieber, who fired home on 40 minutes.

Only Hanover 96's 3-3 draw at Werder Bremen prevented Dortmund dropping to second from bottom.

Spanish striker Joselu scored twice for Hanover to claim four goals in his last three league games.

Stuttgart remain bottom of the league despite picking up a point with a 1-1 draw at mid-table Mainz.

Having scraped into the Champions League's last 16 with a 1-0 win at Slovenia's Maribor on Wednesday, Roberto di Matteo's Schalke 04 slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home to Cologne.

Nigeria striker Anthony Ujah scored his fourth goal in five league games just after the break before midfielder Matthias Lehmann netted a penalty.

Teenage replacement Leroy Sane scored his first goal for Schalke by way of consolation on only the 18-year-old's fourth league appearance as Schalke dropped to sixth.

Hamburg were held to a goalless draw at Freiburg with both teams just above the bottom three.

On Sunday, fourth-placed Bayer Leverkusen host Borussia Moenchengladbach with Lucien Favre's side just one place behind in the league table.

On Friday, Hoffenheim enjoyed a 3-2 win at Eintracht Frankfurt to stay seventh and just outside the European places for next season.

Zhang set to sign with Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg are set to present China midfielder Zhang Xizhe as a new signing to become the fourth Chinese to have played in Germany's top flight – with more likely to follow.

Zhang landed in Germany at Frankfurt airport on Saturday and with only details of the 23-year-old's transfer from Beijing Guoan to be finalised, he is set to officially become a Wolves player in the coming days.

He would be the only currently active Chinese player in the German league, but not the first.

He is set to follow in the footsteps of Hao Junmin, who made 14 league appearances for Schalke 04 in 2010 and 2011, Shao Jiayi, who joined 1860 Munich in 2003, then Energie Cottbus in 2006, and striker Yang Chen, who made 65 Bundesliga appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt up until 2001, scoring 16 goals.

Zhang has already started learning German and Wolfsburg, who are second in the Bundesliga only to Bayern Munich this season, are keeping an eye on other talent in Far East football.

"We've been monitoring the (Chinese) league and national team and there are quite a few interesting players there," Wolves' director of sport Klaus Allofs told Bundesliga.com.

"Chinese football is still developing, but I'm pretty certain there are plenty of good footballers there.

"It's something that is going to come on in the future.

"With Xizhe, we'll see how he adapts and settles in, then we will see what being a good player in China can translate to in the Bundesliga."

Zhang is unknown outside China, but Wolfsburg are hoping the Chinese Football Association's Young Player of 2012 will be able to transfer his obvious talent to the Bundesliga.

Zhang has carved out a reputation as both a goal-scorer and provider and scored on his Chinese Super League debut in 2010, managing 11 goals with 12 assists in 30 appearances in the 2013 season.

He has made 10 international appearances for China and scored his first of two international goals in a 6-1 thrashing of Singapore in September 2013.

Making the grade in Germany's top flight is not always easy as New Zealand's Marco Rojas discovered after the A-League's Young Footballer of 2013 joined Stuttgart, but is currently on loan at second division Greuther Fuerth after an injury-hit couple of seasons.

But Wolfsburg insist Zhang will be given time to adjust to German football with the Bundesliga set to break for winter next Sunday until Wolves first game of 2015 at home to Bayern Munich.

"He is a young player with a lot of potential," said Allofs.

"Even if the leap from China to the Bundesliga is a big one, we have every faith in him being able to manage it.

"Of course we are going to give him all the time he needs."

Wolves, who are on course to play in the Champions League next season, already have official accounts on Chinese social media channels Sina Weibo, Youku and WeChat and are set to launch the club's website in Chinese.

Bayern in their own league at the top

Bayern Munich are racing away with the Bundesliga again, surprising even coach Pep Guardiola. They are "in a league of their own," says Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl after his side lose 4-0 to the German Bundesliga champions.

Bayern Munich continue to run away at the top of the German Bundesliga after clinching the "autumn championship" with their 4-0 win at Augsburg on Saturday.

With two games to go to the winter break Bayern have made sure of top place at the half-way stage, when the German league goes into its winter break.

Bayern have now been top at the winter break - the so-called autumn champions - 20 times, far more than any other team, and all but three times have gone on to win the league title.

"Bayern are in a league of their own, we can all agree on that. They have so much quality, so it's an absolutely deserved win," Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl said.

"Bayern are an unbelievable team who play at such high pace," said Augsburg general manager Stefan Reuter, a Bayern player between 1988 and 1991.

Last season, Augsburg - third in the table before the game - had ended Bayern's run of 53 league games without defeat.

But this time there was no stopping coach Pep Guardiola's side who stepped up a gear after a goalless first half, winning with two goals from Arjen Robben and one each from Robert Lewandowski and Medhi Benatia.

Undefeated Bayern have moved to 39 points from 15 games, with 12 victories and three draws. Second-placed Wolfsburg, who were to play visiting Paderborn Sunday, are 10 points adrift.

At the same stage last season, Bayern even had two points more, but the gap was only four points over Bayer Leverkusen. This season it is hard to see anyone preventing Bayern securing a third successive league title and a 25th in all.

Guardiola is particularly pleased with the way his side has developed after last term's record-breaking season. There has been no trace of complacency or loss of form from international players following the World Cup.

"I'm constantly surprised by the mentality of this group of players who've won everything there is to win already," Guardiola said.

"We have two more games (until the winter break) and we'll try and win them both."

Lewandowski, who has added to Bayern's attacking threat after moving pre-season from Borussia Dortmund, epitomised a winning mentality by saying: "The autumn championship means nothing, we have to be first at the end of the season. There are plenty of games still to go."

Bayern have also been boosted by the return after injury of midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and the form of Dutch winger Arjen Robben.

Robben's brace took his goal tally to eight this season and to 64 in 116 games for Bayern. It was the 11th time he has scored twice in a Bundesliga match.

"Arjen is the best field player in the world," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.

Next up for Bayern is a home game on Tuesday against struggling Freiburg before a visit on Friday evening to Mainz for their last game of the year.

While Bayern continue to fly high, Borussia Dortmund - the team expected to be their chief challenger - are back in the dumps after a 1-0 defeat at Hertha Berlin.

Juergen Klopp's side are now third last on 14 points after their ninth defeat in the league, and are just a point off bottom side VfB Stuttgart.

"We weren't determined enough, didn't get behind the last line and didn't have attempts at goal," Klopp said.

"We enjoyed possession but couldn't carve open any real chances. This was the wrong path."

Dortmund now greet Wolfsburg on Wednesday before a trip to Werder Bremen on Saturday.

"Our mission is to dramatically improve our situation for the second half of the season. We are also counting on the atmosphere at Signal Iduna Park," Klopp said.

"If at some stage in the future we'll be able to get out of this slump, the bond between all those involved will be even stronger than it already is. The fans have done nothing wrong, which I can't really say about us.