Barca ready for United after Malaga win
MADRID, (AFP) - Champions Barcelona ended their stellar league campaign with a 3-1 win at Malaga on Saturday in a timely warm-up for next week's Champions League final against Manchester United.
With the league already wrapped up, Barcelona have their eyes firmly on the double and the Wembley final against Manchester United, and coach Pep Guardiola rested his array of Spanish World Cup stars and Ballon D'Or winner Lionel Messi.
Malaga took a 31st-minute lead but Barcelona's collection of youngsters and fringe players came back with a 43rd minute Bojan Krkic penalty equalising before Dutchman Ibrahim Afellay (75) and 20-year-old Marc Bartra (84) scored their first league goals for the club.
The win brought the curtain down on a fine season that has yielded their third successive league title and there is still the Champions League final to come.
Guardiola blooded homegrown talents in a second-string side completed by French international Eric Abidal and Brazilians Maxwell and Adriano who returned following injury lay-offs.
Malaga had won five out of their last six league outings and Uruguayan midfielder Seba Fernandez shot them into the lead.
Barcelona's crop of youngsters quickly responded with Bojan winning and then converting a penalty two minutes before the interval.
Bojan, 20, has made over a century of league appearances for Barcelona but still can't find a way into the starting line-up most weeks.
Barcelona grew in confidence in the second half and Afellay drilled home on 75 minutes for his first ever Barca league goal and Bartra followed suit with his first league goal thumping in a bullet header six minutes from time.
Barcelona finish the season with 96 points, three less than last season, having won 30 out of their 38 games.
Runners-up Real Madrid host already-relegated Almeria later on Saturday with Cristiano Ronaldo looking to beat the all-time La Liga goals record of 38.
Ronaldo scored his 38th league goal last weekend to equal the benchmark, set by Athletic Bilbao's Telmo Zarra in 1951 and equalled by Real Madrid's Mexican legend Hugo Sanchez in 1990, and now has the chance to better the mark at the Santiago Bernabeu.
At the wrong end of the table six teams battle for survival on the final day of the season.
Hercules and Almeria are already relegated and as it stands, Real Zaragoza will join them, lying third from bottom and needing to win at promoted Levante on Saturday to beat the drop.
Getafe are just one point above Zaragoza and travel to Real Sociedad on Saturday in a relegation nail-biter.
Promoted Sociedad need a point to avoid a swift return to the second division.
Osasuna and Real Mallorca, who are both two points above the relegation zone, are in danger along with fallen giants Deportivo La Coruna with the 2000 league champions one point above the bottom three.
Elsewhere Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid jostle for the right to avoid a place in the Europa League qualifying rounds.
The trio are locked on 55 points and have all qualified for the Europa League as one extra place is assigned to the league due to Barcelona and Madrid contesting the Kings Cup final.
Man United lifts Premiership crown
MANCHESTER, (AFP) - Premier League champions Manchester United sent Blackpool straight back down to the Championship with a 4-2 win at Old Trafford here on Sunday.
Blackpool led 2-1 with half an hour remaining but three goals in 18 minutes saw them return to the second tier of English football 12 months to the day they won the playoff final to win promotion.
United face Spanish giants Barcelona in the Champions League final at Barcelona at Wembley on Saturday and there had been intense speculation over what sort of team Sir Alex Ferguson would field against Blackpool.
But United manager Ferguson opted for a stronger line-up than many pundits had predicted.
Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who will retire after the Barcelona game, was handed the captain's armband on his Old Trafford farewell while there were also starts for Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic, Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher who are all expected to feature at Wembley.
Meanwhile the substitutes bench included Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Antonio Valencia as Ferguson made a total of nine changes to the side that started the 1-1 draw at Blackburn eight days earlier which sealed a record 19th English title.
Blackpool started the day in the relegation zone on goal difference but they could afford to lose and still stay up if their struggling rivals lost by a bigger margin.
Despite their position, they have established a reputation as an attacking side and it took them fewer than 30 seconds to carve out a glorious opportunity when Charlie Adam picked out Keith Southern with a low cross.
