Juve and Deportivo stay on course

An Alessandro Del Piero penalty was enough to keep Juventus on course for their 26th league success as it secured a 1-0 win over Fiorentina.

Sole rivals Lazio were 2-0 winners at Piacenza but with only three matches left of the Serie A season, Juventus look almost certain to finish top of the pile.

Del Piero scored in first-half stoppage time after a foul on winger Gianluca Zambrotta. It was Del Piero’s eighth spot-kick of the season — and all of them have been converted.

Lazio coach Sven Goran Eriksson said his side had to keep fighting to stay in contention.

Deportivo, who have suffered several recent wobbles as they try to lift their first ever crown, thanked first-half goals from Dutchman Roy Makaay and Cesar Martin for a 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad.

Barcelona kept the pressure on Deportivo after Patrick Kluivert and Jari Litmanen scored the goals in a 2-0 win at the Nou Camp over struggling Sevilla but Manchester United’s European conquerors Real Madrid inexplicably went down 4-2 at home to lowly Racing Santander.

The result, which came after Roberto Carlos had put Real into the lead on the half hour, saw Real’s fading title hopes all but disappear in a puff of smoke before fuming fans at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

A goal from England winger Steve McManaman was scant consolation for a defeat which sees `Meringues’ slip to fourth eight points adrift of Deportivo with four games to play.

Real Zaragoza went up to third after a 2-1 win on Saturday at Numancia achieved with two goals inside the opening four minutes from an Ivan Rocha own goal and a clincher from Jorge Gonzalez Yordi.

Atletico Madrid slumped 2-0 at Valencia, Spain’s third team in the Champions League semi-finals — they face Barca next month — and remain in dire trouble second from bottom of the table and five points from safety.

But Atletico received a little cheer last evening when Barcelona president Jose Luis Nunez said his club will refuse to play their Spanish Cup semi-final, second-leg home match against them on Monday.

Barca, 3-0 down from first leg, say they don’t have many players for the match as nine internationals have been called up by their National sides and three players are out injured.

The club has been in a rift with the Spanish Football Federation after it changed the date of match from April 26 to Honour the club’s international players.

However, Barca’s internationals had to travel back to their home countries before Monday’s scheduled Cup match.

In Germany, Bosnian striker Hasan Salihamidzic enabled Bayern Munich to close the gap on leaders Bayer Leverkusen back to three points and see off Borussia Dortmund 1-0 away.

Leverkusen had underlined their stranglehold on the title race in a match brought forward to Thursday, winning 3-1 at Werder Bremen.

But Bayern, fresh from snatching a place in the Champions League semi-finals at the expense of Porto, doggedly held onto their one-goal lead to eke out a win which puts them right back in the hunt.

In contrast, Dortmund are in freefall and now placed fourth, a single point clear of Ulm, less than three years after winning tbe European Cup.

Salihamidzic claimed his winner from close range following a howler from Dortmund’s German international keeper Jens Lehmann, who allowed a free kick from Michael Tarnat to elude his grasp.

Dortmund, without a win in 14 league matches since winter break, have to hope that Eintracht Frankfurt, two points ahead of them, will be sucked back into the relegation dog — fight after having two points docked for Financial irregularities.

Second division Gueugnon are the toast of France after their sensational League Cup final success over PSG, which brings the minnows a place in next season’s UEFA Cup.

Paris Saint Germain are third in the French league table and now must concentrate their energy on claiming a Champions League place.