European hopefuls in fine fettle
Monday, March 20, 2006
Article summary
FC Barcelona moved closer to the Spanish league title as seven of the eight UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists claimed weekend domestic victories.
Article body
Villarreal held
Only a 1-1 draw for Villarreal CF at Club Atlético de Madrid prevented a clean sweep of success for the teams remaining in the UEFA Champions League as the Yellow Submarine could not hold on to the early lead given to them by Diego Forlán. At the top of the Spanish table, Barcelona stretched their lead over Real Madrid CF to eleven points as the incomparable Ronaldinho was happy to take the provider's role, setting up goals for Henrik Larsson and Samuel Eto'o in a 2-0 victory at Real Sociedad de Fútbol.
Juventus cruise
Juventus stayed ten points clear of AC Milan as the Serie A leaders had little trouble in winning 3-1 at AS Livorno Calcio thanks to two goals from David Trezeguet and one from Alessandro Del Piero. The race for the second automatic UEFA Champions League spot for next season is tighter in Italy and Milan stayed two points clear of FC Internazionale Milano, with Andriy Shevchenko scoring twice in a 4-0 victory at Udinese Calcio. Inter kept up the pace as two goals from Alvaro Recoba and a curling shot by Luís Figo helped the Nerazzurri to a 3-1 home win against S.S. Lazio.
London pride
In England, local honour is also at stake in north London, where this year's quarter-finalists Arsenal FC are chasing a qualifying berth in next season's UEFA Champions League, although they are two points adrift of neighbours Tottenham Hotspur FC in the final qualifying spot. Arsenal's cause was aided by a comfortable 3-0 home win over Charlton Athletic FC, with Robert Pirès, Emmanuel Adebayor and Aleksandr Hleb all finding the net.
Lyon stroll
Olympique Lyonnais continued their relentless march towards a fifth successive league title in France with their fourth 4-0 victory in a row. They defeated struggling FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, with Sylvain Wiltord scoring twice including a fine individual goal. Benoît Pedretti and Florent Malouda completed the scoring. The Portuguese champions SL Benfica left it to the last possible moment before claiming all three points at Rio Ave FC as Angolan striker Mantorras struck an added-time winner which left the Eagles seven points behind the leaders FC Porto in third place.