But Southern somehow stabbed it wide with the goal at his mercy before Gary Taylor-Fletcher failed to get contact on another cross by Adam.
United responded through Rafael da Silva, the Brazilian full-back forcing a save from Matthew Gilks with a 20-yard volley before the Blackpool keeper denied Dimitar Berbatov in the eighth minute.
It was only a matter of time before the hosts broke the deadlock, Park displaying excellent composure to clip the ball over Gilks after muscling his way past Ian Evatt following Berbatov's flick.
Blackpool were living dangerously and they were fortunate not to concede a 31st minute penalty when Park was sent sprawling under a challenge by Adam.
But Adam recovered from that slice of fortune to haul his side back into the game as Blackpool showed tremendous character to equalise five minutes before half-time.
Vidic was wrongly adjudged to have fouled Taylor-Fletcher just outside the area, but Adam made the most of the opportunity as he bent the free-kick around the wall and into the net to make it 1-1.
Ferguson reacted by replacing Rafael at the start of the second half with Chris Smalling but Blackpool almost took the lead in the 48th minute through another Adam free-kick, van der Sar this time equal to his fierce effort.
Taylor-Fletcher, against all-odds, made it 2-1 to Blackpool after connecting with David Vaughan's 57th minute cross before Anderson levelled five minutes later with a first-time shot which curled beyond Gilks.
It was downhill all the way for Blackpool after that.
Ian Evatt deflected Smalling's cross beyond his own keeper before substitute Michael Owen ensured United headed for Wembley on a high after a typical finish made it 4-2.
How the French title was won
(FACTS) - PARIS, (AFP) - Lille ended a 57-year wait to win the French league title after drawing 2-2 at Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday, thereby completing a league and French Cup double.
AFP Sports looks back at the twists and turns that took place over the course of the Ligue 1 title race.
AUGUST
Defending champions Marseille get off to a disastrous start by losing 2-1 at home to newly promoted Caen on the season's opening day, with Paris Saint-Germain the first team to head the table after beating Saint-Etienne 3-1.
Marseille then lose 3-2 at Valenciennes, while Caen produce another huge upset with a 3-2 victory at home to Lyon.
Lyon break their transfer record to buy France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff from Bordeaux for 22 million euros but his debut proves something of a let-down as his new employers go down 2-0 at Lorient.
Four consecutive victories take Toulouse to the top of the standings by the end of the month, with Lille in 11th place after opening their account with four straight draws against Rennes, PSG, Sochaux and Nice.
SEPTEMBER
Marseille belatedly begin moving in the right direction in September, drawing 2-2 at home to Monaco, winning 3-0 at Arles-Avignon and beating Sochaux 2-1 to climb to sixth place.
Lyon, however, continue to flounder and slip into the relegation zone after a 75th-minute free-kick by Dimitri Payet earns Saint-Etienne a 1-0 victory at Stade Gerland in the 100th Derby du Rhone.
Saint-Etienne lead the table going into October, for the first time since February 1982, with Lille in seventh place but yet to lose after seven matches.
OCTOBER
Marseille continue to creep up the table, drawing 1-1 at Saint-Etienne, beating Nancy 1-0 and winning 3-1 at Lille to end the month three points off the pace in third place with a game in hand.
Defeat by OM leaves Lille in eighth place, level on points with Lyon, who start to turn their season around with wins against Nancy, Lille and Sochaux.
Rennes go top, for the first time in 40 years, after winning 3-1 at home to Toulouse but promoted Brest take over at the summit as goals from Mario Licka and Romain Poyet see off Saint-Etienne in a 2-0 win at Stade Francis Le Ble.
NOVEMBER
PSG puncture arch-rivals Marseille's momentum early in November, with Brazilian forward Nene magisterial in a 2-1 victory at Parc des Princes that ends the champions' eight-game unbeaten run.
Didier Deschamps's side are then held to a 1-1 draw by Lens but respond with wins against Toulouse (1-0) and Montpellier (4-0) that take them back to the top of the pile for the first time since the end of the previous season.
