EUROPEAN FOOTBALL ROUND-UP
Park takes United to the top
EPL: Manchester United came from a goal down to climb back into top spot with a hard fought 2-1 victory over hapless Liverpool. Fernando Torres continued his fine goalscoring form since his return from injury heading Liverpool in front after five minutes only for Wayne Rooney and Ji-Sung Park to win it for United. Sir Alex Ferguson’s day got even better when El-Hadji Diouf’s goal rocked Chelsea’s title charge at Ewood Park. Chelsea were ahead as early as the sixth minute thanks to Drogba’s 22nd goal of the campaign and were cruising to victory before Diouf struck in the 70th minute earning his side a point.
Carlos Tevez handed Manchester City a deserved 2-1 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage to maintain his side Champions League ambitions. City went ahead through Santa Cruz with Tevez extending the lead before the half. Danny Murphy pulled one back for the Cottagers from the penalty spot. Arsenal remains poised to strike with any slip-ups from United or Chelsea. Goals from Denilson and Cesc Fabregas earned the Gunners a 2-0 win over local rivals West Ham who played half of the game with 10 men.
John Carew rescued a point for Aston Villa as his 82nd-minute goal earned his team a 2-2 draw with Wolves. A last-gasp Rodallega goal was the difference as Wigan edged Burnley 1-0. Everton chalked up their seventh successive league home victory with a 2-0 win over Bolton. Portsmouth staged what can be considered the comeback of the season to beat Hull City 3-2.
Pompey were 2-1 down with three minutes to go only for Jamie O’Hara to equalise and Kanu to score the winner. Tottenham put in a workman-like performance to beat Stoke City 2-1 and tighten their grip on fourth spot. Darren Bent got past the 20-goal barrier as he scored a brace to lead Sunderland to a 3-1 win over Birmingham.
Real retain home record
La Liga: Real Madrid came from a goal down to beat Sporting Gijon 3-1 and protect their 100 per cent home record in La Liga. The visitors went ahead in the 53rd minute through David Barral only for Madrid to score three goals in eleven minutes and capture all three points. Spanish internationals David Villa and Juan Mata fired Valencia into a 2-0 win over Almeria. Substitute Nabil Baha came off the bench and scored twice as Malaga defeated Villarreal 2-0. Racing Santander ended their five-match goal drought in impressive fashion beating Osasuna by three goals to one. Sevilla’s hope of a top four finish was dealt a blow by a Dani Osvaldo brace as Espanyol ran comfortable 2-0 winners. A Pedro Leon goal, four minutes from time, saw Getafe claim a point at Athletic Bilbao in a fiery encounter that saw both side reduced to ten men in a 2-2 draw.
Deportivo saw their hope of Europe slip away as they were beaten 2-0 by Valladolid. Xerez gave their chance of survival a boost with a 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Tenerife. Mallorca hit four past Atletico Madrid in their 4-1 victory to boost their chance of finishing in the top four after and impressive display of football. Lionel Messi continues to score with consummate ease as he bagged yet another hat-trick to lead Barcelona to a 4-2 win over Zaragoza.
The Argentine maestro completed his hat-trick in the 5th, 66th and 78th minute. Adrian Colunga got both consolation goals for the hosts.
Missed opportunity
Serie A: AC Milan missed their chance to go top of Serie A after Inter’s poor run of form with a 1-1 draw with Napoli. Hugo Campagnaro tapped the ball in an empty net to give Napoli the lead but Pippo Inzaghi got the equaliser for the hosts.
Sampdoria climbed into fifth after a narrow 1-0 victory over the struggling Juventus. Cassano’s 77th-minute stunner was to prove the difference between the two sides as Juventus failed to carve out any clear-cut opportunities. Chievo paid the price fro not taking their chances as Maxi Lopez scored a penalty to ensure a point for Catania in their 1-1 draw. Andrea Masiello scored five minutes from time to grab a point for Bari against Parma.
Relegation battlers Atalanta gave their fight for survival a boost with a 3-0 win over fellow relegation rivals Livorno. Mirko Vucinic struck a hat-trick for Roma against Udinese to keep his side firmly in the hunt for the Serie A title. He completed his hat-trick in the 82nd minute as Roma ran out 4-2 winners. Inter’s poor league form continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw with Palermo.
Diego Milito put Inter ahead in 11 minutes, but Edison Cavani replied for Palermo in the 24th minute. Lazio secured only their third away win of t he campaign with a 2-0 win over woeful Cagliari to move four points clear of the relegation zone. Tammaso Rocchi and Sergio Flocari won Lazio all three points.
Marcelo Larrondo rejuvenated Siena’s battle to avoid the drop as his goal earned his side a hard fought 1-0 victory over Bologna. Fiorentina defeated Genoa 3-0 to continue their push for a Champions League spot.
Bayern stunned
Bundesliga: Bayern Miroslav Klose’s early strike for Bayern Munich was reversed by a pair of late strikes from Frankfurt youngsters Juvhel Tsoumou and Martin Fenin. Bayern lost 2-1 and remains top of the league by a point. Neither Hoffenheim nor Nurnberg could find a winner as their game ended 0-0. Johannes Flum fifth minute strike was enough as Freiburg edged out Mainz 1-0. Ciprian Marica scored a brace as Stuttgart defeated Hannover 2-0.
Torsten Frings 81st minute strike gave Werder Bremen a 3-2 win over Bochum. Lucas Barrios scored two of his side’s three goals in Borussia Dortmund 3-0 victory over title hopefuls Bayer Leverkusen. Relegation battlers Hertha Berlin put in an inspired performance to trample defending champions Wolfsburg 5-1.
Theofanis Gekas had a hat-trick while Adrian Ramos scored a brace. Schalke missed their chance to go top as they could only manage a 2-2 draw with Hamburg. Ruud van Nistelrooy put Hamburg ahead but Kevin Kuranyi pull level. Ivan Rakitic put Schalke 2-1 up before Jonathan Pitroipa gave Hamburg a point.