Barca’s title dreams virtually over
Madrid: Barcelona’s title hopes are hanging by a thread with Frank Rijkaard’s team eight points behind Real Madrid after a late goal from Jon-Dahl Tomasson helped Villarreal to a 2-1 win at Camp Nou on Sunday. With 11 games left Barca need a minor miracle to overhaul Real, 2-1 conquerors of Espanyol on Saturday, and prevent their arch-rivals from retaining the Spanish championship. Xavi Hernandez looked to have snatched a point for Barca after he cancelled out Marcos Senna’s first half penalty but Danish substitute Tomasson struck the winner nine minutes from time. It was a famous win for Villarreal who have completed a league double over the Catalans and are now only four points behind in third. Two weeks ago Barcelona were just two points behind Real but successive defeats to Atletico Madrid and Villarreal could have ended their title hopes. Barca were without Lionel Messi, sidelined for six weeks with a leg injury, but their attacking trident of Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o still made fearsome reading for the Villarreal back four. With Carles Puyol missing, Ronaldinho took over the captain’s armband. The home side dominated possession but Victor Valdes hauled down Guille Franco in the box and Senna braved the home whistling to convert the spot-kick.
Roma’s good run continues as AC Milan bounce back
Milan: Francesco Totti scored on his 500th professional appearance for AS Roma as the capital-based club closed the gap on leaders Inter Milan back to six points with a 2-0 win at Napoli. Just a week after Inter floundered on the south coast, Roma produced a clinical performance on Sunday to come away with the spoils and continue their recent surge. Meanwhile, AC Milan boosted their hopes of securing Champions League football again next season by closing on the top four with a 3-1 victory at Empoli. Simone Perrotta got Roma off to a dream start after only two minutes, converting a pass from Totti.
Leaders Arsenal held by Wigan
London: Premier League leaders Arsenal suffered a comedown from their midweek Champions League win over AC Milan as they were held to a 0-0 draw at strugglers Wigan Athletic on Sunday. Arsenal found Wigan more resilient than the European aristocrats were at the San Siro and had to settle for a point which put them two clear of second-placed Manchester United, but having played one match more. The Londoners have 66 points from 29 games, United 64 from 28 and Chelsea 58 from 27. Arsenal, drawing for the third successive game in the league, were far from their fluent best and created few clear openings.
Inter seek Champions League miracle
Milan: Inter Milan have problems in defence for Tuesday’s Champions League last 16, second leg against Liverpool where the Serie A leaders must overhaul a 2-0 first-leg deficit. Marco Materazzi is suspended after his harsh red card for two firsthalf bookings in the first leg at Anfield while fellow centre-backs Walter Samuel and Ivan Cordoba are probably out for the season after knee ligament injuries. Cristian Chivu missed Saturday’s 2-0 win over Reggina with a shoulder injury but is set to be fit for Tuesday when he may partner usual right-back Nicolas Burdisso in central defence. It was good news for Inter when striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned from two weeks out with a knee problem.
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