Drogba opens his Galatasaray account
We round up the best of the footballing action across selected leagues in Europe which includes a debut goal for Galatasaray's Didier Drogba.
Turkish Super Lig
Didier Drogba wasted no time announcing his arrival in Turkish football as he struck the opening goal in Galatasaray's 2-1 win at Akhisar Belediye on Friday.
The former Marseille and Chelsea striker, who joined Gala this month following an ill-fated spell at Shanghai Shenhua, came on for his debut as a 63rd-minute substitute and needed just five minutes to break the deadlock with a well-placed header.
Two minutes later Drogba was involved again as his shot was saved but Burak Yilmaz followed up to make it 2-0 to Galatasaray, who also included Holland star Wesley Sneijder in their line-up following his January arrival.
Sertan Vardar pulled a goal back for bottom side Akhisar in the 85th minute but Galatasaray held on for their 12th win of the campaign.
The arrival of Drogba and Sneijder has rightly been viewed as a formidable statement of intent by Galatasaray, who have gone from strength to strength since winning the league title last season.
Friday's win gives the Istanbul club an eight-point lead over Besiktas at the Super Lig summit ahead of the remaining weekend fixtures.
Dutch Eredivisie
VVV-Venlo boosted their hopes of Eredivisie survival on Friday evening with a 2-1 win at Europa League hopefuls NEC Nijmegen.
Nick van der Velden had given the seventh-placed hosts a sixth-minute lead, but Uche Nwofor got the second-bottom visitors back on level terms just five minutes later.
NEC defender Nathaniel Will was then sent off in the 65th minute for a foul on Brian Linssen, and VVV took only seven minutes to capitalise on their man advantage as Linssen netted the winner.
The home team pushed for an equaliser but it was VVV who looked the more dangerous and the more likely to add to the scoring on the counter-attack, with Linssen and substitute Ricky van Haaren both denied by the woodwork in the closing stages.
Belgian Jupiler League
Anderlecht took advantage of their early start to the weekend to move 11 points clear in the Jupiler League standings with a 2-0 victory over Charleroi.
Dieumerci Mbokani put them ahead after 14 minutes and Massimo Bruno doubled the lead moments before half-time to secure the victory.
The result sees Anderlecht extend their lead, with second-placed Zulte-Waregem facing Waasland-Beveren on Saturday.
Portuguese Primeira Liga
Champions Porto moved three points clear of Benfica at the Portuguese Liga summit on Friday evening thanks to a 2-0 victory at second-bottom Beira Mar.
Christian Atsu put the visitors ahead just after the half-hour mark and Jackson Martinez doubled their advantage in the 73rd minute.
Porto had defender Eliaquim Mangala sent off two minutes from time for a foul on substitute Miguel Bura, but there was not enough time for the hosts to make the extra man count.
Scottish Premier League
Niall McGinn's excellent 17th goal of the season was enough to guide Aberdeen to a 1-0 victory over Clydesdale Bank Premier League basement boys Dundee.
The home side made heavy work of their win on a Pittodrie pitch showing the scars of a hard winter.
They even had to play for the last 15 minutes with only 10 men, Isaac Osbourne going off injured after manager Craig Brown had made his third substitution.
French Ligue 1
Lille boosted their hopes of a Europa League spot - and dented Rennes' European ambitions - with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at the Grand Stade Lille Metropole on Friday evening.
Nice defender Chris Mavinga put through his own net after 24 minutes to hand the hosts the initiative, with Dimitri Payet's goal just after the hour mark clinching the three points for LOSC.
The result lifted Rudi Garcia's side to eighth in the Ligue 1 standings - three points behind their fifth-placed opponents.