Real stretch lead as Valencia slip

SPAIN: Real Madrid took full advantage of a slip-up by title rivals Valencia when they stretched their lead at the top of the Primera Liga to eight points following a 4-2 victory over struggling Celta Vigo yesterday.

Celta looked anything but relegation candidates as they eclipsed Real in the first half and took a deserved lead thanks to a close-range strike from Sasa Ilic on 18 minutes. But Real roared back into life in the second half and well worked goals from Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo put them 3-1 in front.

Celta striker Savo Milosevic grabbed a late consolation with a cool finish on the break, but Real had the final say when Zidane notched his side's fourth in injury-time.

Earlier Valencia had come unstuck when they went down 2-1 to struggling Espanyol at a snowy Montjuic but they remain second after third-placed Deportivo Coruna went down 3-2 to Barcelona in last night's thrilling encounter at Deportivo's Riazor stadium.

Espanyol striker Raul Tamudo scored both of his side's goals, and although Mista clawed one back for the visitors it was not enough to prevent a defeat that provides a severe dent to Valencia's title aspirations.

ITALY: Midfielder Massimo Ambrosini's goal gave AC Milan a 1-0 win over Lazio last night that preserved their five-point cushion at the top of Serie A.

AS Roma came from behind to crush Parma 4-1 and champions Juventus brushed aside Ancona 3-0 to keep up the pressure.

Roma's form during February had been blighted by the kind of inconsistency highlighted by the scoreless draw with bottom-placed Ancona that followed their sparkling 4-0 defeat of Juventus.

A 30th-minute lob by striker Alberto Gilardino put Parma ahead and threatened a torrid afternoon for the 2001 champions, but Italian international Antonio Cassano equalised seconds before the interval. Roma grabbed the lead seven minutes after the break, when Emerson poked an Olivier Dacourt through-ball past Frey.

A 70th-minute free kick by Totti and an opportunistic goal from a rebound by Brazilian midfielder Mancini sealed the victory.

At Turin's Stadio delle Alpi Juventus gave a convincing response to criticism by their president Umberto Agnelli that they had fallen short of last season's standards, recording a comfortable victory over Ancona. Midfielder Mauro Camoranesi gave the home team the lead in the seventh minute with a looping right-footed drive.

The Italian champions then survived a spell of pressure by Ancona before a Fabrizio Miccoli tap-in and a curling close-range finish by Alessandro Del Piero wrapped up the 3-0 win before the interval.

There was no such joy for sixth-placed Inter Milan, whose chances of snatching Italy's fourth Champions League berth appear to be fading after a 3-1 deafeat to Brescia.

GERMANY: Two goals from Brazilian midfielder Marcelinho helped Bundesliga strugglers Hertha Berlin climb out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win at Hanover 96 yesterday. Marcelinho struck on 41 and 81 minutes for the capital club, who started the season dreaming of qualifying for the Champions League but will now be happy if they stay up.

Four-times German champions Kaiserslautern dropped to second from bottom by losing 1-0 with 10 men at SC Freiburg in the other match played yesterday.

Leaders Werder Bremen closed in on the title with a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. They stay seven points clear of champions Bayern Munich, who beat VfL Wolfsburg 2-0, also on Saturday.

FRANCE: Leaders Monaco and second-placed Olympique Lyon were both held to 1-1 draws on Saturday, but third-placed Paris St Germain failed to take advantage when drawing 1-1 with AJ Auxerre yesterday.

HOLLAND: Leaders Ajax Amsterdam and second-placed PSV Eindhoven suffered surprise defeats to lowly Utrecht and European hopefuls Roda JC Kerkrade respectively in the Dutch first division yesterday.

Utrecht's Stefaan Tanghe got a late winner to hand Ajax a second straight loss, while two goals in the first 18 minutes from Roda's Arouna Kone and Cristiano gave them victory at PSV.