Pro Eleven Headline News
Inter Milan three points clear of Juventus
One goal from Brazilian Adriano gave Inter Milan a 1-0 victory over Sampdoria on Sunday, which left the leaders three points clear of Juventus atop the Italian Serie A.
Inter coach Jose Mourinho was sent off minutes before the goal for dissent towards the officials as his side nervously took the points.
Adriano scored the winner on 45 minutes after playing a fairly indifferently first half upfront, with compatriot Mancini filling in as supporting striker for suspended Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Inter, now on 46 points from 20 games, tried their usual aggressive start but gradually lost steam against the defense-geared visitors from Genoa, who missed their flag-bearing playmaker Antonio Cassano.
In earlier action, AC Milan came from behind to enjoy a 4-1 win against 10-man Bologna as Roma also clinched an away win, crushing Napoli 3-0. Juventus beat Fiorentina 1-0 Saturday for a tally of 43points.
Cagliari fell behind but bounced back and stunned hosting Lazio4-1 as a brace from Brazilian Jeda was followed by goals from Robert Acquafresca and Alessandro Matri.
Genoa were one man down as they drew 1-1 at home with Catania, Siena edged Atalanta 1-0, Palermo beat Udinese 3-2, and Lecce and Torino drew 3-3 in the lower reaches, where Chievo are also mired after beating tail-enders Reggina 1-0 on Saturday. Xinhua
Real Madrid beats Deportivo on Sunday, stays second to Barcelona
Raul Gonzalez's first-half goal gave Real Madrid a 1-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday to leave the Spanish champion as the nearest rival to runaway league leader Barcelona.
Raul flicked Lassana Diarra's in-swinging cross beyond Deportivo goalkeeper Gustavo Munua in the 40th minute to move to within one strike of equaling Alfredo di Stefano's club record of 307 goals.
The win means that Madrid stay second, 12 points behind Barcelona, which beat Numancia 4-1 on Saturday and tops the standings with 53 points from 20 games.
Ten-man Racing Santander beat Sevilla 2-0 and Mallorca upset Valencia 3-1 as both losers fell further out of the league race.
Cesar Navas and Nicolas Zigic both scored at the Roman Sanchez Pizjuan stadium as Sevilla slipped 15 points behind Barcelona, while Jose Manuel Jurado scored twice as Mallorca snapped an 11-game winless streak by beating Valencia to move out of last place.
Navas was perfectly placed in the 24th minute to slot in a loose rebound while Zigic followed up Pedro Munitis' free kick with a left-footed strike in the 46th as Racing maintained its excellent road form to jump up to ninth.
Santander were reduced to 10 men from the 32nd minute when Oscar Serrano was red-carded.
Valencia, missing striker David Villa and winger Joaquin Sanchez, trailed after eight minutes at the Ono Estadi stadium when Jurado clipped a rebound over Valencia goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.
Jose Luis Marti doubled the lead with a penalty in the 41st before Jurado beat Guaita with a rising shot at the near post a minute later as Mallorca moved ahead of Espanyol and Osasuna and into 18th place with 17 points.
Valencia's second straight loss left it 19 points behind Barcelona but in the final Champions League place.
Madrid hardly put on a spirited display - against a team that had lost 5-0 to Barcelona a week ago - in picking up its fifth straight victory under coach Juande Ramos.
Madrid enjoyed the early pressure at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, with winger Arjen Robben setting up Raul and Gonzalo Higuain to threaten before the Madrid captain scored his eighth of the season.
Substitute Ivan (Riki) Sanchez headed wide just before halftime for Deportivo, who started former Spain international Juan Carlos Valeron in a league game for the first time in three years.
Robben created a good chance in the 58th minute when he burst down the right side before sending a shot just over the far corner, while Iker Casillas was called into action at the other end a minute later with the Madrid goalkeeper making a good save from Filipe Luis' well struck shot.
The Spain goalie dove to his right in the 68th minute to save Angel Lafita's rising shot to maintain Madrid's lead and condemn Deportivo to a fifth straight loss in all competitions.
At La Rosaleda, John Heitinga scored in the 45th as Atletico Madrid rallied for a 1-1 draw at Malaga, which got its goal from Antonio (Apono) Galdeano in the 22nd. Atletico's Simao Sabrosa had a shot cleared off the goal line in the 69th and Malaga goalkeeper Inaki Goita saved Tomas Ujfalusi's close-range header in injury time as both teams moved to 32 points.
