LA LIGA: Real Madrid went top of the Primera Liga when they snatched a 2-1 home win over lowly Albacete yesterday in an absorbing game that featured breathtaking first-half goals from either side.
David Beckham had put Real ahead on 38 minutes with a long-distance strike but his effort was upstaged just over a minute later when Albacete midfielder Libero Parri smashed home an unstoppable volley.
Albacete looked as though they were on course to gain a deserved away point but their hard work went unrewarded when Zinedine Zidane popped up in the area seven minutes from time to head home.
The result means Real are level on points at the top with Deportivo La Coruna, who were held to a 0-0 draw against a dominant Real Betis at Ruiz de Lopera on Saturday.
Third-placed Valencia, who are two points behind the leading duo, drew 2-2 at Murcia. Miguel Angel Mista scored both Valencia's goals.
Champions League side Celta Vigo continued their poor run when they lost 2-0 at home to Athletic Bilbao, who claimed their first away win of the season thanks to goals from defenders Mari Lacruz and Andoni Iraola.
The Basque side leapfrogged a host of sides to move into fourth place in the table, a point ahead of Barcelona, who lost 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday.
SERIE A: AS Roma romped to a 4-0 win at Bologna yesterday to keep themselves within two points of leaders Juventus but there were ugly scenes as Lazio beat Perugia 3-1 in a match in which four players were sent off.
Andriy Shevchenko scored both goals for AC Milan in their 2-0 win at Chievo taking his season's tally to 10 goals.
Roma's Francesco Totti, Vincenzo Montella and Christian Panucci gave Fabio Capello's team a 3-0 lead at the break and Antonio Cassano added the fourth shortly after the restart.
Juve, who won 2-0 at Modena on Saturday with David Trezeguet and Pavel Nedved scoring, lead the table with 26 points.
BUNDESLIGA: Kaiserslautern scored four second-half goals, including a hat-trick by Miroslav Klose, to turn a 2-0 deficit against Hertha Berlin into a resounding 4-2 victory yesterday.
On Saturday, Bayern Munich struggled to an uninspired 1-0 win over TSV 1860 Munich four days before their Champions League showdown with Celtic.
Bayern remained in fourth place, six points behind leaders VfB Stuttgart, who beat Hanover 96 3-1 to extend their unbeaten run to 13 matches with their 10th triumph of the season.
Werder Bremen rose to second ahead of Bayer Leverkusen with a 3-1 win over VfL Bochum.
DUTCH EREDIVISIE: Ajax Amsterdam beat Heerenveen 3-1 at home yesterday to keep their four-point lead over PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Dutch first division.
PSV fought back from 2-0 down at NEC Nijmegen with a double from Mateja Kezman to win 3-2 on Saturday.
FRENCH LIGUE ONE: Monaco went three points clear at the top of Ligue One with a 2-0 win over RC Lens. After a goalless first half Ludovic Giuly volleyed home right-footed at shoulder height. Giuly then set up Fernando Morientes to score the second and wrap things up for Ajax. PSG moved into fourth place after a 0-0 draw with Nice inn Paris yesterday.
