Spain

Valencia closed the gap on Real Madrid at the top of the table to four points after week 28 of the season thanks to a 2-0 win at relegation-threatened Celta Vigo, while on Saturday the champions could only manage a 1-1 draw with Real Zaragoza.

In what was a dress rehearsal for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey final, Madrid took the lead after half-an-hour through Javier Portillo’s header, only for the visitors to draw level four minutes later, meaning that David Beckham and Co had dropped points in the capital for just the second time this season. Meanwhile last night, two strikes either side of half-time from Francisco Rufete left Raddy Antic’s Celta five points from safety.

Also in action yesterday were Barcelona, who moved two points ahead of Deportivo La Coruña in third place after a comfortable 2-0 win at bottom-of-the-table Murcia, who are now managed by John Toshack, while the Galicians went down 4-2 with ten men at struggling Real Mallorca. Frank Rijkaard's side won their eight straight La Liga match thanks to goals either side of the break from South American schemers Javier Saviola and Ronaldinho.

Player of the weekend: Samuel Eto'o. Mallorca’s Cameroon international striker turned in a man-of-the-match display yesterday as his side overcame high-flying Deportivo to register their first league win in seven matches, the islanders’ inspirational skipper netting the home team’s third from the spot, before creating a late fourth.

Top of the Table

 

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

Pts

Real Madrid

28

18

7

3

56

31

61

Valencia

28

17

6

5

52

20

57

Barcelona

28

15

7

6

47

32

52

Deportivo

28

15

5

8

45

27

50

Athletic Bilbao

28

11

8

9

35

35

41



Italy

AC Milan extended their lead at the top of Serie A to seven points last night when they won the Il Derby d’Italia 3-1 in Turin, while second-placed Roma drew a blank at struggling Reggina earlier in the day.

The European champions were indebted to an inspirational display from Clarence Seerdorf, who set up their 25th-minute opener for first division top scorer Andriy Shevchenko, before scoring twice himself in the second period.

Ciro Ferrara netted a late consolation for Juve, who remain third, now nine points off top spot with just nine matches of the season remaining.

Meanwhile, in the race for Italy’s fourth and final Champions League berth for next season, it’s a case of as you were, with both fourth-placed Lazio and fifth-in-the-table Parma being held at home. The Romans took an early two-goal lead against Udinese, in sixth, through strikers Roberto Muzzi and Simone Inzaghi, only to conceded a 93rd-minute equaliser.

And former Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford forward Benito Carbone opened the scoring for his new club Parma, who were also pegged back twice by Brescia to remain level on points with Lazio, but below them on goal difference and having played a game more. However, seventh-placed Internazionale failed to make up any ground on their rivals when they were also held at home by mid-table Chievo.

Player of the weekend: Roberto Baggio. The one-time World and European Footballer of the Year notched his 200th Serie A goal in Brescia’s 2-2 draw at Parma yesterday, 17 years after netting his first for Fiorentina against Napoli and so reaching the target he set himself at the start of the campaign before he hangs up his boots in the summer.

Top of the Table

 

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

Pts

Milan

25

20

4

1

50

15

64

Roma

25

17

6

2

55

11

57

Juventus

25

17

4

4

51

30

55

Lazio

24

12

5

7

35

25

41

Parma

25

11

8

6

37

34

41



Germany

Werder Bremen extended their lead over second-placed Bayern München to nine points on Saturday thanks to a narrow 3-2 home win over bottom-of-the-table Cologne, while the champions were surprisingly held 3-3 in Bavaria by mid-table Hansa Rostock.

Two Ailton goals, and one from ex-France international Johan Micoud, had sent Bremen in three up at the break, before their ten-man visitors responded with two second-half goals themselves to make for a tense finale.

Meanwhile at the Olympiastadion, the home team led 2-0 at half-time courtesy of strikes from Jens Jeremies and the in-form Roy Makaay, only for Bayern to find themselves trailing 3-2 with 14 minutes to go. But, Roy Makaay then grabbed his second from the spot to earn Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side a point.

Also playing on Saturday were Bayer Leverkusen, whose 4-2 home win over Wolfsburg kept them fifth in the table, seventh-placed Borussia Dortmund, who were held 2-2 at SC Freiburg and sixth-in-the-table Schakle, who went down 3-0 at lowly Eintracht Frankfurt.

Yesterday, Stuttgart closed the gap on Bayern in second to just three points with a 2-0 home win over ten-man 1860 München, increasing the visitor’s relegation worries in the process.

Player of the weekend: Ailton. Without their prolific Brazilian striker, one wonders whether Bremen would be leading the first division standings by such a huge margin after 24 games of the season – yet two more vital goals on the weekend for the Bundesliga’s leading marksman.

Top of the Table

 

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

Pts

Werder Bremen

24

18

4

2

59

23

58

Bayern Munich

24

14

7

3

53

26

49

VfB Stuttgart

24

13

7

4

31

10

46

VfL Bochum

24

11

8

5

38

25

41

Bayer Leverkusen

24

11

6

7

44

33

39



France

Monaco saw their lead at the top of Ligue 1 cut to just two points after being held to a goalless draw at fifth-placed Auxerre last night, while second-placed Lyon secured an impressive 2-1 win at high-flying Sochaux the day before.

The champions took an early lead through Giovane Elber, only for naturalised Tunisia international striker Santos to equalise after 28 minutes. But, Brazilian World Cup-winning defender Edmílson sealed the win for the visitors with a free kick shortly after.

Also in action on Saturday were third-in-the-table Paris-Saint Germain, whose slender 1-0 win at last-placed Le Mans, secured thanks to Danijel Ljuboja’s second-half strike, leaves the capital club only five points off top spot with ten games of the Le Championnat season to go.

And Marseille’s comprehensive 4-0 home win over ten-man Strasbourg keeps them sixth, with strikers Didier Drogba and Steve Marlet getting amongst the goalscorers.

Player of the weekend: Christophe Avrezac. His late winner against mid-table Bordeaux yesterday helped lift Toulouse out of the drop zone after week 28 of the first division season.

Top of the Table

 

Pld

W

D

L

GF

GA

Pts

Monaco

28

17

8

3

47

19

59

O Lyonnais

28

17

6

5

50

21

57

Paris St Germain

28

15

9

4

39

20

54

Sochaux

28

14

7

7

41

31

49

Auxerre

28

14

5

9

43

22

47