It is not often Sir Alex Ferguson will watch a match knowing, man for man, that the opposition have better players. It happened at Wembley last May and most likely during the 6-1 defeat to Manchester City.

Read more:
Manchester United go into City tie looking a shadow of past teams: Matt Lawton

Munich – The opposition waits in vain for Borussia Dortmund to wilt under the pressure of being top for so long. On the contrary, in the wake of their pivotal 3-1 victory away to Bayern Munich, the Yellow-Blacks go public for the first time on their title ambitions.

Read more at www.bundesliga.de:
No stopping Dortmund in Munich either

Club Atlético de Madrid and Villarreal CF were among four top-flight clubs eliminated by lower-league opposition in Spain’s Copa del Rey and there was a surprise in the German Cup too.

Read the original here:
Cup shocks aplenty in Spain and Germany

Munich – FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund went through to the quarter finals by the skin of their teeth after narrowly defeating Bundesliga 2 opposition, while Greuther Fürth caused an upset away at 1. FC Nuremberg and 1899 Hoffenheim defeated FC Augsburg. The final will be held in the Berlin Olympiastadion on May 12th 2012.

Read more at www.bundesliga.de:
Beware of the underdog!

A number of La Liga coaches need improved results in the Copa del Rey to relieve pressure on them, with Gregorio Manzano, Juan Carlos Garrido and Javier Aguirre all needing wins against lower league opposition.

Read more:
Coaches eye Copa lifelines

Munich – Augsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach both made difficult work of lower league opposition in the second round of the DFB Pokal, while Fortuna Düsseldorf and Bochum secured their place in the third round with convincing wins.

Read more at www.bundesliga.de:
Gladbach survive penalties; Augsburg; Düsseldorf and Bochum go through