FCBARCELONA.CAT

08.04.2007 12:40

Bad day for the leaders

On a day when FC Barcelona were beaten at Real Zaragoza, the leaders of Europe's top leagues were nearly all enduring a tough weekend. Manchester United, Inter and Lyon all failed to win, with only Schalke 04 taking maximum points.

Saturday was not a good day for the table toppers across the continent. As well as Barça's reverse in La Romareda, Manchester United were beaten 2-1 at Portsmouth, while Inter were held to a goalless draw at Reggina and Lyon earned a point from their away game at Valenciennes. The only team from the five richest leagues to garner maximum points were Schalke 04, who beate Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0.

Chelsea close the gap

The Premiership race heated up even further this weekend as the gap between the top two teams was closed ever further. Manchester United's defeat at Fratton Park came after Chelsea had beaten Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at Stamford Bridge earlier in the day, to leave the Blues just three points behind their rivals. The two clubs still have to play each other later in the campaign when the Red Devils travel to London on the penultimate day of the campaign.

Points shared

Lyon and Inter were only able to record goalless draws, again Valenciennes and Reggina respectively, but neither look in any danger at the top. Gerard Houllier's side have a 17-point lead, and a game in hand, over Lens at the top of Ligue 1, while Inter are 18 points above AS Roma in Serie A.

Flying high

Schalke 04 did not have the same troubles as the rest of the European title hopefuls the Gelsenkirchen outfit beat bottom of the table Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0. Second-half goals from Gerald Asamoah and Kevin Kuranyi gave the home victory and maintained their four-point advantage over second-placed VfB Stuttgart.