Real maintain lead with derby victory
Monday, 21 January 2008 09:44Real Madrid maintained their seven-point lead over Barcelona at the top of the Primera Liga with a 2-0 win over city rivals Atletico Madrid at the Calderon.
Real scored his 11th goal against them in city derbies, steering in at the near post with just over 30 seconds on the clock.
Real keeper Iker Casillas produced a succession of brilliant saves before leading striker Ruud van Nistelrooy finished Atletico off with his 12th of the season on the stroke of halftime.
Barca needed an opportunist header from Thierry Henry to clinch a flattering 1-0 win over an ambitious Racing Santander at the Nou Camp.
The weekend also witnessed the fastest goal in Primera Liga history, Valladolid striker Joseba Llorente scoring after just seven seconds of his side's 2-1 win over Espanyol and then completing a memorable display with another before the break.
Villarreal are in third spot, five behind Barca, after their 3-0 win over Valencia on Saturday, while Atletico are a further point back in fourth.
Meanwhile in Italy, Serie A leaders Inter Milan came from behind to beat Parma 3-2 at home after Zlatan Ibrahimovic's controversial late double.
Inter, who maintain their seven-point advantage at the top, were 2-1 down with two minutes to go when Parma defender Fernando Couto was adjudged to have handled an Ibrahimovic shot off the line.
Replays suggested he had used his head and despite huge Parma protests, he was sent-off and Ibrahimovic converted the penalty before grabbing a stoppage-time winner.
Second-placed AS Roma had earlier put pressure on Inter with a 2-0 home win over Catania.
In France, Olympique Lyon suffered a fresh setback when they crashed 3-0 at struggling Racing Lens four days after being ousted from the French League Cup by Le Mans.
The result cut to three points the French champions' lead over Girondins Bordeaux, who claimed second place in Ligue 1 with a 2-1 win at Le Mans on Saturday despite playing with 10 men for the entire second half.
