Associated Press

Madrid, March 21:

Brazil defender Roberto Carlos scored a 61st-minute game-winning goal to lead Real Madrid to an unimpressive 1-0 victory over Malaga, only its second win in its last six Spanish league matches. The win cut FC Barcelona’s lead to 11 points. But with only nine rounds of the season remaining, it looks unlikely that Madrid will catch its archrival in the title race. Also, defending champion Valencia downed Getafe 3-1 to move into fifth place, Sevilla beat lowly Mallorca 1-0, Athletic Bilbao downed Levante 3-1, and Racing Santander edged last-place Numancia 3-2. In late game, Atletico Madrid drew 0-0 at Zaragoza and stayed in eighth place.

Barcelona leads with 68 points, followed by Madrid with 57. Real Betis is in third place with 48 points. Villarreal, which beat Steaua Bucharest 2-0 on Sunday to reach the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, is in fourth place with 47 points and a game in hand. Valencia, Espanyol and Sevilla follow with 46 points each.

English premiership

LONDON: Liverpool beat Everton 2-1 to reclaim fifth place in the English Premier league and move within four points of its fourth-placed crosstown rival. Steven Gerrard and Luis Garcia scored first-half goals for Liverpool, which finished with 10 men after Milan Baros was sent off with 13 minutes remaining. Tim Cahill scored in the 82nd for Everton. Also, Birmingham beat local rival Aston Villa 2-0 with goals from Emile Heskey and Julian Gray, while Southampton moved out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win at Middlesbrough. Liverpool reclaimed fifth with 47 points after Bolton moved ahead on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Norwich. Everton remained with 51 points while Bolton has 46. Southampton won with two goals from Peter Crouch and another from Andreas Jakobsson. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink briefly levelled for Middlesbrough in the 41st minute. The win moves Saints into 17th place with 27 points, one ahead of Crystal Palace. West Bromwich Albion has 24 and Norwich has 20.

Italian Serie A

ROME: AC Milan stayed even with Juventus at the top of the Serie A standings and extended its winning streak to eight with a 2-0 win over host AS Roma. Argentina striker Hernan Crespo put AC Milan in the lead by out-leaping defender Christian Panucci for a header in the 63rd minute. Seven minutes later, Crespo sent another header toward Roma’s goal and Panucci intercepted the ball with his arm. The play earned Panucci a red card, reducing his side to 10 men, and awarded Milan a penalty kick that Andrea Pirlo converted. Roma ended with only nine men when captain Francesco Totti picked up his second yellow card in the 90th.

Juventus beat Reggina 1-0 on Saturday with a 65th-minute winner by captain Alessandro Del Piero. Both Juventus and Milan have 66 points. Earlier on Sunday, Inter Milan took over sole possession of third place after beating Fiorentina 3-2, but may have lost Brazilian striker Adriano to injury. Inter is in third place with 50 points, followed by Udinese with 48 and Sampdoria with 47.

Results

Spanish La Liga: Valencia 3, Getafe 1; Athletic Bilbao 3, Levante 1; Numancia 2, Racing Santander 3; Mallorca 0, Sevilla 1; Real Madrid 1, Malaga 0; Zaragoza 0, Atletico Madrid 0.

Italian Serie A: Chievo Verona 3, Brescia 1; Inter Milan 3, Fiorentina 2; Livorno 3, Cagli-ari 3; Messina 0, Bologna 0; Parma 3, Palermo 3; Sampdoria 1, Atalanta 2; Udinese 2, Le-cce 1; AS Roma 0, AC Milan 2. English Premiership: Birmingham 2, Aston Villa 0; Middlesbrough 1, Southampton 3; Liverpool 2, Everton 1.

Angry Ronaldo

MADRID: Ronaldo threw a plastic water bottle at Real Madrid fans after they insulted him and his mother during the club’s Spanish League match against Malaga. The Brazilian star was replaced by Michael Owen in the 85th minute of Sunday’s 1-0 home victory at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. He was putting on his jacket when a piece of gum was spit at him and fans yelled racist insults. “They insulted me and my mother and I had a bad reaction,” Ronaldo said. — AP