Barcelona score a hard win over Espanyol through Messi penalty

Eurosport Yahoo.com

Barcelona kept up the pressure on La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid when Lionel Messi struck from the penalty spot in a 1-0 win at Espanyol in Saturday's Catalan derby.

The laboured victory at Espanyol's Cornella-El Prat stadium lifted the champions, who are chasing a fifth domestic league triumph in six years, above Atletico into first place on 75 points from 31 of 38 matches.

Atletico have 73 in second and can reclaim top spot with a win at fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao later on Saturday. Real are three points further back in third after two straight defeats and host city neighbours Rayo Vallecano.

Barca's trip across town to face their local rivals, who are eighth on 40 points and still in with a chance of qualifying for Europe, was potentially their stiffest test remaining before their final game at home to Atletico in May.

While they were far from their dynamic best against a well-drilled and fired-up Espanyol side, the victory was a positive way to prepare for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final, first leg at home to Atletico.

"We are now in a privileged position (in La Liga) and we are in charge of our own destiny," Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets said in an interview with Spanish TV broadcaster Canal Plus.

"Let's hope that is the case until the last game against Atletico," added the Spain international.

Barca and Espanyol each had chances in a frenetic opening with Messi and Neymar going close for the visitors and Pizzi wasting two excellent opportunities for the home side.

The decisive moment of the match came when Espanyol fullback Javi Lopez handled the ball in the area and Messi dispatched the spot kick with 13 minutes remaining, the Argentina forward's 23rd La Liga goal of an injury-disrupted season.

Espanyol goalkeeper Kiko Casilla was shown a straight red card seven minutes from time when he sprinted out of his area and handled an attempted Messi lob.

Lopez had to replace Casilla in goal as Espanyol had used their three substitutes and did well to divert an effort from substitute Alexis Sanchez away for a corner in added time.

Florenzi late goal put Roma past Torino 2-1

Bleacher Report

(Reuters) - A stoppage-time goal from substitute Alessandro Florenzi gave AS Roma a 2-1 win over Torino in Serie A on Tuesday after Ciro Immobile had scored with a stunning effort for the visitors.

Ivory Coast winger Gervinho set up both goals for second-placed Roma as they took another step towards making sure of direct qualification for next year's Champions League.

Roma, who have 67 points, moved nine clear of third-placed Napoli who visit Catania on Wednesday. Runaway leaders Juventus (78 points) host Parma, also on Wednesday.

Roma went ahead four minutes before halftime when Gervinho slipped the ball through the Torino backline and Mattia Destro stretched to prod home his ninth goal of the season.

Immobile, emerging as a late candidate for a place in Italy's World Cup squad, replied with a superb effort in the 52nd minute, meeting a long ball forward with a first-time volley into the far corner.

Immobile took his tally for the season to 17, making him the league's top scorer.

Torino looked set to take a point until they lost possession in midfield, Gervinho threaded another ball through the defence and Florenzi, who had only been on the field for eight minutes, placed his shot wide of Daniele Padelli.

(Reporting by Brian Homewood; Editing by Ken Ferris)

Magical Rakitic sets up Sevilla' win over giant Real Madrid 2-1

Ivan Rakitic's back heel

SB Nation

Carlos Bacca's brace gave Sevilla a sixth straight league win, while handing Real Madrid a second loss in four days.

Sevilla defeated Real Madrid on Wednesday, severely damaging Los Blancos' title aspirations, and setting a new club record with their sixth straight win in La Liga. Carlos Bacca was the hero, scoring twice, including the match winner with 17 minutes left to play.

Both sides came close to scoring goals within the first three minutes of the match. Sevilla were first when Ivan Rakitic's free kick was directed across the face of goal by Vicente Iborra, but Federico Fazio's volley attempt was struck poorly and didn't force a save from Diego López. A minute laterGareth Bale made an aggressive run but his shot from the edge of the box went well over the crossbar.

After an extended run of pressure that saw Karim Benzema come close a couple times, it wasCristiano Ronaldo who finally opened the scoring, with some help from Carlos Bacca's arm. Madrid earned a free kick 20-yards from goal and Ronaldo's shot hit off Bacca's arm as he jumped to block the attempt. The ball's abrupt change of direction left Beto frozen, as it turned right and into the net.

