EUROPEAN ROUND-UP: SPANISH LA LIGA: Barcelona saw their Primera Liga lead cut to a point by Real Madrid as they were held to a goalless draw by Valencia at the Mestalla on Saturday.
Pablo Hernandez went close from his own half and strike partner Juan Mata missed a host of chances, while David Silva was denied by Victor Valdes from the best opportunity of the match.
They remain a point ahead of arch-rivals Madrid, who beat Real Valladolid 4-2.
Deportivo La Coruna moved level on points with Sevilla following a surprise 1-0 win.
Yesterday, Real Mallorca maintained their perfect home record in La Liga with an impressive 3-1 victory over Getafe yesterday.
Ivan Alonso struck a brace to give Espanyol a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Tenerife and make light of the controversial absence of star striker Raul Tamudo.
Tamudo is back from injury but was left out of the squad following an unseemly contract wrangle with the Catalan club this week.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino admitted that the striker – Espanyol’s all-time top goalscorer – may never play for the club again and opted to cut the player from his matchday squad to avoid unrest.
Racing Santander produced a late fightback at La Romareda to come from two goals down to steal a draw against Zaragoza.
Zaragoza held a first-half 2-0 lead with 10 minutes left on the clock. But two goals in the space of four minutes, courtesy of Mohamed Tchite and Oscar Serrano, spoilt what had looked to be a routine win for the hosts.
Xerez won the basement battle against Villarreal 2-1 to finally register their first victory of the season.
Almeria claimed a deserved first away win of the season to add to Malaga’s early-season woes with a 2-1 victory.
ITALIAN SERIE A: Sampdoria could only draw 1-1 with Lazio a day after table-toppers Inter Milan hammered Genoa 5-0.
Inter’s thumping victory on Saturday took them three points clear at the top of the table, while Samp were held in a match in which both sides had a player sent off.
Elsewhere yesterday, striker Alexandre Pato earned AC Milan a 2-1 comeback win over AS Roma.
Roma winger Jeremy Menez slotted in the opener on three minutes. Ronaldinho levelled from the penalty spot on 56 minutes.
Brazilian Pato gave a calm finish to give Milan only their third Serie A win of the campaign.
Christian Maggio’s injury-time winner completed a superb comeback from Napoli as a 2-1 win over Bologna gave new boss Walter Mazzarri the most enthralling of starts.
Antonio Conte celebrated his first win as coach of Atalanta with a a 3-1 victory at Udinese.
Jorge Martinez headed an 87th-minute winner for Catania as they claimed their first league win of the season, beating Cagliari 2-1.
Parma maintained their recent fine form with a 1-0 win against Siena, while Bari claimed a hard-earned three points from a 2-1 victory.
Livorno’s season of struggle continued as they lost 2-1 to Palermo.
On Saturday, Inter were the big victors while Juventus’ winless streak extended to five games as Fiorentina held them to a 1-1 draw.