Lille beat Brest 3-1, thrash Caen 5-2 (with Moussa Sow claiming a first career hat-trick), edge Monaco 2-1 and then draw 1-1 at Bordeaux to end the month in second place, behind OM on goal difference.
As December dawns, the top 12 teams in the table are separated by just five points.
DECEMBER
Marseille edge a point clear by drawing 0-0 with Rennes in a rearranged game on December 1 but it is Lille who sign off for the winter break in pole position.
An injury-time goal from Emerse Fae sees Marseille slip to a 1-0 defeat at Nice and Lille capitalise immediately, Sow netting another hat-trick in a 6-3 annihilation of Lorient that puts Rudi Garcia's men two points clear.
Substitute Tulio de Melo's 93rd-minute header gives Lille a 1-0 win at Arles-Avignon and they hold on to the Christmas number one spot despite a 1-1 draw at home to Saint-Etienne.
Draws with Auxerre, Lyon and Brest extend Marseille's winless run to five games and they end the year three points behind Lille in fifth.
JANUARY
Lille immediately hit their stride with a 2-0 win at Nice, before Eden Hazard and Gervinho inspire a 3-0 defeat of Nancy that puts the leaders four points clear of their title rivals.
Marseille end the month in fifth, meanwhile, after a 0-0 draw at third-bottom Monaco that Deschamps brands "rubbish".
A neat De Melo finish brings Lille a 1-0 victory over northern neighbours Lens that maintains their four-point advantage.
PSG go into February into second place, three points clear of Lyon and Rennes.
FEBRUARY
With four minutes to play at Auxerre, Lille are 1-0 up and heading for a seven-point lead, only for Polish defender Dariusz Dudka to net a late equaliser and give hope to the chasing pack.
Lille respond by beating Toulouse 2-0 but then wobble, losing 1-0 at Montpellier and drawing 1-1 at home to Lyon.
Their five-point lead is whittled down to goal difference by the end of the month, with Rennes drawing level on points thanks to a four-game winning run featuring victories against PSG, Nice, Toulouse and Lens.
Marseille, PSG and Lyon also capitalise on Lille's stuttering form and just four points separate the top five teams at the end of the month.
MARCH
Lille go into their match at Marseille on March 6 three points behind Rennes after the Brittany side make it five wins from five by winning 1-0 at Montpellier.
The pressure is on, but Lille prevail thanks to a 91st-minute winner from substitute Pierre-Alain Frau after Hazard's 35-yard opener is cancelled out by Loic Remy.
The 2-1 victory proves the catalyst for a run of four straight wins and Lille end the month four points clear of Marseille.
OM react in impressive fashion to their defeat, however, winning 2-0 at Rennes and then avenging November's loss at PSG with a 2-1 victory at Stade Velodrome, thereby damaging both teams' title aspirations.
APRIL
Lyon's hopes of winning an eighth Ligue 1 crown receive a fatal blow as they let slip a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at Nice and fall eight points off the pace.
Lille show further signs of nerves, however, with Adil Rami's sloppy back-pass allowing Park Chu-Young to score the only goal of the game in a 1-0 defeat at Monaco.
Consecutive 1-1 draws against Bordeaux and Lorient follow for Lille, enabling Marseille to return to the top of the table after Ghana winger Andre Ayew notches a treble in a 4-2 win at Nice.
With six games remaining, Marseille lead Lille by a point, with Lyon five points off the pace in third place and PSG three points further back in fourth.
MAY
Against all expectations, and with the finishing line in sight, Marseille falter, drawing 1-1 at home to Auxerre and then losing 3-2 at Lyon in a thrilling game decided by an 84th-minute winner from OL skipper Cris.
Lille crush relegated Arles-Avignon 5-0 to re-assert control of the title race before successive away wins at Nancy (1-0) and Saint-Etienne (2-1).
Marseille beat Brest 3-0 but then drew 2-2 at Lorient on May 15, leaving Lille requiring four points from their final three games to claim a first league title since 1954.
Fresh from their victory over PSG in the French Cup final, Lille win 1-0 at home to Sochaux before securing the Ligue 1 crown by drawing 2-2 in an intense and fiercely contested encounter with PSG at Parc des Princes.
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