Sevilla answered back on a counter-attack in the 19th minute when the Madrid defense got caught forward after a set piece. Xabi Alonso's awful turnover in the midfield helped start the break as Bacca split between Dani Carvajal and Asier Illarramendi and ran onto Jose Antonio Reyes' cross inside the Madrid box. Bacca let the ball bounce once and as López went to ground, he lifted a shot over the goalkeeper to even the match at 1-1.

Ronaldo just missed his second goal of the match in the 43rd minute, beating Beto and chipping the ball over the goalkeeper. The ball hit the post and somehow managed to not cross the line before Nicolas Pareja could race in and clear it away.

The frantic end-to-end pace from the first half carried over into the second 45 minutes but as the minutes went by, Sevilla started to drop deeper and look winded as Madrid set-up camp in their attacking third.

Then in the 73rd minute, Carlos Bacca got loose again on the counter attack, receiving the ball from Rakitic -- who beat Pepe with an absurdly skillful back heel -- and racing into the Madrid box. López tried to get down and cover Bacca's shot but the ball went under his legs, bouncing off the goalkeeper's thigh and giving Sevilla a 2-1 lead.

Sevilla remains six points back of Athletic Bilbao in fourth place while Madrid drops down to third place, a full three points behind the league leaders Atlético Madrid.

Sevilla: Beto, Coke, Pareja, Fazio, Moreno, Iborra, M'bia, Reyes (Navarro 78'), Rakitic, Marin (Vitolo 71'), Bacca (Gameiro 83')

Goals: Bacca (19', 73')

Real Madrid: Diego López, Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo, Modrić (Morata 90'), Xabi Alonso, Illarramendi (Isco 67'), Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo

Goals: Ronaldo (14')

Manchester City emerges victor again over Manchester United on Dzeko's double 2-1

UK Yahoo Sport

Edin Dzeko weighed in with a double as Manchester City wiped the floor with fallen champions Manchester United 3-0 to maintain their push for the Premier League title.

Manuel Pellegrini's side have the destination of a second championship in three seasons in their own hands courtesy of a comfortable win over their neighbours. They are three points behind leaders Chelsea, but have two games in hand on Jose Mourinho's side.

They were never truly tested against a United side who again looked worryingly off the pace only a fortnight after they were given a similar 3-0 chastening by Liverpool.

Dzeko nudged the ball into the net for the opening goal on 45 seconds after Samir Nasri's shot had come back off a post before he eluded Rio Ferdinnad to volley Nasri's corner into the net on 56 minutes.

City were in control for large swathes of the second period, and gave the scoreline a truer polish when Yaya Toure drove a shot low into the corner of the net with one minute remaining after the ball broke off Phil Jones from a James Milner cross.

David Moyes' United remain in seventh place in the standings, 18 points behind leaders Chelsea. They were again exposed as a side lacking true pace and mobility in in key areas.

Consider this awful stat which just about sums up a season gone badly wrong in the league: Wilfried Zaha - who was not party to this defeat - Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata were purchased for a total of £82 million, but have not scored a goal for the club this season. 

Barcelona beat Real Madrid in the 2nd clasico 4-3

SB Nation 

Lionel Messi's hat trick helped Barca earn a massive victory over Real Madrid in the latest edition of El Clásico.

Barcelona defeated Real Madrid thanks to a late Lionel Messi penalty in one of the greatest Clásico matches in recent memory. The game had just about everything over the 90 minutes including a hat trick, three penalties, a red card and some spectacular goals.

The match got off to a nice, energetic start with both teams getting good chances to grab an early goal.Lionel Messi hit Neymar with a well-played pass in the fourth minute but the Brazilian's shot from a tough angle was covered up by Diego Lopéz. A minute later, a slightly hobbled Karim Benzema grabbed a poor pass in the Barca box but sent his shot well wide.

