Valencia Closing On Real Madrid
Valencia moved to within one point of stumbling Real Madrid in the Spanish league Sunday with a 5-1 victory over Mallorca behind three goals by Miguel Angel Ferrer.
Real Madrid, the defending champion, lost to Athletic de Bilbao, 4-2. Asier del Horno scored the go-ahead goal and added another for insurance.
Ronaldinho scored in the 89th minute and FC Barcelona moved into third place with a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad.
At England, Arsenal extended its unbeaten streak to 29 matches -- equaling an English record -- by beating Bolton, 2-1.
Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp scored for the Gunners, who are in contention for the FA Cup and Champions Cup.
Defending Premier League champion Manchester United beat Tottenham, 3-0, and second-place Chelsea stayed nine points behind Arsenal by defeating Fulham, 2-1.
At Italy, defending European champion Milan got two goals from Jon-Dahl Tomasson and another from Serie A league-leading scorer Andriy Shevchenko to beat Parma, 3-1. Shevchenko has 19 goals.
The game at Rome between AS Roma and Lazio was suspended after 48 minutes when a rumor spread through the stands that a youth had been killed by police outside the stadium and fans demanded that play be stopped.
Police said the rumor was unfounded, but referee Roberto Rosetti stopped the scoreless game for “reasons of public order.”
League President Adriano Galliani said the game would be replayed.
At Germany, Werder Bremen increased its lead in the Bundesliga to 11 points after getting two late goals from Ivan Klasnic and Johan Micoud to beat Wolfsburg, 2-0.
Bayern Munich and Stuttgart’s fading title hopes took a blow when both were held to draws by bottom clubs.
Bayern Munich was held to a 1-1 draw by 17th-place Hertha Berlin, and Stuttgart tied 18th-place Cologne, 2-2.
At Sao Paulo, Brazil, striker Fabricio Carvalho scored twice on headers and Sao Caetano upset Sao Paulo, 2-0, to advance to the semifinals of the Paulista championship.
Eighth-seeded Sao Caetano, which reached the playoffs only because of a last-round victory in the regular season, was the underdog.
The 2002 Copa Libertadores runner-up controlled the pace and contained Sao Paulo’s offensive power.
Peru’s Solano Is Out
Peru midfielder Nolberto Solano will sit out his team’s World Cup qualifying game against Colombia on March 31 because of a hamstring injury.
The Aston Villa player was injured in an English Premier League game against Blackburn on Saturday.
Solano is expected to be sidelined one month.
