Monday, February 23, 2009
ROME (AP) -- Undefeated Juventus routed 10-man Roma 4-0 on Sunday to open up a three-point lead over AC Milan with just five rounds remaining in Serie A.
Ten-man Milan needed a 90th-minute equalizer from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to salvage a 1-1 draw at home with Bologna.
Meanwhile, the Italian game was once again marred by crowd trouble at Genoa, where supporters caused a 45-minute suspension in their club's 4-1 loss to Siena -- during which the players stripped off their shirts in a sign of apology.
Playing in the late match and already aware of Milan's draw, Juventus took control immediately with two early goals from Arturo Vidal in the fourth and eighth minutes.
Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg was then sent off for a last-man foul on Claudio Marchisio in the 26th. Andrea Pirlo converted his own rebound from the ensuing penalty to make it 3-0, and Marchisio added the fourth in the 52nd minute.
Juventus also clinched at least a top-two finish, meaning it has qualified directly for the Champions League -- after finishing seventh the past two seasons.
Elsewhere, third-place Lazio allowed a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw with Lecce.
After both sides had hit the crossbar, Brazilian midfielder Francelino Matuzalem scored with a header for Lazio in the 82nd, but Valeri Bojinov drew Lecce level in added time from the center of the area for his first goal since rejoining the southern club on loan from Sporting Lisbon in January.
Lazio held on to the final Champions League spot, but is only three points ahead of Udinese, with Napoli four points back.
Meanwhile, the match in Genoa was interrupted early in the second half when fans threw flares onto the pitch and climbed atop barriers as they were faced by stewards in riot gear.
After the fans calmed down, the match resumed and Cristiano Del Grosso scored an own goal for Genoa in the 79th.
The loss left Genoa one point above the relegation zone.
A minute of silence was held before each match a week after Piermario Morosini's death from cardiac arrest in a Serie B game.
Big victories for
Madrid, Dortmund
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -- Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 73rd minute to send Barcelona to its first loss in 55 home games and put Real Madrid on the cusp of breaking the Catalan giants' three-year hold on the Spanish league crown with a 2-1 win Saturday.
Sami Khedira opened the scoring in the 17th minute with Madrid's league-record 108th goal of the season. Ronaldo sealed the victory with his league-record 42nd goal moments after Alexis Sanchez tied it for Barcelona.
Madrid's 19th league game without a loss lifted it seven points ahead of Barcelona at the top of the standings with four rounds to go.
This was Madrid's first victory at Camp Nou since 2007 and coach Jose Mourinho's first career win in the stadium in 10 visits with three different teams. Barcelona's previous home defeat was 2-0 to Hercules on Sept. 11, 2010.
The game had been hyped as a duel between Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Madrid's Ronaldo, but this time the Portugal forward came out on top and moved one goal ahead of his Argentine rival in their duel to see who is the top all-time scorer in a single Spanish league season.
Newcastle defeat Stoke 3-0
LONDON (AP) -- Newcastle capitalized on a stalemate between Arsenal and Chelsea to maintain its surge toward qualification for next season's Champions League. It defeated Stoke 3-0 to claim a sixth straight victory and climb into the English Premier League's top four.
Papiss Demba Cisse scored for the sixth match in a row and Yohan Cabaye had two goals for Newcastle, which is now just three points behind third-place Arsenal and has played one less game.
Tottenham continued its freefall by dropping a place to fifth following a 1-0 loss at relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers, which left Harry Redknapp's team three points outside the Champions League positions.
Chelsea rode its luck to escape with a 0-0 draw at Arsenal, which struck the goal frame twice, and is now four points behind Newcastle with only four games left.
The Blues' entry to the Champions League for a 10th straight season may now hinge on winning this year's competition. It is 1-0 ahead going into the second leg of the semifinal against Barcelona on Tuesday.
The battle against relegation took another twist thanks to Blackburn's 2-0 win over Norwich that lifted Steve Kean's team above Bolton, which fell to next to last with a 1-1 draw against Swansea.
Fifth-from-last-place Wigan's stunning run, which included wins over league leader Manchester United and Arsenal, ended with a 2-1 loss to Fulham. Aston Villa drew 0-0 with Sunderland in the other match.
Rangers get 3-0
win at Hearts
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) -- Rangers edged closer to securing second place in the Scottish Premier League with a 3-0 win at Hearts, moving the financially stricken Glasgow giants 11 points ahead of Motherwell.
Sone Aluko's free kick and two goals by Andy Little at Tynecastle earned Rangers a fourth straight victory.
If Motherwell fails to beat newly crowned champion Celtic at home on Sunday, Rangers will clinch runners-up spot with a win in next weekend's Old Firm match against its fierce city rival.
Rangers' hopes of defending its title were virtually ended in February when it was docked 10 points for going into bankruptcy.
Dunfermline drew 4-4 with St. Mirren to close the gap to next-to-last Hibernian to six points.
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