The fact that Messi and Neymar were able to counter quickly against the Madrid defense was a warning, but the lesson wasn't learned by Los Blancos. In the seventh minute, Messi found Andrés Iniesta on the left side of the box and the Spaniard did not waste his chance. Iniesta's shot went up and over Lopéz's shoulder, and into the top right corner of the goal, giving Barcelona an early 1-0 lead.

Benzema again wasted a wonderful chance in the 13th minute, skying a low cross from Ángel di María well over the crossbar.

Finally in the 20th minute, Benzema proved that third time is indeed the charm. Di María set up the chance, sending in an exquisite cross from the left wing that Benzema rose to meet. The striker's header was well placed, but Victor Valdés will be annoyed with himself as the ball bounced off his gloves and over the line to pull the Merengues even at 1-1.

Four minutes later Di María and Benzema connected again, giving Madrid their first lead of the day. Benzema somehow managed to control Di María's cross with his thigh, spinning the ball up in the air and rocketing a volleyed shot past Valdés, making it 2-1. 

Benzema was denied a hat trick in the 26th minute when, you guessed it, Di María found the striker with a cross from the left. Benzema settled the ball and fired a shot that was blocked off the line by Gerard Piqué.

Just before the halftime break, Messi jumped on a loose ball in the Madrid box and directed a low shot past López to even the match at 2-2. Messi sent the initial ball in to Neymar, who managed to return the favor just ahead of a lunge from Dani Carvajal. Messi darted in front of Sergio Ramos, who did move quickly enough to make a clearance and used the pocket of space in front of goal to tie things up.

The goal pulled Messi even with Hugo Sanchez on the La Liga all-time scoring list (234) and moved him ahead of Alfredo Di Stéfano for the all-time goal-scoring lead in Clásicos (19).

Gareth Bale's first good contribution to the match arrived in the 52nd minute when the Welshman made a lightning quick run through the defense, sending a pass to Benzema as the striker broke into the Barca box. Valdés was ready though, blocking Benzema's shot away.

Cristiano Ronaldo finally got the penalty he's been shouting about since the first Clásico of the season in the 55th minute when he tripped over Dani Alves' foot on the edge of the box. The referee wasted no time pointing to the spot and the Portuguese striker finished things off himself, beating Valdés low and to the left to make it 3-2.

Barca wasn't done though and in the 63rd minute, Sergio Ramos made some contact with Neymar in the box, denying a goal-scoring opportunity and bringing out a red card. Madrid fans won't be thrilled with the call, but Barca didn't care as Messi stepped up and just beat López to again even the match, this time at 3-3.

Dani Alves nearly pushed Barca back in front in the 74th minute, pinging a shot off the post ... but the goal would come. Xabi Alonso brought down Iniesta as the Barca midfielder tried to jump past him on the right side of the box. A penalty was quickly given, much to the chagrin of Alonso and his teammates. Messi coolly stepped up and completed his hat trick, giving Barca a 4-3 lead.

With the Barca victory, Real Madrid suddenly find their lead at the top of the table gone as Atlético Madrid take over first place on a tiebreaker. Barcelona, meanwhile, resuscitated their league campaign, pulling within a point of both the Madrid sides.

Real Madrid: López, Marcelo, Ramos, Pepe, Carvajal, Modrić (Morata 90'), Alonso, Di María (Isco 85'), Ronaldo, Benzema (Varane 66'), Bale

Goals: Benzema (20', 24'), Ronaldo (55')

Barcelona: Valdés, Alba, Mascherano, Piqué, Alves, Busquets, Fàbregas (Sánchez 78'), Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Neymar (Pedro 68')

Goals: Iniesta (7'), Messi (42', 65', 84')

Chelsea demolished Arsenal on Wenger's 1000th game 6-0

BBC

Azpilicueta and Oscar

By Aimee LewisBBC Sport

Arsene Wenger's 1,000th game in charge of Arsenal turned out to be an occasion to forget for the Frenchman as his 10-man team were crushed by Chelsea.

Arsenal were two behind after seven minutes, with first Samuel Eto'o and then Andre Schurrle benefiting from clinical Chelsea counter-attacking. Eden Hazard's penalty after a Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handball all but finished the match as a contest.

