Eto’o puts Barca 14 points clear

ARSENAL fans may take some solace from last Friday night’s game in La Liga, when their Champions League opponents this week were less than impressive.

However, they were up against many people’s fancies for the Champions League itself - Barcelona.

An early Samuel Eto’o strike gave the Catalans a 1-0 victory over Villarreal and moved them another step closer towards the defence of their Primera Liga title. The Cameroon striker scored in the 11th minute as Barca extended their lead over nearest challengers Valencia and Real Madrid to 14 points.

Although their rivals have a game in hand, the Catalan giants - who have just five matches left in the league - look odds-on to secure the title.

More pertinently for Gunners fans, Villarreal’s Argentine defender Gonzalo Rodriguez is out for the rest of the season after snapping ankle ligaments, and is also unlikely to make the World Cup. Villarreal will have to field a makeshift back four against Arsenal as fellow central defender Juan Manuel Pena of Bolivia was also injured against Barcelona, suffering a left knee strain.

The other side left in the Champions League, AC Milan, had a happier Easter courtesy of a derby win over city rivals Inter. Kaladze’s 70th-minute goal on Good Friday means the Rossoneri are now within five points of Juventus in Serie A - the Turn side slipped up against Cagliari on Saturday, when they were 1-0 down with time running out; Fabio Cannavaro equalised five minutes into injury time to keep Juventus ahead of the pack.

The most significant other event in Serie A was Lazio’s win over Livorno - the game was marred by thousands of Lazio fans chanting “Duce, Duce”, the name Benito Mussolini gave himself. The club’s fans are notoriously right-wing in their politics, while Livorno supporters are widely assumed to be left-leaning.

In France, Lille’s 3-2 triumph over second-placed Bordeaux handed Gerard Houllier’s Lyon a fifth successive Ligue 1 title. Bordeaux needed to secure all three points to delay the inevitable, but Lille proved too strong for them when it mattered, and thus gave the title to Lyon.

In Germany on Saturday, Bayern Munich were made to sweat by Arminia Bielefeld, but they kept pursuers Hamburg at arm’s length with a 2-0 win - it means that with four matches to play, Bayern still lead Hamburg by four points.

In Holland, Eredivisie champions PSV enjoyed a 6-2 win over NAC Breda, while FC Groningen claimed the final play-off berth for the second Champions League qualifying place with a 1-1 draw against FC Twente.