Spain

Real Madrid extended their lead over second-placed Valencia at the top of the Primera División to eight points last night with a 4-2 win over struggling Celta Vigo in the capital, while Valencia went down to a surprise 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Espanyol earlier in the day.

The champions though were forced to come from behind after Sasa Ilic had given the visitors a shock 18th-minute lead, and it was not until the second period that they drew level thanks to Ronaldo’s close-range finish, the Brazilian’s 22nd goal of the season.

Luís Figo and Zinédine Zidane, who netted twice, added further strikes, before ex-Aston Villa forward Savo Milosevic grabbed a late consolation for the Galicians.

David Beckham set-up two of the goals and is becoming increasingly comfortable with life in Spain.

"I felt a bit more comfortable against Bayern Munich (in the Champions League) than in the last month," said the England skipper.

"I have had a couple of suspensions and I felt a lot better again in the game against Celta Vigo."

Meanwhile at the Montjuic, a Raul Tamudo double either side of half-time sent Valencia crashing to their second La Liga defeat in a row, and this despite Mista’s late header.

However, the game of week 26 came at the Riazor, where third-in-the-table Deportivo La Coruña lost out in a five-goal thriller to ten-man Barcelona, the Catalans’ sixth successive league win moving them to within four points of their hosts in fourth, while Depor are now nine points off top spot.

At the break, Barça led 3-0 following strikes from South American striking duo Ronaldinho, who scored twice, and Javier Saviola, but the home team stormed back in the second period thanks to two headed goals in five minutes from substitute Walter Pandiani and would have earned an unlikely point but for one of the misses of this, or any other season, from Alberto Luque late on.

Player of the weekend: Fernando Torres. Atlético Madrid’s young captain has only just returned from injury, but yesterday he scored a fantastic individual effort with the final kick of the game to help his team leave the island of Mallorca with all three points, and their first win in six games.

Italy

For the second week in a row, the top three all won in Serie A, meaning that AC Milan remain five points ahead of Roma with 23 games of the season gone.

The European champions recorded a hard-fought 1-0 win at the home of fourth-placed Lazio in last night’s televised encounter, ex-Chelsea midfielder Massimo Ambrosini with the winner 15minutes from time in a contest of few chances.

Earlier in the day, both Roma and Juventus, in second and third respectively, enjoyed important victories. The Romans responded to Alberto Gilardino’s 30th-minute chip to run out impressive 4-1 winners at fifth-in-the-table Parma thanks to goals from in-form striker Antonio Cassano, Emerson, skipper Francesco Totti and Mancini.

Meanwhile in Turin, the champions eased past last-placed Ancona 3-0 following first-half strikes from Mauro Camoranesi, Fabrizio Miccoli and captain Alessandro del Piero, a win that keeps the ‘Old Lady’ six points off the pace.

Also in action yesterday afternoon were Internazionale, whose 3-1 loss at San Siro to mid-table Brescia was the Milanese giants’ third straight league defeat of the season and leaves the ailing club out of the Champions League reckoning, languishing down in sixth place in the standings.

Despite leading at the break through Dejan Stankovic’s header, the home side then collapsed after their recent signing from Lazio was dismissed in the second period.

Player of the weekend: Andrea Caracciolo. The Brescia striker was on target twice yesterday as his team left Milan with an improbable 3-1 win that heaps yet more pressure on under fire Inter coach Alberto Zaccheroni, whose side have now lost twice in succession at home in the League.

Germany

Both pace-setters Werder Bremen and nearest challengers Bayern München enjoyed 2-0 home victories in week 22 of the Bundesliga season on Saturday afternoon, while third-placed Stuttgart’s goalless draw at home with high-flying Schalke all but ends their title hopes for the season, trailing the leaders by 12 points.

Bremen overcame sixth-in-the-table Borussia Dortmund courtesy of second-half strikes from Valérien Ismael and Ailton, the Brazilian’s 20th goal of the season keeping the striker at the head of the scoring charts in Germany, and the leaders within sight of their first title since 1993.

Meanwhile, the champions remain seven points off the top thanks to goals either side of the interval from in-form front man Roy Makaay and Bastian Schweinsteiger that were enough to see off Wolfsburg in Bavaria. However, fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen’s poor recent run continued when they lost 3-1 at Hamburg, who moved up to eight as a result.

Player of the weekend: Markus Schroth. His first-half brace helped struggling 1860 München to a crucial 3-1 win at bottom-of-the-table Cologne in Saturday’s relegation six-pointer, and as a result, the visitors have moved clear of the drop zone.

France

The leading duo in Ligue 1 were both held to 1-1 draws on the road on Saturday following European trips abroad in midweek, but third-placed Paris-Saint Germain were unable to close the gap at the top after also being held to a 1-1 draw at fifth-in-the-table Auxerre last night.

Didier Deschamps’s side needed a Gale Givet goal 20 minutes from time to rescue a point at struggling Toulose, while the champions were pegged back in their fixture at mid-table Lens having taken a first-half lead via creative midfield player Vikash Dhorasoo.

Meanwhile, despite falling behind to first division top scorer Djibril Cissé’s 18th goal of the season at the Abbé Deschamps, PSG still managed to maintain their 17-game unbeaten run thanks to a late strike, and Marseille remained sixth in the table after being held to a goalless draw at mid-table Nice in the South Coast derby.

Player of the weekend: Pierre-Alain Frau. The much-coveted France Under-21 international striker netted the winner in Sochaux’s 2-1 home win over Bastia yesterday, a result that leaves the first division high-flyers just three points behind Lyon in fourth after week 26 of the season. And this only three days after scoring twice in his team’s 2-2 home draw with Inter in the Uefa Cup.