Oscar scored twice before Mohamed Salah inflicted more pain on the Gunners.  Substitute Salah's strike completed a miserable afternoon for the visitors, who appeared to have the wrong player sent off when Kieran Gibbs was dismissed following Oxlade-Chamberlain's first-half handball.

It was Jose Mourinho's biggest Premier League victory as Chelsea manager and also the first time in Chelsea's history that they have scored six times against their London rivals.

During a week in which Wenger has received much acclaim for his longevity and success, the Frenchman also prophetically remarked that every defeat left "a scar in your heart that you never forget".

Wenger also went on to say there had been "much suffering" - as well as joy - since he joined Arsenal in 1996 and watching his team beaten so convincingly by the Premier League leaders, severely damaging their title hopes in the process, would have caused the 64-year-old much pain.

The visitors were caught dilly-dallying in possession on too many occasions, leaving Chelsea's powerful midfield to steal the ball with ease and ruthlessly surge forward to get the better of a ragged Arsenal defence.

Arsenal host Manchester City on Saturday after a midweek tie against Swansea and defeat in either of those matches would knock the Gunners - seven points adrift of leaders Chelsea in third - out of the title race.

It was Jose Mourinho's Chelsea who beat Wenger in his 500th game in charge of Arsenal in 2005 and the Portuguese, who has now not lost to Wenger in 11 games, ruined the Frenchman's day once again.

The story could have been different had Petr Cech not dived low to save Olivier Giroud's stabbed effort from close range in the opening minutes. But the striker failed to make the most of Tomas Rosicky's through ball and Chelsea counter-attacked through Andre Schurrle and Eden Hazard before the ball fell to Eto'o, who cut in to score with his left boot.

Nemanja Matic then nicked the ball from the lacklustre Santi Cazorla's and put Schurrle through. The German found the bottom left corner, just as Eto'o had done two minutes earlier.

Wenger, disheartened in the dugout, threw a bottle of water on to the sidelines but the afternoon would soon get worse for him.

Oxlade-Chamberlain conceded a penalty for tipping Hazard's curling effort away with his fingertips. The Belgian scored from the spot but referee Andre Marriner wrongly sent off Kieran Gibbs, despite Oxlade-Chamberlain telling Marriner he was the culprit.

Three minutes before the break Chelsea were further ahead as Schurrle and substitute Fernando Torres created a simple tap-in for Oscar.

It was the first time Chelsea had scored four first-half goals in a league game since April 2012, when QPR were the opponents. Inevitably, more goals followed after the break with Oscar doubling his personal tally by finding the corner and then substitute Salah beating the off-side trap to confidently finish beyond Szczesny.

Gonzalo Higuain lifts Napoli over Torino in a controversial goal 1-0

Goal.com 

Immobile missed an open goal
after his shot went over the bar

Gonzalo Higuain scored a dramatic late winner as Napoli drew level on points with Roma in Serie A's battle for second place with a 1-0 victory at Torino on Monday evening.

In truth, a draw would have been a solid result for the Partenopei, with the hosts having twice struck the woodwork through Cesare Bovo and Riccardo Meggiorini and then seen a gilt-edged opportunity go begging when Ciro Immobile fired over while totally unmarked in the area.

However, they stole all three points right at the death when Higuain finished with aplomb after being released by Marek Hamsik.

Giampiero Ventura sprung a couple of surprises with his team selection, as the Torino boss opted to leave star men Alessio Cerci and Immobile on the bench, preferring instead to start with Meggiorini and Paulo Vitor Barreto up front.

Rafael Benitez, meanwhile, elected to recall Dries Mertens at the expense of Lorenzo Insigne, while Federico Fernandez, Gokhan Inler and Jorginho also returned after being left on the bench for the 1-0 Europa League loss to Porto.

Despite the changes, Napoli started sluggishly and it was Torino who had the first chance of the game 19 minutes in, Meggiorini doing well to control an Omar El Kaddouri pass with this head before unleashing a right-footed volley that drew a smart stop from Pepe Reina.

