Juve and Milan win as title race goes down to wire

JUVENTUS moved a step closer to the Serie A title as they beat Palermo but the race for the top spot will go to the final day as Milan won at Parma.

The Old Lady took a two-goal lead through Pavel Nedved and Zlatan Ibrahimovic but with just over half an hour left, Denis Godeas made for an anxious finale when he grabbed Palermo a lifeline.

Milan faced a tough task on their travels at Parma but came away with a 3-2 success. Goals from Kaka and Cafu gave Milan a comfortable half-time, lead only for Bernardo Corradi to net in the 53rd minute for Parma.

Clarence Seedorf retained Milan’s two-goal lead, leaving Corradi to end the scoring three minutes from time.

A late goal from Daniele Gastaldello earned a 1-1 draw for Siena at Inter Milan just a minute after Inter player Nicolas Burdisso had been dismissed. Julio Cruz had earlier given Inter the lead.

Fiorentina look likely to secure the fourth Champions League spot after thrashing Reggina 5-2. Damiano Tommasi’s goal earned Roma a 1-0 win over relegated Treviso and they could still pip Fiorentina to fourth place if the Viola slip up in their last match.

In Spain, Zinedine Zidane was on target for Real Madrid in his final home game as Real shared six goals with Villarreal at the Bernabeu. Julio Baptista volleyed emphatically to give Real the lead in the 22nd minute but the scores were level when Alvaro Mejia put through his own net just eight minutes later.

The Champions League semi-finalists then took the lead in the 40th minute through Diego Forlan. Zinedine Zidane, in his last home match on home soil for Real, levelled on 67 minutes but six minutes from time the match took another twist to put Villarreal very much in the driving seat.

Sergio Ramos deliberately handled in the area to receive a straight red card and gift the visitors a penalty which was duly converted by Forlan. But Baptista was not to be denied and two minutes later, he hauled Real level.

Earlier in the day, a late turnaround from Racing Santander severely dented Osasuna’s UEFA Champions League aspirations as the visitors slipped to a 2-1 defeat late on.

Barcelona celebrated their second consecutive Spanish title in front of their own fans with a 2-0 win over Espanyol which left their city rivals in serious danger of relegation.

Barca were confirmed as Primera Liga winners in midweek, but it is a different situation for Espanyol, who are just two points above the drop zone and will be hoping now that other results go their way.

Luck was against Espanyol when they went behind midway through the first half to a Daniel Jarque own goal and Ronaldinho made Barca’s win comfortable with a second-half strike.

Valencia endured a frustrating 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid, which may prove costly in the race for an automatic Champions League berth.

David Villa’s penalty gave the hosts a promising start, but their lead lasted just nine minutes before Atletico grabbed a share of the spoils with a Maxi Rodriguez strike.

Sevilla climbed into fifth place and clinched a place in next season’s UEFA Cup with a 2-0 triumph at Malaga.

Renato scored in the 18th minute for the visitors against relegated Malaga with Fernando Sales making sure of the points in injury time.

The Andalusian outfit can now focus firmly on their biggest game of the year, the UEFA Cup final against Middlesbrough on Wednesday.

In Germany, Bayern Munich have been crowned champions of Germany with a game to spare. Bayern’s 1-1 draw at Kaiserslautern was enough for the Bavarian giants to defend their title as their closest pursuers slipped up.

Hamburg’s 4-2 defeat at Hertha Berlin ensured the championship race did not go to the final week of the season.

Bayern’s title success means they are the first club in German history to win back-to-back league and cup doubles.

In Holland, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored an injury-time winner as Ajax claimed the Gatorade Cup to deny Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven the domestic double.