Barcelona close in on league title
Madrid, April 30:
FC Barcelona moved within two points of its second straight Spanish league title on Saturday, beating Cadiz 1-0 on Ronaldinho’s 16th goal of the season.
Barcelona will be proclaimed champion for the 18th time on Sunday if second-place Valencia draws or loses against Alaves.
Barcelona leads with 76 points, 11 more than Valencia. Real Madrid has 63. All three teams have four more matches to play.
In other games, Celta Vigo downed Deportivo La Coruna 2-0 for its fifth victory in six games. Real Betis drew 1-1 with fellow struggler Athletic Bilbao.
German Cup
BERLIN: Claudio Pizarro’s header in the 59th minute gave Bayern Munich its 13th German Cup title on Saturday with a 1-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bayern’s target is to become the first German team to repeat the domestic double. In the Bundesliga, Bayern has a five-point lead with three games remaining.
The goal by Pizarro, who outjumped two defenders to Ze Roberto’s corner, ended booing from 63,000 spectators.
Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn became the first player to win the German Cup five times. Bayern, which also has 19 German league titles, has won all but two of its 15 appearances in the final.
Premier League
LONDON: Chelsea won its second straight Premier League title on Saturday while Birmingham City and West Brom were relegated from English league.
Birmingham City drew 0-0 with Newcastle, and West Brom didn’t play. They were relegated to the League Championship after Portsmouth defeated Wigan 2-1. Sunderland was relegated several weeks ago.
Liverpool held on to third place with its 3-1 win over Aston Villa. Steven Gerrard scored twice and Fernando Morientes had the other. Gareth Barry scored in the second half for Villa.
Chelsea has 91 points with Manchester United and Liverpool both on 79. Tottenham is in fourth with 62 points.
French Cup
SAINT-DENIS: Bonaventure Kalou and Vikash Dhorasoo scored a goal each as Paris Saint-Germain beat fierce rival Marseille 2-1 to win the French Cup for the seventh time.
Toifilou Maoulida pulled a goal back for 10-time Cup winner Marseille.
Kalou struck in the fifth minute after a mistake from Marseille defender. In the 49th minute, Dhorasoo collected a loose ball, ran 20 yards and fired a powerful shot past Marseille goalkeeper Fabien Barthez from the edge of the penalty area.