Napoli drops crucial points
Source: Agencies |
April 19, 2011, Tuesday
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AC Milan was within touching distance of its first Serie A title for seven years after nearest challenger Napoli lost 1-2 to Udinese on Sunday.
Second-half goals from Gokhan Inler and German Denis left second-placed Napoli, chasing its first scudetto since Diego Maradona's days in 1990, six points adrift of Milan with five matches to play.
Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, the championship's second top scorer with 25 goals, missed a penalty in a bad-tempered game featuring several flare-ups, although only Udinese's Maurizio Domizzi was sent off.
Milan, 3-0 winner over Sampdoria on Saturday, has 71 points from 33 games with Napoli stuck on 65 and Inter Milan, champion for the last five seasons, on 63 after its 0-2 defeat at Parma on Saturday.
Juventus was left facing a second successive season without Champions League football after it was held 0-0 by Fiorentina in a dour affair while rival Lazio thrashed Catania 4-1.
Those results left Juventus eight points adrift of Lazio which is in fourth place, the Champions League qualifying round berth, with 60 points.
Seventh-placed Juventus will have to concentrate on finishing fifth or sixth to qualify at least for the Europa League.
In Spain, a 90th-minute goal by Iker Muniain gave 10-man Athletic Bilbao a 2-1 win at Osasuna on Sunday in the Spanish league.
After Fernando Llorente had equalized for Bilbao in the 70th minute, Muniain fired into an empty net when goalkeeper Ricardo Lopez collided with teammate Nelson Tomar and gifted the young forward the ball outside the area.
Osasuna went ahead in the 51st minute when striker Enrique Sola scored from inside the box.
Xavier Castillo soon left Bilbao with 10 men after receiving his second yellow card for pulling down Tomar in the 57th.
The win lifted Bilbao into fifth place, two points ahead of Sevilla, while Osasuna remained two points above the drop zone. Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid drew 2-2 at Espanyol to stay in seventh place.
In Germany, Borussia Dortmund took a giant step toward winning the Bundesliga title on Sunday, beating Freiburg 3-0 at home after second-place Bayer Leverkusen lost 1-5 at Bayern Munich.
"It was the perfect outcome for this match day," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said.
Dortmund is eight points ahead of Leverkusen, with four rounds left to play, leading sporting director Michael Zorc to admit: "That was a big step, no question."
Earlier, Mario Gomez's first-half hat-trick helped Bayern Munich to its win over Leverkusen, whose coach Jupp Heynckes will take over at the defending champions next season.
Second-half goals from Gokhan Inler and German Denis left second-placed Napoli, chasing its first scudetto since Diego Maradona's days in 1990, six points adrift of Milan with five matches to play.
Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, the championship's second top scorer with 25 goals, missed a penalty in a bad-tempered game featuring several flare-ups, although only Udinese's Maurizio Domizzi was sent off.
Milan, 3-0 winner over Sampdoria on Saturday, has 71 points from 33 games with Napoli stuck on 65 and Inter Milan, champion for the last five seasons, on 63 after its 0-2 defeat at Parma on Saturday.
Juventus was left facing a second successive season without Champions League football after it was held 0-0 by Fiorentina in a dour affair while rival Lazio thrashed Catania 4-1.
Those results left Juventus eight points adrift of Lazio which is in fourth place, the Champions League qualifying round berth, with 60 points.
Seventh-placed Juventus will have to concentrate on finishing fifth or sixth to qualify at least for the Europa League.
In Spain, a 90th-minute goal by Iker Muniain gave 10-man Athletic Bilbao a 2-1 win at Osasuna on Sunday in the Spanish league.
After Fernando Llorente had equalized for Bilbao in the 70th minute, Muniain fired into an empty net when goalkeeper Ricardo Lopez collided with teammate Nelson Tomar and gifted the young forward the ball outside the area.
Osasuna went ahead in the 51st minute when striker Enrique Sola scored from inside the box.
Xavier Castillo soon left Bilbao with 10 men after receiving his second yellow card for pulling down Tomar in the 57th.
The win lifted Bilbao into fifth place, two points ahead of Sevilla, while Osasuna remained two points above the drop zone. Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid drew 2-2 at Espanyol to stay in seventh place.
In Germany, Borussia Dortmund took a giant step toward winning the Bundesliga title on Sunday, beating Freiburg 3-0 at home after second-place Bayer Leverkusen lost 1-5 at Bayern Munich.
"It was the perfect outcome for this match day," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said.
Dortmund is eight points ahead of Leverkusen, with four rounds left to play, leading sporting director Michael Zorc to admit: "That was a big step, no question."
Earlier, Mario Gomez's first-half hat-trick helped Bayern Munich to its win over Leverkusen, whose coach Jupp Heynckes will take over at the defending champions next season.
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