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Seville win over Zaragoza keeps title dreams alive

Seville's Adriano, left, tries to beat Zaragoza goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez during their La Liga match at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville, Spain, on Sunday. Seville won 3-1. PHOTO: AP

Seville kept their dreams of a first La Liga soccer title in 61 years alive on Sunday with a 3-1 win over Real Zaragoza on the strength of goals by Luis Baiano, Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Freddy Kanoute.

Kerzhakov turned up trumps with his fifth goal of the season eight minutes from time and Kanoute added a last-gasp clincher after Andres D'Alessandro had scored from a corner deflected home by Dani Alves midway through the second half to level Baiano's 26th-minute opener.

Seville's win left the championship race wide open with two games left as the southerners edged a win to move to 70 points from 36 games, two behind Real and Barca.

The booking that followed for waving his shirt in the air could not take the gloss off Russian star Kerzhakov's moment of glory and it seemed he would spare fellow striker Kanoute's blushes after the ex-Tottenham striker missed a second-half penalty.

Zaragoza ended the game with 10 men after Carlos Diogo was dismissed in the closing stages just before Kerzhakov fed Kanoute for the hosts' third goal.

Earlier, the focus had been on the relegation dogfight, with Celta Vigo and Athletic Bilbao managing precious wins.

Bilbao have never been relegated but have struggled badly in recent seasons and remain on the edge of the drop zone despite beating Mallorca 1-0 in a cacophonous San Mames stadium.

Ismael Urzaiz scored from the penalty spot midway through the second half to take Athletic to 37 points from 36 games after their ninth win of another tough campaign to give Bilbao coach Jose Manuel Esnal a little relief.

"This win is a boost to us but we still meed another one. The final furlong produces surprises with the legs heavy," Esnal told reporters.

Celta Vigo from the northwest, who were regular participants in Europe only a few years ago but have since lost their way, also bagged a vital three points, winning 2-1 at home to fellow strugglers Real Betis.

Brazilian forward Fernando Baiano scored deep into time added on after the hosts had been behind early on.

But another Basque side, Real Sociedad, are perilously close to the trapdoor after going down 2-0 at Osasuna.

They, like Vigo, have 33 points and are four from safety with six to play for.

In contrast, Osasuna fans were able to breathe a sigh of relief after a result that guaranteed the team would not be relegated.
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