West Brom and Fulham improved their chances of staying in the Premier League next season.
West Brom defeated Everton 1-0 on Sunday, and Fulham won over Portsmouth 3-1 -- two big victories for teams fighting relegation.
Zoltan Gera drove home an 8m header in the 63rd minute, giving West Brom the 1-0 victory. The win moved the Baggies up to 18th place, even on 27 points with Southampton. Southampton has the edge on goal difference.
PHOTO: AFP
Norwich holds down last place with 20 points, topped by Crystal Place with 26. Above West Brom and Southampton are Portsmouth with 31 points, and Fulham and Blackburn with 33 each. The last three teams drop down a division next season.
It was the first time this season that West Brom has won back-to-back games.
In the other Sunday game, late goals from American Brian McBride and Luis Boa Morte lifted Fulham to a 3-1 victory over Portsmouth, moving the Cottagers above Portsmouth.
McBride scored in the 81st and Boa Morte added the clincher for the London club in second-half injury time.
Lomana LuaLua gave Portsmouth a 1-0 lead in the 32nd, but Andy Cole equalized in the 63rd and set the stage for the two late goals.
"He [McBride] definitely changed it," said Fulham coach Chris Coleman, who inserted the American early in the second half.
"He didn't start because he has just had a long flight back from America, and couldn't have played the full 90 minutes. But when I play with two strikers Brian is always at the front of my mind, because he works well with Andy Cole."
McBride was with the US last week for World Cup qualifiers against Mexico and Guatemala.
At the top of the Premier League, Chelsea leads with 80 points, followed by Arsenal and Manchester United with 67 each. Everton has 51 points and Liverpool has 50.
Rangers edged into first place, winning 3-2 at Motherwell behind two goals from Gregory Vignal.
Rangers have 78 points from 31 matches, with defending champion Celtic on 77. Hibernian is in third place with 53 points, one ahead of Aberdeen.
Vignal scored in the fourth and 32nd minutes, and Croatia striker Dado Prso made it 3-0 just minutes into the second half. Motherwell scored late with a penalty from Kevin McBride and an 84th-minute goal by Martyn Corrigan.
Motherwell has 39 points.
"It was a bit unnecessary the way it ended, but we played fantastic," Rangers coach Alex McLeish said. "We didn't throw it away so I'm happy.
"I'm delighted to be back at the top. We have played well this season but some games we have ground out and some points we have thrown away. You can't play great every game."
Celtic's upset came after Lee Miller scored in the eighth minute and Mark Burchill added another against his former club in the 19th.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst scored an injury-time equalizer to earn FC Barcelona a 3-3 draw with 10-man Real Betis.
Van Bronckhorst, who replaced midfielder Xavi Hernandez in the 76th minute, equalized in the fifth minute of injury time when he seized on a long pass by Portugal midfielder Deco and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Toni Doblas.
Samuel Eto'o, the league's leading scorer with 20 goals, twice scored from the penalty spot to help Barcelona rally back from a two-goal deficit.
Joaquin Sanchez scored two goals and Ricardo Oliveira added the other for Betis, which had central defender David Rivas ejected in the 14th minute.
"We didn't play well but we gained a point," Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said of the draw which extended the team's unbeaten run to eight games. "We showed team spirit. You need that to change a result which looked negative."
Later Sunday, Real Madrid beat host Albacete 2-1 and cut Barcelona's lead in the standings to nine points.
Ivan Helguera and Michael Owen scored for Madrid, which can move closer to its rival next Sunday when it hosts Barcelona.
All Spanish league games were marked by tributes to Pope John Paul II, who died Saturday night. A moment of silence was observed at some stadiums, while music was heard and prayers were said at others. Some teams wore black armbands.
Hertha Berlin teammates Marcelhino and Arne Friedrich fought with each other at halftime, and Borussia Dortmund took advantage of the trouble by beating its rival 2-1 on the field.
Brazilian forward Ewerthon scored the first goal in the 24th minute and Eby Solarek added the second in the 36th to stretch Dortmund's home dominance over Berlin to 33 years. Fifth-place Hertha last won in Dortmund in 1972.
Friedrich pulled one back for Berlin in the second half, just after Marcelhino hit Friedrich in the face during a heated exchange over the team's play.
"The energy we wasted in the dressing rooms would have been better spent on the pitch," Berlin coach Falko Goetz said. "We had our chances but we couldn't use them."
Friedrich is a Germany international and Berlin's captain. Marcelhino, who sometimes plays for Brazil's national team, has 12 goals and 12 assists and is one of the Bundesliga's top midfielders.