Atletico remained winless in 2009, a stretch of six games.
Also Sunday, it was: Almeria 2, Athletic Bilbao 1; Valladolid 1, Espanyol 1; Recreativo Huelva 1, Real Betis 0; and Getafe 5, Sporting Gijon 1.
Sombre music was played before the games as a mark of respect for the four children killed Saturday when part of a Barcelona sports centre collapsed in high winds.
Coach Hugo Sanchez's unbeaten reign at Almeria was stretched to four games. Irney Santos da Silva's blast came directly off the bar to Juanma Ortiz to head home in the 26th, and Kalu Uche then struck a loose ball through the crowded area in the 40th.
Joseba del Olmo got one goal back for Athletic in the 66th.
At Valladolid, Sergio Sanchez's 79th-minute header ensured Maurecio Pochettino came out of his Espanyol league coaching debut with a point, although Espanyol stayed winless in 11 games to drop into 19th.
Henok Goitom steered Jonathan Sesma's shot home with his head in the 42nd for Valladolid.
Roberto Soldado scored a hat trick as Getafe snapped a four-game losing streak. Soldado jumped on a poor back pass in the 15th to beat Sporting goalkeeper Inaki Lafuente, running clear onto a Ikechukwu Uche pass to score in the 57th and then notched his sixth of the season with a penalty in the 72nd.
Esteban Granero and Uche also scored for Getafe, while David Barral scored Sporting's goal off a quick counterattack in the 45th.
Roberto Abbondanzieri watched his last Getafe game from the bench with the Argentine goalkeeper returning to Boca Juniors later this week.
At the Nuevo Colombino stadium, Javier Camunas headed Cristian Maidana's cross over Betis goalkeeper Ricardo Soares for Recreativo's 72nd-minute winner. Recreativo stretched its unbeaten run to five and has 23 points.
On Saturday, Osasuna rallied to draw 1-1 against Villarreal. Canadian Press
Kaka and Beckham goals boost Milan bid
Kaka underlined his commitment to AC Milan with two goals in a 4-1 Serie A win at Bologna on Sunday when on-loan David Beckham claimed his first goal in Italian football.
Brazilian star Kaka, playing his first match since the collapse of a proposed world record transfer to Premier League Manchester City, converted from the penalty spot after 17 minutes and added a spectacular second two minutes before half-time.
Kaka's double took the limelight away from former England captain Beckham who made his mark on the hour as Milan kept up the pressure on top two, city rivals Inter and Turin-based Juventus.
Beckham moved to Milan from Los Angeles Galaxy earlier this month and found the target as coach Carlo Ancelotti marked 400 games in charge of the club.
The former Mancherster United star is clearly enjoying his stay in Italy and there have been suggestions he could extend his stay.
"I can't say what will happen," PA Sport quoted him as saying on Sunday. "Even if my contract says that I'll be here until March. We'll have to see.
"At the moment I'm enjoying this experience. I'm at one of the biggest clubs in the world. And having won gives us confidence to continue."
He added: "It's great to score my first goal -- I will keep this jersey. It's special to play for Milan and also to score, but what's most important is that we won."
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti was delighted with Beckham's performance, but insists the club can do nothing to keep him at the San Siro.
However, he claims the 33-year-old holds his future in his own hands. "If he said 'we'll see' it means he's thinking about staying," Ancelotti told Sky Italia. "However, our hands are tied as he has a clear contract."
Bologna took the lead through a Marco Di Vaio penalty after nine minutes and Clarence Seedorf equalised after Kaka's effort had been spilled by goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli.
AS Roma closed to within three points of fourth, the final Champions League qualifying position, with a stunning 3-0 win at Napoli.
Centre-backs Philippe Mexes (18) and Juan (32) gave Roma a two-goal lead at the interval and Montenegro forward Mirko Vucinic added the third four minutes into the second half.
Roma are now only three points behind Genoa who were surprisingly held to a 1-1 home draw by Catania who led through a 67th-minute goal from Jorge Martinez. Diego Milito replied six minutes later.
Roma have won eight of their last 10 Serie A matches following an awful start to the season where they won only two and lost six of their first 10 games.
Fabio Simplicio scored twice as Palermo defeated Udinese 3-2 while strugglers Lecce and Torino shared six goals. CNN International
