Barca cruised to El Clasico win
EPL: Manchester United missed the chance to leapfrog Chelsea at the top of the Premier League as they were held to a 0-0 draw against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. Manchester City tightened their grip on fourth place by defeating Birmingham 5-1. Emmanuel Adebayor and defender Nedum Onuoha both scored braces. Liverpool’s clash with fellow Europa League semi-finalists Fulham ended in a stalemate. Wolves inched closer to securing their top-flight survival by playing out a goalless draw at home with Stoke. Graham Alexander scored two penalties as Burnley came from behind to claim their first away win of the season beating Hull 4-1. Brazilian striker Ilan handed relegation threatened-West Ham United a lifeline as he scored the only goal against Sunderland edging them four points clear of the relegation zone.
FA Cup: Chelsea reached the final of the FA Cup after defeating Aston Villa 3-0 in the semi-final. Didier Drogba gave the Blues the lead and Florent Malouda and Frank Lampard sealed the victory with two late goals. Portsmouth defied the odds and set a FA Cup final date with Chelsea after upsetting Tottenham 2-0 in extra-time. Frederic Piquionne and Kevin-Prince Boateng scored the goals.
Barca cruised to El Clasico win
La Liga: Seen as a potential title decider, the latest edition of El Clasico saw Barca put in a commanding performance and cruised to a 2-0 win over Real Madrid. Goals from Lionel Messi and young Pedro sealed a fine away win and a three-point La Liga lead over their rivals. Sevilla tightened their grip on fourth place by coming from behind to beat struggling Malaga 2-1 with Lolo striking the winner five minutes from time. Diego Godin fired the Yellow Submarines to a 1-0 victory over Sporting Gijon extending Villarreal’s unbeaten run to four games. Getafe were also narrow 1-0 winners over relegation battlers Xerez. Tenerife and Real Valladolid both remain in the relegation zone as they played to a goalless draw. Ten-man Osasuna took a giant step towards safety after easing 2-0 past local rivals Real Zaragoza whose own fight to secure survival suffered a setback. Toni Moral struck a late equaliser to boost Racing Santander’s hopes of avoiding the drop and put a dent in Deportivo’s fading European dreams. The game ended 1-1. Athletic Bilbao boosted their slim chance of Champions League football next season with an emphatic 4-1 win over Almeria. Espanyol eased their fears of relegation by defeating Atletico Madrid 3-0. Mallorca kept alive their hopes of playing Champions League football next season with a 3-1 win over third place Valencia.
Top of the World
Serie A: AS Roma defeated Atalanta 2-1 to top Serie A for the first time since 2007. The Romans took advantage of Inter’s 2-2 draw at Fiorentina to leapfrog them by a point with the win. Siena forward Abdelkader Ghezzai scored twice to give his relegation-threatened team an exciting 3-2 win over Bari. Lazio recoverd from an early 2-0 defecit to rally to a crucial 3-2 victory over relegation rivals Bologna. Tommaso Rocchi struck the winner in the 68th minute. A goal from defender Giorgio Chiellini was enough to hand Juventus a 1-0 victory over Cagliari. Marco Borriello struck a second-half brace to spare Milan humiliation against Catania and earn his team a 2-2 draw. Fabrizo Miccoli scored twice as his Palermo team ran out 3-1 winners over Chievo. Livorno edged closer towards relegation as they were defeated 2-0 by Udinese. Luis Jimenez struck a 87th-minute goal to round off a shocking come back from Parma as they defeated Napoli 3-2. Sampdoria kept their hopes of Champions League football alive with a 1-0 victory over Genoa.
Bayern stay top
Bundesliga: Bayern Munich increased their lead atop the Bundesliga to two points after playing out a 1-1 draw with Leverkusen. Robben gave Bayern the lead from the spot on 51 minutes but that was short-lived as defender Arturo Vidal leveled for Leverkusen to earn them a share of the points. Second from bottom Hannover produced the shocker of the round as they defeated second place Schalke 4-2. Didier Ya Konan scored as brace as Hannover pulled off an unlikely win. Werder Bremen moved to within a point of fourth place as they thrashed Freiburg 4-0 as Borussia Dortmund lost 1-0 away at Mainz. Cologne eased away from the bottom three with a comfortable 2-0 win at Hoffenheim. Adam Matuschyk grabbed a goal on either side of the half to take them six points clear of the drop zone. Cellar dwellers Hertha Berlin remained on relegation course as they lost 1-0 to Stuttgart. Brazilian Cacau scored the winner 16 minutes from time. An Andreas Johansson’s own goal gave Hamburg a 2-1 win over Bochum. Wolfsburg secured their third successive league win with a 2-0 victory over Nurnberg. The German champions now lie in 8th place thanks to second-half strikes from Grafite and Edin Dzeko.