AC Milan, Arsenal and Werder power on as rivals falter
LONDON, March 15: AC Milan, Arsenal and Werder Bremen wore the air of champions-elect after a grim weekend for their respective rivals Juventus, Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
Milan thumped Italian champions Juventus 3-1 in Turin to open out a seven-point lead in Serie A. Unbeaten Arsenal won 2-0 at Blackburn to stay nine points clear in the English Premier League, the same cushion now enjoyed by Werder in the German Bundesliga after their 3-2 win over Cologne.
The action in Spain's Primera Liga was overshadowed by this week's bomb attacks in Madrid. Dutch international Clarence Seedorf scored twice as European champions Milan tightened their grip at the top of Serie A with their convincing win over Juve on Sunday.
Second-placed Roma could only draw 0-0 with Reggina. Third-placed Juventus, knocked out of the Champions League in midweek, trail the leaders by nine points with nine games of the season remaining.
Primera Liga leaders Real Madrid dropped points at the Bernabeu for only the second time this season when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Zaragoza on Saturday.
Real took the lead through reserve striker Javier Portillo but Zaragoza hit back when defender Delio Toledo nodded in an angled header. Second-placed Valencia closed to within four points after Francisco Rufete's double gave them a 2-0 win at Celta Vigo.
Barcelona went third with a 2-0 victory over basement club Murcia and Deportivo Coruna dropped to fourth after losing 4-2 at struggling Real Mallorca. A bad week for Manchester United ended with a disastrous 4-1 derby defeat at rivals Manchester City that effectively ended their English title hopes five days after Porto knocked them out of the Champions League.
Shaun Wright-Phillips scored the pick of City's goals in stoppage time, a crashing drive from the corner of the penalty area, to inflict United's worst league defeat since October 1999.
Thierry Henry and Robert Pires netted in Arsenal's 2-0 win at Blackburn on Saturday that lifted them 12 points clear of United. Second-placed Chelsea stay nine points adrift, despite winning 2-0 at Bolton with goals by John Terry and Damien Duff.
Relegation-threatened Leicester, stung by the controversy following their break in Spain, won 1-0 at Birmingham City. Two goals from Brazilian striker Ailton helped Werder Bremen stretch their lead at the top of the Bundesliga with a 3-2 win over bottom club Cologne on Saturday.
Second-placed champions Bayern Munich, also eliminated from the Champions League in midweek, were held to a 3-3 home draw by Hansa Rostock. Bayern led 2-0 at halftime but then conceded three goals before Dutch striker Roy Makaay saved them from defeat with a penalty in the 76th minute.