Berlin, which had lost just once in its previous 16 matches, wasted numerous chances.
The visitors mounted a nonstop attack after the break in a rousing game for the 76,100 spectators at Westfalenstadion, with Friedrich repeatedly rushing up front and putting Berlin back in the match with a 62nd-minute roller that ricocheted in off the left post.
Dortmund's players took bows after the final whistle in front of its cheering fans as the team's upward trend continued. For the first time since the eighth round the squad reached the upper half of the table -- ninth in the 18-team league.
Ivory Coast striker Salomon Kalou scored a hat trickto lead Feyenoord Rotterdam to a 4-2 victory over AZ Alkmaar.
The major beneficiary was league leader PSV Eindhoven, which now holds a 10-point lead over AZ in the Dutch title race, having played one more game.
Feyenoord drew level with third-place Ajax on 53 points, but has a goal difference better than that of the Amsterdam team.
Also Sunday, NEC Nijmegen beat FC Groningen 4-3, and bottom club FC Den Bosch scrambled only its third victory of the season, 2-1 at RBC Roosendaal.
Laurent Batlles scored a 75th-minute equalizer to help Marseille rally back for a 1-1 draw with visiting Paris Saint-Germain in the first division.
Koji Nakata scored an own-goal in the 47th minute to put PSG in the lead, but Batlles profited from a defensive error to earn a point for Marseille, which had lost its last eight games to fierce rival PSG.
Marseille could have taken over second place with a win, but instead stays in third place with 52 points, trailing Lille on goal difference.
Lyon, which leads the league with 65 points from 31 matches, needs just three more wins from its remaining seven matches to clinch its fourth straight league title.
Substitute Morten Berre headed in the equalizing goal in the 53rd minute to give Valerenga a 2-2 draw with IFK Goteborg.
Nigerian striker Peter Ijeh gave two-time UEFA Cup champion IFK a 2-0 lead in the 35th and 45th minutes.
Valerenga got back in the game thanks to an own-goal by Karl Svensson in the 51st. Berre then headed in a free kick taken by Stefan Ishizaki, who was also the man behind Svensson's own-goal.
IFK Goteborg leads Group 2 with four points. Valerenga has two points and Brann, another Norwegian team, is third with one point. Each team has played two games.
The inaugural Royal League, so named because Sweden, Denmark and Norway are constitutional monarchies, started late last year with the top four teams from the three Scandinavian countries. It's an attempt to shorten the long winter breaks clubs in those countries must endure, and make them more competitive in international play.
The two second-round group winners will play for the Nordic club championship on May 26.
There's something for everybody in the European Champions League quarterfinals.
If it's history you're after, the focus will be on Tuesday's first leg at Liverpool against Juventus, their first competitive match since the Heysel disaster 20 years ago in which 39 people were killed.
Tuesday's other match is a showdown between so-called outsiders -- PSV Eindhoven vs. Lyon.
The French champions are on the verge of winning a record-fourth consecutive league title. They are a considered a longshot by some, but so was FC Porto before it won the title last year under coach Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho moved this season to Chelsea, and he should have been at the center of Chelsea's match against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. But he was banned last week by UEFA for bringing the game into disrepute.
Chelsea and Lyon are the only two of the remaining eight teams that have not won European soccer's biggest club trophy.
Finally, there is the Italian derby between AC Milan and Inter Milan, and with Juventus still alive, Italy has three teams in the final eight of Europe's top club tournament.
Liverpool and Juventus share a bit of soccer's saddest history.
On May 29, 1985, 39 Italian and Belgian fans were killed when Liverpool supporters stampeded toward them inside the stadium just minutes before the start of the European Champions Cup final.
Juventus won the game 1-0, and the violence saw English clubs banned from Europe for five years.
"There will be emotions," Juventus coach Fabio Capello said. "And they'll be felt by both clubs."
Juventus, a strong favorite to advance, probably will start Alessandro Del Piero and Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front. Either David Trezeguet or Marcelo Zalayeta will join them. Juve's Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved is due to return after a 40-day absence from a concussion.
Liverpool has only one fit forward in Milan Baros, but much of the attention will be focused at midfield in a battle between Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Juve's Emerson.
Lyon, which has all but clinched its fourth straight French league title, is one of the best and most underrated teams in Europe. Lyon reached the Champions League quarterfinals last year, and advanced from the last round this season by beating Werder Bremen 10-2 on aggregate.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely