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Rediff.com  » Sports » Real smash seven, Man Utd lose

Real smash seven, Man Utd lose

February 11, 2008 11:14 IST
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Manchester United's chances of retaining the English Premier League title were dented when they fell to an upset 2-1 defeat by local rivals City at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Real Madrid, who lost at Almeria last weekend, extended their lead in Spain to eight points after crushing Valladolid 7-0.

A round-up of the weekend's action:

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ITALY

Inter Milan maintained their eight-point lead at the top of Serie A after second half goals from Esteban Cambiasso and David Suazo secured a 2-0 win at plucky Catania, although Cambiasso was offside when he scored.

AS Roma had cut the gap to five points on Saturday after beating Reggina 2-0 thanks to goals from Christian Panucci and Mancini.

Teenage substitute Alberto Paloschi scored with his first touch on his league debut to seal a 1-0 win over Siena for a lacklustre AC Milan, now just two points behind fourth-placed Fiorentina after they could only manage a 2-2 draw at Atalanta.

Third-placed Juventus came from behind to win 2-1 at Udinese with striker Vincenzo Iaquinta grabbing the winner straight after coming on as a substitute.

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ENGLAND

First-half goals from Manchester City's Darius Vassell and debutant Benjani Mwaruwari handed Manchester United their first home defeat of the season as they commemorated the Munich air crash that killed 23 people, including eight United players, 50 years ago this week.

Instead of moving back above Arsenal, United face the prospect of the leaders going five points clear if they beat Blackburn Rovers in London on Monday.

Chelsea moved to within three points of United in third place after a 0-0 draw with Liverpool in a poor match at Stamford Bridge that took their unbeaten run at home in the league to 76 matches.

Arsenal have 60 points from 25 matches while United have 58, Chelsea 55 and Everton, 1-0 winners at home to Reading on Saturday, 47, all from 26 games. Liverpool have 44 from 25.

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SPAIN

Raul and Guti both scored twice as Real Madrid smashed promoted Valladolid 7-0 on Sunday.

Julio Baptista, Arjen Robben and Royston Drenthe added the rest as Real punished a side who tried to play an open, attacking game against the Primer Liga's deadliest finishers.

They took advantage of second-placed Barcelona's 1-1 draw away to Sevilla on Saturday, when Frank Rijkaard's team came from behind to level through Xavi 14 minutes from time. Real have 56 points, Barca 48 from 23 games.

Villarreal took third place on 42 points with a controversial last-minute winner from Guillermo Franco, as they edged Real Murcia 1-0 away on Saturday.

Atletico Madrid are a point back in fourth after Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan scored both goals in an impressive 2-0 away win at Racing Santander.

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GERMANY

Schalke 04 took advantage of a draws involving their chief title rivals to climb up to third place, five points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich.

Bayern, looking to give themselves a six-point cushion, had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to second-placed Werder Bremen in a high quality match at the Allianz Arena.

Werder went ahead with a Diego goal in the sixth minute and Luca Toni missed a penalty before Bayern equalised through Ze Roberto.

That left Bayern top with 40 points, followed by Werder on 37. Schalke have 35 points, one clear of Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburg SV after they drew 1-1 at BayArena on Saturday.

Schalke's defeat at Borussia Dortmund on the penultimate weekend of last season cost them the title and they gained a measure of revenge with a 3-2 success away to their local rivals on Sunday. Fabian Ernst grabbed the winner eight minutes from time

- - - -

NETHERLANDS

Ajax Amsterdam failed to capitalise on leaders PSV Eindhoven's 1-1 draw against Heerenveen when they lost 2-1 at Roda and dropped a place to third in the standings.

PSV, aiming for their fourth consecutive title, are nine points clear of Heerenveen, Ajax, Feyenoord and NAC Breda, who are all on 44 points.

Otman Bakkal headed the opening goal for PSV after 43 seconds on Saturday but Michael Bradley equalised in the second half.

Ajax lost on Sunday despite Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's 22nd goal of the season. Roland Lamah and Anouar Hadouir scored for Roda.

- - - -

FRANCE

Two goals from midfielder Mathieu Bodmer helped Olympique Lyon crush strugglers Sochaux 4-1 on Saturday to stay four points clear at the top of Ligue 1.

Lyon, chasing a seventh consecutive title, moved to 49 points from 24 matches, four ahead of second-placed Girondins Bordeaux, who beat bottom club Metz 3-0 on Saturday with two goals from Argentine forward Fernando Cavenaghi.

Third-placed Nancy, who had gone nine league matches without a win, beat Toulouse 1-0 with a late penalty from defender Sebastien Puygrenier to stay eight points off the pace.

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