Owen on the mark for Luxembourgo’s revitalised Madrid

MICHAEL OWEN was among the scorers as Real Madrid continued their recent La Liga resurgence with a 3-1 win over Zaragoza at the Bernabeu last night.

Owen, replaced Ronaldo midway through the second half, while new signing Thomas Gravesen made his Real debut minutes later.

The visitors opened the scoring after 20 minutes through David Villa but second placed Real refused to panic and replied with goals from González Blanco, Ronaldo and the England marksman.

Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o atoned for missing an early penalty by grabbing a late winner to give his side an agonising 1-0 win over 10-man Real Sociedad at the Nou Camp.

The Cameroon international fired in a difficult header after Mexican midfielder Rafael Marquez had flicked on a corner nine minutes from time, but if it had not been for some fantastic goalkeeping from Victor Valdes the Catalans would not have hung on for the win. Barca are seven points clear of Real on 45 points.

Valencia and Espanyol, third and fourth respectively at the start of the weekend, lost their chance to keep up the pressure on Barcelona and Real as both were held to away draws.

Reigning Spanish champions Valencia could only manage a 0-0 at Osasuna while Espanyol survived an onslaught at Athletic Bilbao to share the points with a 1-1 draw.

Real Betis kept alive their European hopes alive with a comfortable 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Real Mallorca, with both goals coming from Edu.

Villarreal added to the misery of plummeting Levante with a 4-2 win at the Valencia club, and last season’s second division champions have now gone nine wins without a win.

In Serie A, leaders Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw away to Cagliari last night. Former Chelsea hero Gianfranco Zola hit an 89th minute equaliser for the hosts after Emerson had give the Turin giants the lead on the hour mark.

Second-placed AC Milan are two points behind Juve after coming from behind to beat Udinese 3-1 yesterday.

Antonio Di Natale gave Udinese an early lead with a superb long-range strike before Andriy Shevchenko levelled the score with a tap-in just after the half hour mark for his 13th league goal of the season.

An own goal from Czech midfielder Marek Jankulovski gifted Milan a 2-1 lead before Brazilian Kaka’s solo effort ensured three valuable points.

The result capped a memorable day for Milan captain Paolo Maldini, who made his Serie A debut against the same opposition almost 20 years ago to the day. Udinese remain in third place, eight points behind AC Milan.

Palermo climbed to fifth behind Inter Milan after winning 3-1 at Lazio where Luca Toni netted a brace for the visiting Sicilians.

Palermo have 28 points, the same number as Sampdoria, who were held at home to Bologna.

Roma came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Chievo where Vincenzo Montella scored twice for the visitors, taking his league tally to 16, the best in Serie A.

Bottom club Atalanta were held to a 1-1 draw by fellow strugglers Siena, while Parma boosted their chances of surviving the drop with a last-gasp 2-1 victory at home to Lecce.

On Saturday, Inter Milan were held to a goalless draw at Reggina.

Meanwhile in France Lyon continued their good form with another win to maintain their stranglehold on the French title.

Paul Le Guen’s men needed to battle hard against a stubborn Metz side, and did not find a breakthrough until the final ten minutes, when Juninho and Bryan Bergougnoux scored to give Lyon the points.

Lille remain in second place after they registered a 3-1 win at Bordeaux, thanks to goals from Mathieu Debuchy, Philippe Brunel and Johan Audel, with Marouane Chamakh hitting a late consolation for the hosts.