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Stories

Standard complaint

Having won the Premiership for the sixth time in eight seasons, are Manchester United in a (European) league of their own?

So, another stroll to the title for Manchester United with records broken in the process for the number of goals scored and the points margin ahead of second place. Is it all getting a bit too easy? The Sunday Times thinks so, suggesting they “are on the threshold of the sort of monopoly Rangers enjoy in Scotland”. The relative ease with which United won their sixth title in eight years has been contrasted with more closely contested championships elsewhere, with Lazio still pushing Juventus in Italy, Bayer Leverkusen leading Bayern Munich going into the final fortnight of the Bundesliga and as many as four teams with a realistic chance of winning the Spanish league with three games left.

January 1997

Wednesday 1 Another stumble for Liverpool, beaten by a Roberto di Matteo goal at Chelsea, prompting the first Gullitism of 1997: "We are a rough diamond that needs to be polished every day but it's beginning to have a nice shine." Arsenal close the gap to two points with a 2-0 home win over Middlesbrough, who drop into the bottom three after Blackburn and Forest win away at Everton and fast-sliding West Ham respectively. Man Utd, held at home by Villa, stay third but Newcastle are only a point behind them after beating Leeds 3-0.

Friday 3 Rangers all but wrap up their ninth successive Scottish League title with a 3-1 home win over Celtic, clinched with two late goals from Erik Bo Andersen, which stretches their lead to fourteen points. A judicial report into the Olympique Marseille corruption investigations alleges the club spent around £12 million in bribes to opposing players and officials and referees in European and domestic matches over a number of years. The club's former owner Bernard Tapie and ex French national team manager Michel Hidalgo are among 20 people to be charged with match-rigging.