SL Benfica were crowned ‘Christmas champions’ for the first time in 15 years despite drawing 0-0 at home against CD Nacional in their last Portuguese Liga game of the year on Monday.

With the teams in the top five positions all drawing in the 12th round of the 2008/9 season, Benfica lead with 26 points from 12 matches, two points ahead Leixões SC and FC Porto. Nacional, in fifth, had Alonso sent off in the 78th minute.”The players were brave tonight, making a big effort to win the match,” said Benfica coach Quique Sánchez Flores. “After a nervous first half, the performance in the second was enough to win the game. It was important for us to end the year in first place but we have room to improve. We have to keep up the good work.” The championship resumes on 4 January.

Lassana Diarra is ready to hit the ground running at Real Madrid CF after completing his estimated €20m move from Portsmouth FC on Monday.

The 23-year-old France midfielder has signed a contract running until summer 2013 after completing a medical at Madrid, continuing a career which took him from Le Havre AC to Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC before his switch last January to Portsmouth. “It is impossible to refuse an offer from Real Madrid,” Diarra said: “I feel capable. I have the abilities and I think Real Madrid is what I needed. I need to adapt to the Spanish game and do it quickly. I’ve played with big clubs, got good experience with the French national team, and I still want to improve.”

Diarra follows in the footsteps of another French defensive midfielder at Madrid, Claude Makelele, but played down comparisons with his former Chelsea FC team-mate. “It’s an honour to be compared to Makelele, but Makelele is Makelele and I am me,” Diarra said. “We have some things in common but I’m my own player. They compare me to him, but he came here when he was a little older – I’m younger.”

He could make his debut at home to Villarreal CF on 4 January as Madrid attempt to improve on their current Liga position of fifth, 12 points behind leaders FC Barcelona, under recently-appointed coach Juande Ramos. Madrid have been drawn against Liverpool FC in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round, and will host the first leg on 25 February before the tie concludes at Anfield on 10 March.

Not only did Arsenal FC manager Arsène Wenger see his side fail to gain ground on the top teams in the English Premier League with Sunday’s 1-1 home draw against Liverpool FC but he is likely to be without captain Cesc Fàbregas for an important series of fixtures.

Things were going Arsenal’s way when Robin van Persie gave them the lead midway through the first half. But three minutes before the interval Robbie Keane – formerly of the Gunners’ local rivals Tottenham Hotspur FC – equalised, Fàbregas did not emerge for the second period due to a knee injury and Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor was sent off for a second yellow card with 28 minutes left. The result keeps Arsenal in fifth place, eight points behind leaders Liverpool, who will lose that status if Chelsea FC win at Everton FC tonight.

With Arsenal travelling to third-placed Aston Villa FC on Boxing Day before playing Portsmouth FC two days later, Fàbregas’s problem was an immediate concern to Wenger, who suggested his absence could be between one and three weeks. “It is a medial knee ligament problem,” the Arsenal manager said. “I don’t know [how long he will be out for], it is difficult to assess. Of course it is a blow, you don’t want to lose a player like that but we have to cope with it.” However, Wenger is not writing off their championship chances. “The title is decided in May not December, so yes we can still win it,” he added.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez was absent from the game due to a recent operation to remove kidney stones but kept in touch by telephone as assistant Sammy Lee took charge. Lee, whose team are two points ahead of Chelsea after drawing four of their last five league games, said: “This is Liverpool and we look to take three points everywhere we go. The boys are disappointed but we have to accentuate the positives and we have got a good point at a very good club. Part of our disappointment is that we did not use our numerical advantage but credit to Arsenal, who worked hard when they were a man down.”

AS Roma captain Francesco Totti could be out of action for more than a month after scan confirmed that he damaged a muscle in his right thigh. during the 3-2 defeat at Calcio Catania yesterday.

Thigh problem
Totti was forced out after 31 minutes of Sunday’s 3-2 defeat at Calcio Catania, which ended a run of eight victories in all competitions, leaving the pitch holding the back of his thigh after trying a back-heel pass to Júlio Baptista. On Monday the forward underwent a scan which confirmed a strain.

Absence
He will not train for ten days and may not be available when Roma resume their Serie A campaign on 11 January against AC Milan, adding to a previous absence this term due to a knee problem, a blow as Totti has managed five goals in ten league games this term. However, the 32-year-old should return in plenty of time for the UEFA Champions League first knockout round tie against Arsenal FC on 24 February and 11 March.

UEFA WOMEN’S EURO 2009™ hosts Finland will begin a busy year of preparations for the finals with a trip to China next month for a four-team tournament involving the home nation, South Korea and New Zealand.

Absentees
The tournament will be played in Guangzhou from 10-14 January and Finland coach Michael Käld has named a strong squad with the only notable absentees Laura Österberg-Kalmari and Miia Niemi. Niemi is still suffering from a thigh injury sustained against Wales in November and Österberg-Kalmari will not travel for family reasons. Käld, who has added FC Honka Espoo coach Marko Saloranta to his technical team on a part-time basis, said: “We have a very interesting tournament ahead of us. It will also mark the beginning of our final preparations for the finals. We will be facing strong opponents in China and it will be a good opportunity to see where we stand at the moment.”

Fixtures
His team’s only other confirmed fixtures are in the 2009 Algarve Cup from 4-11 March, when they will compete in Group A against Sweden, Germany and China. Finland open UEFA WOMEN’S EURO 2009™ at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium on 23 August against Denmark before taking on the Netherlands and Ukraine in the same venue at four-day intervals.