The Hindu : Sport / Football : Barcelona assured of Spanish league title

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 10, 2005

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Sport - Football

Barcelona assured of Spanish league title

MADRID: Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o scored first-half goals on Sunday to earn FC Barcelona a 2-0 victory over Valencia and virtually assure the team of its first Spanish league title since 1999.

Ronaldinho unleashed a fierce shot in the 28th minute and Eto'o slotted home his 23rd goal of the season two minutes later to give Barcelona the chance to lift the trophy next Saturday by winning at lowly Levante.

Meanwhile, Lyon won a record-equalling fourth straight French first division title, defeating Ajaccio 2-1 at Lyon.

"This opens the door a little more for us to celebrate the league title when the moment comes,'' Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said.

Lyon has an 11-point lead over second-place Lille with only three rounds remaining. The team joins Marseille (1989-92) and Saint-Etienne (1967-70) with four straight French league titles.

Arsenal beats Liverpool

Arsenal made virtually sure of finishing runner-up in the English Premier League by beating Liverpool 3-1 on Sunday, which guaranteed Everton fourth spot and a place in next season's Champions League.

Two goals in four minutes by Robert Pires and Jose Antonio Reyes put the Gunners in control at Highbury. Although Steven Gerrard replied in a strong Liverpool fight-back in the second-half, Francesc Fabregas added Arsenal's third in the third minute of injury time.

Wigan Athletic gained promotion to the top division in English soccer for the first time in its history by beating Reading 3-1 on Sunday.

The results: Spanish league: Malaga 0 lost to Villarreal 2; Espanyol 3 bt Numancia 0; Getafe 2 bt Real Sociedad 0; Albacete 3 bt Levante 1; Valencia 0 lost to Barcelona 2; Deportivo La Coruna 2 bt Atletico Madrid 0.

French first division: Lyon 2 bt Ajaccio 1; Marseille 2 lost Caen 3; Bastia 2 bt Istres 0; Lille 1 bt Paris Saint-Germain 0; Metz 1 drew with Lens 1; Nice 0 drew with Nantes 0; Rennes 0 drew with Monaco 0; Sochaux 1 lost to Strasbourg 2.

English Premier League: Arsenal 3 bt Liverpool 1. Football League Championship: Brighton 1 drew with Ipswich 1; Cardiff 1 bt Queens Park Rangers 0; Crewe 2 bt Coventry 1; Derby 3 bt Preston 1; Leeds 0 drew with Rotherham 0; Millwall 0 drew with Burnley 0; Nottingham Forest 2 drew with Gillingham 2; Plymouth 0 drew with Leicester 0; Sunderland 1 bt Stoke 0; Watford 1 lost to West Ham 2; Wigan 3 bt Reading 1; Wolverhampton 4 bt Sheffield United 2. — AP

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