Ronaldinho magic keeps Barca tops
Led by the inspirational Ronaldinho, Barca who were defeated by Real Madrid last Sunday, had a 2-0 win over Getafe at the Nou Camp opening a six-point gap over their Bernabeu rivals.
Ronaldinho produced a stunning free kick to opening the scoring on the half hour. He then passed for Ludovic Giuly to secure the points on 55 minutes.
Real though continue to snap at Barca’s heels after Ronaldo produced a classy double in a 2-0 win at Levante last night. The former world player of the year grabbed his first when he smashed in from six metres shortly before the break and took his total for the season to 15 when he scored a superb solo effort late in the second.
Real also had keeper Iker Casillas to thank with the international keeper denying Alberto Rivera, Pablo Pinillos and Vladimir Manchev in an incredible performance.
Earlier Villarreal dropped their first points at home in nine matches when they were held to a 0-0 draw by fellow high-flyers Real Betis.
The result left Villarreal fourth in the table, level on 52 points with Sevilla but with a game in hand. Sevilla missed the chance to put pressure on their rivals for a Champions League place when they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to struggling Osasuna. Striker Richard Morales grabbed the winner with a classy volley to allow the Navarrans ease their relegation worries.
Atletico Madrid and Espanyol failed to capitalise on Sevilla’s slip-up as they drew 0-0 at the Calderon in a game marred by another incident of racist behaviour by the home side’s radical fans who threw a banana at keeper Carlos Kameni who produced two tremendous saves late in the game.
Deportivo Coruna lost 1-0 at mid-table Real Sociedad, midfielder Gari Uranga scoring the winner with a spectacular diving header.
Juventus moved three points clear at the top of Serie A after AC Milan fell to a shock 2-1 defeat at lowly Siena while a Zlatan Ibrahimovic hat-trick helped Fabio Capello’s side to a 5-2 win over Lecce.
Juventus have 70 points with AC Milan on 67 and third-placed Inter Milan, who beat Cagliari 2-0, are 11 points behind their city rivals.
Milan had an effort from Andriy Shevchenko ruled out in the first half but went ahead in the 63rd minute through Hernan Crespo. Siena drew level in the 71st when former Italy striker Enrico Chiesa fired home. Milan were caught out on the break when Giovanni Pasquale burst down the left flank and picked out Cozza who headed home.
Juve could ill-afford another setback after their elimination from Europe but nerves were jangling when Lecce went in front through Mirko Vucinic after just seven minutes.
Ghanaian midfielder Stephen Appia hit an equaliser nine minutes later - a cool, chipped finish after springing the defence. Two goals from Ibrahimovic before the break, ensured Juve were cruising in the second half. Pavel Nedved made it 4-1 with a great strike from outside the area in the 56th minute and Ibrahimovic got his hat-trick with eight minutes left.
Samuele Dalla Bona’s 89th minute penalty was nothing more than a consolation for Lecce.
Goals from Inter’s Brazilian Ze Maria and Nigerian Obafemi Martins against Cagliari ensured they remained on course for third place and a Champions League qualifying spot. Sampdoria moved into fourth place in Serie A on Saturday after a controversial injury time penalty from Francesco Flachi gave them a 1-0 win over rivals Palermo.
Samp move above Udinese in the battle for the fourth Champions League slot after the north-eastern side suffered a 1-0 defeat at Messina. AS Roma’s poor season continued with a 2-1 defeat at home to Reggina.
In Germany, Owen Hargreaves struck in the final minute to give Bayern Munich a 1-0 win at Hanover 96 on Saturday and send the Bavarians six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with five games left to play.
With Schalke 04 and VfB Stuttgart both losing, the England international’s right-foot blast from the edge of the area took a tired looking Bayern a big step towards a 19th German title. With 29 games played in the 34-match season, Bayern lead the standings with 62 points, followed by Schalke on 56 and Stuttgart on 54.
Schalke took an early lead at home to Hamburg with a Gerald Asamoah goal but Raphael Wicky headed the visitors back level and an 87th minute own goal from Mladen Krstajic consigned them to a 2-1 defeat.
VfB Stuttgart’s hopes of challenging for the title also took a big blow when they went down 2-1 away to relegation candidates Hansa Rostock.
In Portugal, Benfica’s hopes of winning their first title for 11 years suffered a blow with an embarrassing 1-1 home draw to Uniao Leiria on Saturday.
Benfica are now four points clear at the top of the Premier League from Braga and Sporting, who have a game in hand, and Porto but the gap could be closed to just a point by Monday.
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