ROME (AP)—Inter Milan beat Torino 1-0 Sunday and moved six points clear of AS Roma at the top of Serie A with only four rounds remaining.
If Inter beats Cagliari next week, the Nerazzurri can clinch the title with a win over city rival AC Milan on May 4.
“We’re on the right road,” Inter midfielder Dejan Stankovic said. “But we’ve got to remain focused and fight until it’s over.”
Julio Ricardo Cruz scored with a diving header off a corner in the 30th minute for his first league goal since the Milan derby on Dec. 23.
Also, Alessandro Del Piero and Kaka scored hat tricks in wins for Juventus and Milan, respectively.ADVERTISEMENT
Del Piero tallied the final three goals in Juve’s 4-0 rout of Atalanta, and Kaka converted two penalties then added another goal in Milan’s 5-1 win over Reggina.
Still trying to secure a place on Italy’s European Championship squad, Del Piero was asked if he thought Azzurri coach Roberto Donadoni would phone him after the match.
“I don’t think so. We haven’t spoken lately,” Del Piero said. “The important thing is that he calls me at the right moment. Then, if it doesn’t happen, life goes on the same.”
Sampdoria shut out Udinese 3-0 with two goals from Claudio Bellucci. Milan and Sampdoria are still trying to catch fourth-place Fiorentina in the race for the final Champions League berth.
Inter leads with 78 points. Roma is next with 72, Juventus has 67 and Fiorentina 59. Milan and Sampdoria are tied for fifth with 55 each.
MADRID, Spain (AP)—Real Madrid extended its lead in the Spanish league to 10 points by beating Racing Santander 2-0.
There are five rounds remaining.
“It still not all over,” Madrid coach Bernd Schuster said. “This is only another step that brings us closer to the title.”
Raul Gonzalez used a delicate touch from inside the area to slice Robinho’s left cross under Racing goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez in the 14th minute.
Substitute Javier Balboa drew three defenders to the middle 3 minutes into injury time before passing to substitute Gonzalo Higuain, whose spinning shot from the left carried under Rodriguez.
Madrid moved to 72 points in its race to win a record 31st league trophy. Villarreal is second with 62 points after beating Valladolid 2-0. FC Barcelona is third with 61.
LONDON (AP)—Michael Owen scored twice in the first half to continue his return to form and give Newcastle a 2-0 win over local rival Sunderland in the English Premier League.
Owen, who is trying to force his way into England coach Fabio Capello’s plans, scored with a fourth-minute header and penalty kick just before halftime to take his tally to six goals in seven games and 15 for the season.
“It’s great times at the minute,” Owen said. “I’ve played 15 or 20 games on the spin without getting injured and it’s lovely being at the club.”
Newcastle’s six-match unbeaten run has lifted it to 42 points, behind 11th-place Tottenham only on goal difference, and put it clear of relegation. Sunderland is six points back in 15th, but should survive since it is five points above the relegation zone with four rounds to play.
In other games, Aston Villa routed Birmingham 5-1 to leave its city rival closer to demotion, and Manchester City beat Portsmouth 3-1.
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP)—PSV Eindhoven won its fourth straight Dutch league title by beating Vitesse Arnhem 1-0.
Jefferson Farfan set up Danko Lazovic for the game’s only goal in the 46th to give PSV its 21st Eredivisie title—eight fewer than Ajax, which finished second in the standings despite beating Heracles Almelo 5-1.
PSV, which earned a spot in the group stage of next season’s Champions League, finished with 72 points, three ahead of Ajax.
Ajax, along with NAC Breda (63), FC Twente (62) and SC Heerenveen (60), meet in playoffs to decide who gets the Netherlands’ remaining Champions League berth.
BERLIN (AP)—Jan Koller scored a late goal to give FC Nuremberg a 1-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg and improve its chances of staying in Germany’s Bundesliga.
The Czech Republic forward beat defender Alexander Madlung to a long pass and rifled a rising shot under the crossbar in the 79th minute of a game rescheduled from last week because of a flooded field.
Nuremberg, last year’s German Cup champion, rose one spot from last place and within two points of moving out of the relegation zone with five rounds left in the season.
PARIS (AP)—Midfielder Johan Micoud scored in injury time for Bordeaux to beat Toulouse 1-0 and keep the pressure on French league leader Lyon.
Substitute Gabriel Obertan broke down the right and pulled the ball back to Micoud, who held off defender Paulo Cesar before beating goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez with a confident finish in the third minute of injury time.
With four rounds remaining, second-placed Bordeaux was four points behind six-time defending champion Lyon, which beat Strasbourg 2-1 on Saturday.
Meanwhile, an angry mob of Paris Saint-Germain fans vandalized the club’s training ground early Sunday, spraying slogans on the walls and damaging a car, which French reports said belonged to PSG defender Sylvain Armand. The vandalism was thought to be in response to PSG’s 3-0 loss to Caen on Saturday, which dropped the club to 18th place.
LIEGE, Belgium (AP)—Standard Liege won its first Belgian league championship in 26 years when it beat defending champion Anderlecht 2-0 with Congo’s Dieumerci Mbokani scoring both goals.
The win gives Standard an insurmountable 10-point lead over Anderlecht and FC Brugge with three rounds to go.
Prime Minister Yves Leterme was among the 30,000 fans in the stands celebrating the title.
ATHENS, Greece (AP)—Olympiakos won its fourth straight Greek championship but could lose the title if a ruling by sport’s highest court goes against the Piraeus club.
Olympiakos beat Iraklis 3-1 in the last round to finish with 70 points from 30 games, while AEK was second with 68 points after defeating Asteras 2-0.
Last-place Apollon Kalamarias filed a complaint to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport to regain the four points it lost for fielding an ineligible player when it beat Olympiakos 1-0 on Feb. 3. If Apollon is successful, Olympiakos could lose three league points it was awarded in the decision by Greek sports authorities. CAS heard arguments in the dispute last week.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)—Rangers goalkeeper Neil Alexander saved two penalties to give his team a 4-3 shootout win over St. Johnstone and a place in the Scottish FA Cup final.
It was 0-0 after regulation then 1-1 after extra time. Alexander, in for injured regular goalie Allan McGregor, saved from Steven Milne and Jody Morris in the shootout to earn a place in the May 24 final against Queen of the South.
LISBON, Portugal (AP)—Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez scored in each half to lead FC Porto past Benfica 2-0 in the Portuguese league.
Lopez leads the league with 24 goals.
Porto, which already clinched its third straight championship two weekends ago, leads with 69 points. Guimaraes was second with 49, and Sporting stayed third at 46 after losing to last-placed Leiria 4-1. Benfica has only three matches left to make up the four points that separate it from Guimaraes, which holds the automatic qualifying spot for next season’s Champions League.
from?http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylt=AgD3b941zcqW1z2k71rwhlUmw7YF?slug=ap-eurordp&prov=ap&type=lgns
My note?Milan fans ?love kaka?Come on!Come on!Come on!
Tags: ac milan, alessandro del piero, fiorentina, inter milan, league goal, madrid spain
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