The Partenopei had an even luckier escape just before the half-hour when Bovo struck the woodwork with a thumping 30-metre drive.Napoli responded with a couple of long-range strikes from Hamsik and Inler, but there was no disguising the fact that the visitors had struggled dismally to impose themselves on a first half that finished without them having managed a single shot on target.

Napoli finally showed some signs of life moments later when Higuain tested Daniele Padelli for the first time with a low strike that the goalkeeper got down well to deal with.

However, Torino should have been in front in the 53rd minute but they were again denied by the woodwork, with Meggiorini striking the base of the left post after being slipped in on goal by Barreto.  Reina then pulled off a spectacular save from Matteo Darmian's shot from the edge of the area as Torino ramped up the pressure on the Partenopei.

Higuain was presented with a decent chance to open the scoring when Mertens was felled right on the edge of the area but the Argentine lost his footing just as he was taking the resulting free kick, and the ball flew wide. By this stage, Torino had sent on top scorer Immobile and he should have broken the deadlock with just 17 minutes remaining but he fired horribly over the bar after being teed up by Jasmin Kurtic, who had stripped Valon Behrami of possession.

Benitez threw on Insigne for the closing stages and his introduction undoubtedly lifted Napoli, with Mertens going close with just over a minute of normal time remaining. The Belgian was denied by a brilliant save from Padelli but there was to no stopping Higuain, who produced a fine finish to win the game after latching onto a Hamsik pass.

Aduritz saves Bilbao from Villareal 1-1

Ariz Aduritz

Yahoo UK Sports

Villarreal goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo saved Aritz Aduriz's 40th-minute penalty at the Madrigal before teenager Oliver Torres slipped the ball across goal for Tomas Pina to fire the home side ahead two minutes into the second half.

The match turned when Villarreal defender Gabriel earned a second yellow card and was sent off in the 66th minute and Aduriz atoned for his penalty miss with a fine headed equaliser seven minutes from time. With 10 games left, Bilbao have 52 points in fourth, six ahead of Basque rivals Real Sociedad, who are fifth on 46 points thanks to Sunday's 1-0 win at home to Valencia.

Promoted Villarreal, who have impressed on their return to the top flight, have 45 points in sixth, one ahead of seventh-placed Sevilla.

"The penalty was a bit of a blow but we managed to regroup after their goal and get the draw," Aduriz said.

"We started to dominate towards the end and we are more or less satisfied. There is still a long way to go and we have to take things step by step."

Villarreal midfielder Torres, on loan from Atletico Madrid, said: "The penalty save gave us a bit of a boost and we came out strongly in the second half. We managed to get ahead on the scoreboard but the sending off changed things and you really notice when you have a man less against such a good team," added the 19-year-old. "We got a point but we are disappointed because we wanted the win."

Real Madrid are three clear at the top on 70 points after they won 1-0 at Malaga on Saturday.

Atletico Madrid are second on 67 thanks to their 1-0 success at home to Espanyol and champions Barcelona, who play at Real on Sunday in the Clasico, are a point further back in third after they thrashed Osasuna 7-0 on Sunday.

Arsenal held Tottenham at bay 1-0

Arsenal.com

North London is red – again.

With their sleeves rolled up and their backs against the wall, Arsenal secured a gritty 1-0 win at Tottenham on Sunday.

Tomas Rosicky’s thunderbolt strike put them ahead after only two minutes. They had to soak up serious pressure after that but, with Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny magnificent in central defence, they kept Tottenham at bay.

Only Nacer Chadli spurned a real, clear-cut chance whileAlex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mertesacker had open opportunities to calm the visitors nerves. This win was crucial in every sense – the Premier League table, north London pride, the team’s confidence. It just goes on.

Arsenal are back in the thick of the title race again. But, with this wonderful, wonderful win - their first in six attempts at White Hart Lane - they have already secured local bragging rights for another season.

SETTING THE SCENE

Arsène Wenger made three changes from the side that had snatched a draw at Bayern Munich in midweek.

Keeper Wojciech Szczesny was back from suspension to replace Lukasz Fabianski. Elsewhere Rosicky replaced the injured Mesut Ozil while Kieran Gibbs came in for Nacho Monreal at left back.

