Barcelona close in on title, PSG almost there

LONDON: Barcelona look well set to wrap up the La Liga title after Real Madrid could only draw while Paris St Germain are all but champions in France.

Spain

Real Madrid’s hopes of winning the title were left hanging by a thread when they were held to a 2-2 home draw by Valencia after La Liga leaders Barcelona secured a nervy 2-0 win against visiting Real Sociedad.

Second-placed Real, who had to recover from two goals down to rescue a point at the Bernabeu, are four points behind their arch rivals with two games left and Barca can wrap up the title with a win at champions Atletico Madrid next weekend.

Luis Enrique’s side struggled to find a way past Sociedad goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli at the Nou Camp be- fore Neymar struck soon after halftime and substitute Pedro scored a spectacular overhead kick late on.

Atletico missed a chance to all but secure third place and a Champions League group stage berth when Fernando Torres had to come off the bench to salvage a 2-2 draw at strugglers Levante that left them four points ahead of fourth-placed Valencia.

Germany

VfL Wolfsburg beat struggling Paderborn 3-1 to secure a spot in the Champions League group stage next season after making sure of a top three finish with two matches to spare.

First-half goals from Timm Klose and Bas Dost, who took his league tally to 16, made sure Wolfsburg returned to the elite European club competition for the first time since winning the Bundesliga in 2009.

Bayern Munich, who have already secured the title, lost 1-0 to Augsburg for their fourth defeat in a row in all competitions as coach Pep Guardiola’s team prepare to face Barcelona in their Champions League semi-final return tomorrow.

Borussia Moenchengladbach, in third place, edged closer to their maiden Champions League group stage participation after cruising past rivals Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 to put five points between them.

Italy

AS Roma stayed second, which would earn a Champions League group stage place, despite losing 2-1 at AC Milan.

Roma have 64 points, one more than Lazio who remained third in the Champions League playoff spot after losing 2-1 at home to Inter Milan with their former player Hernanes scoring both goals for the visitors.

Napoli are three points behind Lazio after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 at relegated Parma. Cesena will join Parma in Serie B next season after losing 3-2 at home to Sassuolo.

Paris St Germain are almost certain to retain their Ligue 1 title after second-placed Olympique Lyonnais’s 3-0 loss at Caen left them six points behind with two games left.

France

PSG, who demolished En Avant Guingamp 6-0 on Friday, have 77 points and a better goal difference (+45 to +38) than Lyon, who were physically overwhelmed by struggling Caen.

Monaco remain two points ahead in third but Olympique de Marseille beat them 2-1 to boost their hopes of snatching the Champions League playoff spot. St Etienne are level with Marseille after a 5-0 mauling of Nice. – Reuters