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Monday, Dec 04, 2006
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Levante holds Barcelona

MADRID: Alvaro Maior scored in the 77th minute and Levante rallied to draw FC Barcelona 1-1 on Saturday, ending the Spanish league leader's three-game winning streak.

Barcelona remained atop the La Liga with 30 points, two ahead of Sevilla and four in front of Real Madrid.

Sevilla will have a chance to go atop the table when it travels to play at Espanyol. Real Madrid hosts Athletic Bilbao.

In other games on Saturday, Recreativo Huelva beat Valencia 2-0 and Atletico Madrid won 1-0 at Real Betis.

Without Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi, Barcelona struggled early against Levante's midfield.

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard included Lilian Thuram in the starting lineup after the French defender complained of being under utilised.

Deco gave Barcelona lead in the 41st, sending a free kick off the post in the top left corner and into the right side of the net. The goal came 15 minutes after the Barcelona midfielder lashed out at Levante midfielder Mathieu Berson after a foul and walked away without a card.

Levante slowly took control in the second half, with midfielder Felix Ettien troubling Barcelona's defence. Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes bobbled a powerful shot in the 69th minute after Ettien had shrugged off a fierce tackle by Silvinho. Maior capitalised on a rebound to score the equalise after Valdes parried a free kick by Olivier Cappo.

Galletti scores winner

Argentina forward Luciano Galletti provided Atletico's goal in the 33rd minute, and goalkeeper Leo Franco saved two penalties to preserve the victory.

Franco drew gasps Lopera when, at full stretch to his left, he stopped thwarted Edu Schmidt's penalty attempt in the 52nd minute and then recovered swiftly to punched clear a powerfully struck rebound by Betis's central defender Juanito Gutierrez.

He provided more heroics in the 69th minute Franco by denying midfielder Fernando Fernandez on his penalty attempt, moving Atletico past Zaragoza into fourth with 24 points.

In Huelva, Valencia goalkeeper Santiago Canizares cleared a shot in the second minute only to see midfielder Aitor Tornavaca convert the rebound.

Florent Sinama-Pongolle, on loan to Recreativo from Liverpool, scored in the 82nd when he sidestepped defender Raul Albiol and Canizares for a close-range goal.

Inter stays on top

Inter Milan reinforced its position on top of Serie A by cruising to a 2-0 home win over Siena at the San Siro on Saturday.

Goals by Argentine internationals Nicolas Burdisso and Hernan Crespo extended Inter's winning streak to 11 games in league and cup competitions and gave the leader 36 points from 14 Serie A matches.

Second-placed AS Roma stayed four points behind after Francesco Totti scored two penalties in a 2-1 victory over Atalanta.

In the 11th minute, Burdisso dashed into the box to head in a corner. The best chance of an equaliser came in the 50th minute when defender Douglas Maicon obstructed Luca Antonini to give away a penalty but Inter 'keeper Julio Cesar parried Mario Frick's spot kick.

Crespo wrapped up the win four minutes later. A clever pass by Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent the striker into the area and he jinked round a defender before chipping the ball coolly over keeper Alex Manninger.

Tougher time

Roma had a tougher time overcoming Atalanta at the Olympic Stadium.

The visitors were rewarded for a lively start in the 19th minute when Cristiano Doni cut the ball across the area for Massimo Donati to angle a shot goalwards.

Roma 'keeper Doni blocked his shot but could not prevent Riccardo Zampagna firing in the rebound.

Gradually Roma took control and in the 50th minute Simone Loria tripped Simone Perrotta before Totti fired home his first penalty.

Totti made it 2-1 after being upended by Giulio Migliaccio 12 minutes later.

The Roma captain's double took his tally for the season to nine goals, making him joint top scorer in the division with Messina striker Christian Rigano.

Man United wins

Sir Alex Ferguson's belief that Manchester United can reclaim the Premiership title has been bolstered after his side emerged victorious from a scrap with Middlesbrough to pull six points clear of Chelsea.

``Consistency is what wins championships and we have got that at the moment,'' Ferguson said after watching his side claim a 2-1 victory that ensured it avoided the fate of Chelsea, which had lost at the Riverside in August.

``It was a very important result for us because Middlesbrough is not an easy place to come, they have shown that in the past,'' the United manager added.

``But the lads have shown great resolution and we have got a good result.''

Chelsea, which did not play this weekend, could find itself nine points behind the leader by the time it kicks off against Arsenal on December 10, if United can beat Manchester City 24 hours earlier.

Liverpool registered a first away win this season with a 4-0 win at Wigan while Sheffield United escaped from the relegation zone by beating bottom side Charlton 2-1.

Scotland midfielder Darren Fletcher was United's match-winner, heading in from close range two minutes after Boro sub James Morrison had cancelled out Louis Saha's first-half penalty.

The results: Spanish League: Levante 1 (Alvaro 77) drew with Barcelona 1 (Deco 41); Real Betis 0 lost to Atletico Madrid 1 (Galletti 33); Recreativo Huelva 2 (Aitor 2, Sinama Pongolle 82) bt Valencia 0.

Italian League: Inter Milan 2 (Burdisso 12, Crespo 55) bt Siena 0; Roma 2 (Totti 51-pen, Totti 64-pen) bt Atalanta 1 (Zampagna 21).

English Premier League: Wigan 0 lost to Liverpool 4 (Bellamy 9, Bellamy 26, Kuyt 41, McCulloch 45-own goal); Sheffield United 2 (Morgan 64, Gillespie 88) bt Charlton 1 (Reid 17); Reading 1 (Doyle 33) bt Bolton 0; Portsmouth 2 (Taylor 52, Taylor 80-pen) drew with Aston Villa 2 (Barry 37-pen, Angel 82); Middlesbrough 1 (Morrison 66) lost to Manchester United 2 (Saha 19-pen, Fletcher 68); Blackburn 2 (Nonda 6, McCarthy 24) bt Fulham 0.

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