Tottenham had endured a difficult week; beaten 3-1 at home to Benfica on Thursday and 4-0 at Chelsea the previous Sunday.

The defeat of the Jose Mourinho’s side at Aston Villa gave Arsenal the chance to close the gap on the leading team in the Premier League. However weekend wins for Manchester City and Liverpool meant the visitors really required victory to keep pace with the other contenders.

FIRST HALF

Arsenal were ahead before you could blink with a goal you could not see. Oxlade-Chamberlain led visitors charge out of defence and found Rosicky on the right. His thunderous drive whistled past Hugo Lloris and found the top corner of the net.

It was perhaps Arsenal’s goal of the season and maybe their most important. You might have expected Tottenham to go into their shell as a result. But they responded with courage.

Szczesny was barely tested but the host put the pressure on. However the next chance would fall to Arsenal – and it should have been 2-0.

Rosicky fed Oxlade-Chamberlain in the right-hand channel. He skipped past his marker and raced half the length of the pitch before miscuing his chip horribly with Podolski screaming for the ball on the left-hand side. A glaring miss.

So Arsenal had the better chances but Tottenham were still dangerous. Andros Townsend got around the back of the defence and fired across the face of goal then Adebayor flicked the ball wide of the far post.

In between, Cazorla released Podsolski down the left and Oxlade-Chamberlain rifled an effort well wide. In the 36th minute, after more Tottenham pressure, Gibbs set up Podolski to fire a fierce shot into the side-netting. Arsenal reached the break in the lead but under pressure.

SECOND HALF

Chadli might have equalised twice within five minutes of the restart.

Szczesny spilled a high, hanging cross and the Belgian collected. He beat the stranded keeper and a combination of Koscielny and Mertesacker blocked his shot with the goal gaping. Then Townsend’s dangerous cross was mis-flicked by Chadli again with the goal at his mercy.

Tottenham had come out with drive and determination. They had dominated territorially in the first half. If anything they were tightening their grip. After that, Adebayor nodded wide from Bentaleb’s deep cross.

But time ticked away and, gradually, Arsenal eased the pressure. The substitutions for Rosicky and Podolski for Mathieu Flamini and Nacho Monreal helped their cause. Tottenham ran out of steam.

Arsenal might have won it 11 minutes from time when Mertesacker turned a low shot goalwards from Cazorla’s free-kick but Lloris made a superb save on the goalline.

The game had been in the balance since the second minute and, in the dying moments, it was still there. Adebayor tried to curl a shot past Szczesny from range but the Pole held on.

It was the last chance for the home side. Tottenham kept pressing, Arsenal kept holding them off. It is gritty, gutsy and nervy to the end. But, at the final whistle, Arsenal had the a crucial win. After a massive weekend, Wenger's men are four points off leaders Chelsea with a game in hand.

And, next weekend, they go to Stamford Bridge.

Andrea Pirlo's rocket free kick lifts Juventus past Genoa 1-0

SB Nation

Genoa were better than Juventus for large chunks of their match at the Luigi Ferraris, though Andrea Pirlo's last-gasp free-kick broke grifone hearts.

Juventus moved ever closer to picking up another scudetto by beating Genoa 1-0 on Sunday, though the game was considerably less routine than expected. The mid-table hosts were excellent throughout, and missed a late penalty before Andrea Pirlo netted a spectacular last-gasp free-kick to send the points back to Turin.

Juve's Pablo Osvaldo twice put the ball in the back of the net in the first half, though on each occasion was denied by the offside flag. But don't let that fool you; it was far from 45 minutes of Juve domination. Their hosts looked to make the most of the raucous crowd by pressing the league leaders as high up the field as they could, in a frenetic high-tempo opening period.

It was a classic Gasperini performance, with thegrifone denying Juventus time and space from front to back. The bianconeri were never able to patiently pick a pass; metronome Andrea Pirlo unable to dominate the midfield. Genoa were a little less convincing going forward; often giving the ball away with overambitious direct passes or being crowded out by the energetic Juve midfield, but they were still level when the halftime whistle blew.

