Spain

The top three teams in La Liga all enjoyed victories in week 23 of the season, meaning that Real Madrid still lead second-placed Valencia by two points. Champions Madrid maintained their 100 per cent home record by overcoming an out of sorts Malaga 2-1 on Saturday thanks to goals either side of the break from first division top scorer Ronaldo and compatriot Roberto Carlos.

And Valencia beat ten-man Atletico Madrid 3-0 at home, with striker Mista grabbing a brace in between Vicente’s individual effort, while yesterday third-in-the-table Deportivo La Coruña won 2-0 at lowly Albacete with ten men, Lionel Scaloni and Alberto Luque’s second-half strikes keeping the Galicians nine points off top spot.

Meanwhile, Barcelona moved above Atletico and into the final Champions League position with a 2-1 win at seventh-in-the-table Osasuna on Sunday in a match that saw both teams reduced to ten men. The Catalans’ third victory on the spin arrived vis goals in each half from South American striking duo Javier Saviola and Ronaldinho, who struck a sensational 77th-minute winner.

Player of the weekend: Savo Milosevic: The Serbia and Montenegro international’s two goals yesterday gave Celta Vigo coach Radomir Antic his first win since taking over at the end of January, 2-1 against Villarreal, a result that keeps Arsenal’s opponents in this month’s Champions League a point clear of the relegation zone.

Top of the Table

 

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

Pts

Real Madrid

23

16

4

3

45

24

52

Valencia

23

15

5

3

45

16

50

Deportivo

23

14

4

5

39

17

46

Barcelona

23

10

6

7

35

27

37

Athletic Bilbao

23

10

6

7

30

27

36



Italy

Ten-man AC Milan saw off the challenge of relegation-threatened Perugia 2-1 at San Siro yesterday to remain five points clear of second-placed Roma, who thrashed third-in-the-table Juventus 4-0 in the capital in last night’s televised match, a result that leaves the champions eight points off the top.

Former Leeds midfielder Olivier Dacourt put Fabio Capello’s side in front after 13 minutes, before skipper Francesco Totti doubled the home team’s lead with a 53rd-minute penalty. And, following Paolo Montero’s dismissal, young Italy international Antonio Cassano netted two late goals, while visiting striker David Trezeguet also saw his spot kick 16 minutes from time saved by the legs of Ivan Pelizzoli.

The European champions’ seventh straight league win was secured thanks to late goals from Rui Costa and an Andrea Pirlo penalty, meaning that their visitors are still to win in Serie A this season at the 19th time of asking. Also in action yesterday were Parma and Lazio, the Romans’ 3-0 win lifting them over their hosts in the table and into fifth.

Argentina international Claudio Lopez netted a brace, including a penalty, with strike partner Bernardo Corradi also getting on the scoresheet and as a result, the visitors are now level on points with fourth-in-the-table Internazionale, who were held 2-2 at in-form Sampdoria yesterday, although below them on goal difference.

Despite the returning Christian Vieri scoring twice either side of the break, a Cristiano Doni penalty five minutes from time left Alberto Zaccheroni’s side 15 points behind city-rivals Milan at the top of the table, and left to fight with Lazio and Parma for the one remaining Champions League berth for next season.

Player of the weekend: Hidetoshi Nakata: The Japan international playmaker has recently been loaned out to mid-table Bolonga from Parma and is already making an impact at his new employers, scoring one and creating another in his side’s 3-1 win at rivals Udinese on Saturday.

Top of the Table

 

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

Pts

Milan

20

16

3

1

39

10

51

Roma

20

14

4

2

41

9

46

Juventus

20

13

4

3

42

25

43

Internazionale

20

10

6

4

35

15

36

Lazio

20

11

3

6

30

22

36



Germany

Leaders Werder Bremen extended their advantage at the top of the Bundesliga to six points following a 2-1 win with ten men at struggling Borussia Mönchengladbach. Meanwhile second-placed Bayern München beat mid-table Hannover 96 3-1 in Bavaria yesterday to move a point above previous pace-setters Stuttgart, who were surprisingly beaten 1-0 at last-placed Hertha Berlin. 

Goals from ex-Bayer Leverkusen duo Michael Ballack and Zé Roberto put the champions on the road to three points, which were confirmed by Roy Makaay’s late strike in a contest that saw both sides reduced to ten men, but third-in-the-table Stuttgart were undone by former Bolton Wanderers striker Fredi Bobic’s 87th-minute header.

Other results in the first division saw fourth-placed Leverkusen lose 2-1 at struggling Eintracht Frankfurt, while Borussia Dortmund won 4-2 at VfL Wolfsburg, ex-Manchester City midfielder Niclas Jensen and Jan Koller in the first period, followed by goals from Torsten Frings and Lars Ricken in the second, moving the visitors into sixth in the table above Schalke, who were held to a goalless draw at home by 1860 München.

Player of the weekend: Frank Baumann: The Bremen skipper’s injury-time winner at Mönchengladbach on Saturday extended the Bundesliga leaders’ advantage at the top to six points after week 19 of the season.

Top of the Table

 

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

Pts

Werder Bremen

19

14

3

2

51

21

45

Bayern Munich

19

11

6

2

44

21

39

VfB Stuttgart

19

10

5

3

26

8

38

Bayer Leverkusen

19

10

5

4

35

20

35

VfL Bochum

19

8

6

5

32

23

30



France

Monaco moved seven points clear at the top of Ligue 1 on Saturday after a comfortable 2-0 win at lowly Metz, while champions Lyon were surprisingly beaten 1-0 at home by relegation-threatened Guingamp. Goals in each half from Jaroslav Plasil and Gael Givet were enough to give Didier Deschamps’s men the points and now in second place above Lyon on goal difference in Le Championnat standings are Auxerre, whose 2-0 victory at Rennes, following strikes from Philippe Mexes and Bonaventure Kalou, was their fourth in a row in the League.

And, fourth-in-the-table Paris St Germain moved to within just a point of Auxerre and Lyon thanks to a resounding 6-1 win over struggling Montpellier in the capital, where both Pedro Pauleta and Danijel Ljuboja netted braces.

Also playing on Saturday were sixth-placed Marseille, who overcame Ajaccio 2-1 on the South Coast thanks to a last-minute goal from on loan Fulham striker Steve Marlet, a win that leaves the home team only four points off second, while on Friday Bordeaux’s recent revival continued when they inflicted a first loss since early December on League Cup finalists Nantes.

Player of the weekend: Nisa Saveljic: The Guingamp player’s final-minute winner at Lyon on Saturday not only caused one of the biggest upsets in Ligue 1 this season, but it also moved the struggling team level on points with Metz in their fight to avoid the drop.

Top of the Table

 

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

Pts

Monaco

23

15

6

2

39

16

51

Auxerre

23

14

2

7

41

18

44

Lyon

23

13

5

5

39

18

44

Paris St Germain

23

12

7

4

33

18

43

Sochaux

23

12

5

6

34

26

41