European roundup - Barcelona beaten at last

Published Mon, Feb 15 10 03:03 PM

Leaders Barcelona slumped to their first La Liga defeat of the season on Sunday, losing 2-1 at Atletico Madrid, after second-placed Real Madrid beat Xerez 3-0 on Saturday with a double from Cristiano Ronaldo.

In Italy, AS Roma eased past Palermo 4-1 for their ninth consecutive win in all competitions while Bayern Munich made it 12 victories in a row with a 3-1 Bundesliga triumph over Borussia Dortmund.

SPAIN

Champions Barcelona, missing five first-team defenders, lost 2-1 at Atletico Madrid on Sunday, their first league defeat of the season in their 22nd match.

Diego Forlan's clinical finish and a superb Simao Sabrosa free kick put Atletico 2-0 ahead before Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled one back.

Second-placed Real Madrid trimmed Barca's lead to two points with a 3-0 win at Xerez, Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice on his return from a two-match ban after Alvaro Arbeloa had opened the scoring.

ITALY

Leaders Inter Milan drew 0-0 at Napoli in an entertaining game in which both sides hit the woodwork but the hosts probably deserved to win.

Midfielder Matteo Brighi scored twice as second-placed AS Roma kept up the pressure with a 4-1 win over Palermo, their ninth victory in a row in all competitions.

AC Milan, in third, warmed up for Tuesday's Champions League clash against Manchester United with a 3-2 home win over Udinese, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar netting twice.

Juventus ended a dreadful run of form thanks to Alessandro Del Piero's controversial late penalty in a 3-2 victory over Genoa.

GERMANY

Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich won at home to stay level on points at the top of the Bundesliga.

Leverkusen beat fading champions VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 on a miserable afternoon for visiting goalkeeper Andre Lenz and Bayern came from behind for a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund.

It was the 12th win in a row in all competitions for Louis van Gaal's Bayern.

ENGLAND

Aston Villa skipper Stilian Petrov headed an equaliser three minutes from time to force a 2-2 draw at second tier Crystal Palace in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday.

Holders Chelsea eased into the quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Cardiff City, another second tier side, while Portsmouth won by the same score at local rivals Southampton.

Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, Daniel Sturridge and Salomon Kalou scored for Chelsea while Michael Chopra replied for Cardiff.

FRANCE

Leaders Girondins Bordeaux beat St Etienne 3-1 to stay three points clear of Montpellier.

Morocco striker Marouane Chamakh headed champions Bordeaux in front before two goals from Brazilian Wendel secured the points. Bakary Sako replied.

Montpellier beat Grenoble 1-0.

PORTUGAL

Benfica stayed top with a 1-0 home win over bottom side Belenenses, Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozo heading in a cross by Brazil midfielder Ramires in the 10th minute.

Braga kept up the pressure when they beat Maritimo 2-1 to stay one point behind.

NETHERLANDS

PSV Eindhoven went three points clear at the top after a 1-0 win at Heracles Almelo, Swede Ola Toivonen heading the winner in the 58th minute.

Second-placed Twente Enschede won 2-1 at Vitesse Arnhem.

GREECE

Champions Olympiakos Piraeus closed the gap on Super League leaders Panathinaikos to three points by beating Asteras Tripolis 3-1 helped by two goals from Democratic Republic of Congo forward Lomana Lua Lua.

Ieroklis Stoltidis was also on target for Olympiakos and Luiz Eder pulled one back for Asteras.

Panathinaikos went down to a shock 2-0 home defeat against Kavala, Polish midfielder Ebi Smolarek scoring both goals in the second half.

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