If there's one team that can stop the Kashima Antlers juggernaut from steam-rolling to a third successive J. League title, it's Kawasaki Frontale. The Kanagawa side geared up for an epic showdown with Kashima on Sunday by beating Gamba Osaka 1-0 at Todoroki Stadium in a rescheduled Round 10 fixture overnight. Youngster Yuji Yabu scored the only goal of the game, setting up a highly anticipated clash with runaway league leaders Kashima in four days time. Kawasaki can cut the deficit at the top of standings to just five points with a win over Kashima, but Gamba's title hopes look all but over after they lost to Kawasaki for the second time in a week.

You have to think that Gary van Egmond had endured enough turmoil in his 32-month stint at the helm of the Newcastle Jets. To some, it was no huge surprise when Van Egmond, an affable 44-year-old and former A-League coach of the year, this week handed in his resignation to outspoken Jets owner Con Constantine. Any brownie points his side had earned from reaching the knockout phase of the AFC Champions League had evaporated in Pohang as the Steelers ran out 6-0 victors last week, eliminating them from the competition. Such a heavy defeat would often be enough to prompt many trigger-happy chairmen to act or noncommittal managers to walk away - notwithstanding Van Egmond had recently penned a contract extension tying him to the Jets until 2013.

It's all change at Old Trafford as one winger leaves and another is brought in to take his place. As Cristiano Ronaldo completed his world record £80million transfer to Real Madrid, Sir Alex Ferguson wasted no time licking his wounds and has instead snapped up Ecuador star Antonio Valencia.  The former Wigan Athletic winger put pen to paper on a four-year deal on Tuesday night, in a transfer believed to have cost United around £16million. Valencia had been linked with a move to Old Trafford for the last 12 months and Ferguson said: “Antonio is a player we have admired for some time now, having spent the last two years in the Premier League with Wigan.