Genoa managed to sustain their high tempo into the second half, and ten minutes after the restart, it almost paid dividends. With a quick stepover midfielder Andrea Bertolaccighosted beyond Giorgio Chiellini on the edge of the area, only to tamely blast the ensuing shot straight against Gianluigi Buffon when face-to-face with the goalkeeper. The ensuing rebound fell kindly for Juve loanee Marco Motta, but for the first time in history he proved useful for the bianconeri, lashing wide of the far post.

Still, Antonio Conte's side looked unusually rattled by Genoa's dogged persistence, and the hosts should've finally had their reward with 20 minutes remaining. A handball in the penalty area by Arturo Vidal was punished with a spot-kick, though substitute Emanuele Calaiò's tame effort was comfortably held by a diving Buffon.

As if that wasn't bad enough for the grifone, there was still time for Juventus to net a winning goal and leave the plucky hosts with no points whatsoever. Cometh the hour, cometh the Andrea Pirlo free-kick, with the veteran midfielder curling a wonderful shot beyond Mattia Perin and into the top corner with just a minute of normal time left on the clock.

Mere mathematics is now all that is keeping Juventus' from getting their hands on a third consecutive scudetto.

Genoa: Perin; Marchese, De Maio, Burdisso; Antonelli, Bertolacci, Matuzalém, Sturaro, Motta; Gilardino (Calaiò 64'), Sculli.

Juventus: Buffon; Chiellini, Bonucci, Cáceres; Asamoah, Pogba, Pirlo, Vidal (Padoin 85'), Lichtsteiner (Isla 85'); Osvaldo (Quagliarella 79'), Llorente.

Goals: Pirlo (89').

Samuel Etoó mocks in celebration as Chelsea bury Tottenham 4-0

By Chris BevanBBC Sport

Chelsea moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League after sinking Tottenham with four second-half goals. There was little in the game until Jan Vertonghen's error let Samuel Eto'o in to fire the Blues ahead.

Younes Kaboul was sent off for fouling Eto'o soon afterwards, and Eden Hazard slotted home the resulting penalty.  Demba Ba made it 3-0 late on following a slip by Sandro, then completed the scoring when he latched on to Kyle Walker's disastrous back-header.

Chelsea's rivals in the title race all have games in hand, but Manchester City will have to win all three of theirs to replace the Blues at the summit. What could turn out to be a crucial victory for Jose Mourinho's men had an unlikely beginning when Fernando Torres was injured in the warm-up. Eto'o came into the team instead but he also needed lengthy treatment after just 30 seconds when he was sent tumbling by Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris. 

The offside flag was already up, but TV replays showed the Cameroon striker was onside when he ran on to Hazard's pass. It did not take long for Chelsea to tear through Tottenham again, but Hazard skewed his shot wide from a tight angle after rounding Lloris and it was a long time before his side next threatened.

Spurs were focused on their defensive duties but they did manage the only shot on target of the first half when Sandro tested Petr Cech with a fizzing first-time drive.

At the start of the second half, Chelsea looked short of ideas but a disjointed display from the league leaders was completely turned on its head after 56 minutes when Vertonghen slipped and inadvertently played in Eto'o as he tried to recover. The Cameroon striker, who turns 33 on Monday, mocked his manager'srecent jibes about his age with his celebrations by the corner flag.

Things quickly got worse for Spurs when referee Michael Oliver ruled that Kaboul had shoved over Eto'o in the box as the pair raced to meet Hazard's cross.  The decision looked harsh on the Spurs defender, whose misery was compounded when Oliver showed him a red card to go with the penalty, which Hazard coolly converted. There was no way back for Tottenham's 10 men from there. Hazard and Oscar both wasted good chances to extend the home side's lead before further gifts gave substitute Ba his late brace.

First, Sandro stumbled as he tried to clear Oscar's cross from the right, allowing Ba in to beat Lloris. Then, Walker inexplicably tried to head a Lloris clearance back to his keeper, instead setting up Ba to complete the rout.

The defeat leaves Tottenham still four points adrift of the top four, but they have played more games than the three teams immediately above them and their hopes of a Champions League place now appear remote.

Borussia Monchengladbach defeats Borussia Dortmund anew 2-1

Bundesliga

Dortmund - Ten-man Borussia Mönchengladbach put an end to a nine-game winless streak in emphatic fashion by collecting a 2-1 win on the road against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday afternoon.A perfectly executed gameplan allowed the Foals to race out to a two-goal lead at half-time, with Raffael and Max Kruse getting on the scoresheet and, though Havard Nordtveit’s sending off threatened to ruin Gladbach’s good work as Milos Jojic reduced the arrears, Lucien Favre’s side battled valiantly to move back within a point of the European qualification spots. 

No daylight

In the absence of first-team regulars Marco Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Dortmund head coach Jürgen Klopp opted for youth over experience by handing Jonas Hofmann his first start of the current campaign. The youngster wasted little time in imposing himself on proceedings by forcing Marc-Andre ter Stegen to make the first save of the game, but it was as close as either side came to breaking the deadlock in the evenly-contested opening exchanges. The hosts had established an early control of possession, but were regularly thwarted by Gladbach’s deep-lying and disciplined backline, who denied their hosts time and space on the ball. 

Restricted to creating chances on the counter, the Foals often sought the most direct route to goal and twice managed to carve out goalscoring chances only for Patrick Herrmann to fire off target on both occasions. Quickfire double Reacting to the early warnings, Dortmund pushed forward in search of an opener, but to no avail as Mats Hummels was denied by ter Stegen, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang rattled the woodwork with a ferocious effort. However, the visitors’ threat on the break never diminished and soon produced the opener when Raffael bundled Herrmann’s cut-back in at the front post shortly after the half-hour mark. 

Dortmund looked visibly shocked to have fallen behind, but had salt rubbed in their wounds shortly afterwards. After conceding possession in the final third, Gladbach were able to break forward with numbers and Juan Arango fed the unmarked Kruse, who demonstrated great composure to shift the ball beyond Roman Weidenfeller and Lukasz Piszczek, firing into the empty net and ending a run of 870 minutes without a goal. 

Naughty Nordtveit 

Dortmund hadn’t overturned a two-goal half-time deficit since May 1982, but came out after the restart determined to fly in the face of the statistics as Robert Lewandowski sent an early snap-shot just past the near post. With BVB taking more risks and the game subsequently becoming an increasingly open affair, neither side were afforded the opportunity to catch their breath. Lewandowski was denied by ter Stegen at full stretch, but with 20 minutes remaining the hosts were handed a lifeline when Nordtveit picked up two bookings within two minutes to reduce the visitors to ten men. 

Dortmund piled forward in an attempt to capitalise on Gladbach’s vulnerability and Klopp was rewarded for throwing on Marvin Duksch and Jojic, when the Serbian’s deflected volley found the back of the net in the 77th minute. It was a backs-to-the-wall ending for the visitors, but after Duksch had a goal ruled out with time winding down, the Foals managed to hang on to pick up a hard-earned three points.

Paris Saint Germain firms grip on French Ligue title beat Bastia 3-0

sokkaa.com

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ezequiel Lavezzi scored as Paris Saint-Germain strengthened their lead at the top of Ligue 1 after recording a 3-0 victory over Bastia on Saturday to increase the lead over second-placed Monaco looking healthy.

The Former Milan striker headed in Lucas Moura’s  cross to give the capital club an early lead just after six minutes with a goal that brought up PSG’s century and marked his 38th of the season in all competition.

Ezequiel Lavezzi smashed in the second in the 19th minute when Ibrahimovic  produced an acrobatic back-heel which saw the ball land in Lavezzi’s path and the former Napoli man finished well from 18 yards, under the Bastia keeper.

The Parisiens  were able to cruise through the remainder of the match but still managed to add a third through Lavezzi late on as they edged ever closer to a second successive league crown.

Blanc’s men are eight points clear of second-placed Monaco, who kept pace with a 2-1 home win against relegation battlers Sochaux while Bastia played four straight league games without a win.