brush aside title hopefulsFC Barcelona earned their ninth successive victory with a hugely creditable victory against Villarreal CF at El Madrigal. Their Matchday 6 opponents Udinese Calcio suffered defeat at home, and there was more mixed fortunes for the other UEFA Champions League Group C contenders. Werder Bremen won 2-0 at home to MSV Duisburg, while Panathinaikos FC were surprisingly defeated in Atromitos.
Villarreal CF 2-0 FC Barcelona
Barça made it nine wins in nine in all competitions with a comfortable 2-0 victory against fellow UEFA Champions League hopefuls Villarreal, at El Madrigal on Sunday. Going into the game, Villarreal had won this fixture for three years in succession and with that in mind, the Spanish champions sought to subdue Manuel Luis Pelligrini's side of their prime source of inspiration - Juan Román Riquelme.
The tactic soon bore dividends, with Barcelona controlling the early stages, and the pressure eventually told when Juan Manuel Peña scored an own goal midway through the first half. The visitors doubled their advantage through Deco just after the hour mark, and although Rafael Márquez's late dismissal will take some gloss off the win, Barça coach Frank Rijkaard will be happy to see his side maintain their lead in the Primera División.
Rijkaard did not attend the game because of a lung infection, and heads a list of absentees that also includes Mark van Bommel (ankle), Damiá Abella (groin) and Xavi Hernández. Thiago Motta was carried off during the second half, but assistant coach Henk Ten Cate remained upbeat. "We did a great job keeping Riquelme out of the game," he said. "Villarreal are a very good team - they were third in the league and hadn't lost for nine consecutive games before today. It's a good victory."
Udinese Calcio 0-2 AS Livorno Calcio
The Bianconeri fell to their second defeat in four games after Christian Obodo's eighth-minute own goal set Livorno on course for a 2-0 victory at the Friuli stadium on Sunday. Udinese responded well to the early setback, but discovered the visitors' goalkeeper, Marco Amelia, in fine fettle, and their hopes were all but ended when Cristiano Lucarelli doubled Livorno's lead with 17 minutes remaining.
"We performed badly today," said Udinese coach Sersi Cosmi. "We lacked character. Livorno proved how good they are and that they fully deserved their current position in the league [now fifth - four spots above Udinese]. Today's game does not make me optimistic ahead of next Wednesday's match against Barcelona."
Cosmi will again be without long-term absentees Cesare Natali and Giampaolo Pinzi on Wednesday, while question marks hang over the fitness of several others who missed out on Sunday. Striker Vincenzo Iaquinta has a foot injury, while Valerio Bertotto is struggling with a calf strain and are both doubtful for Matchday 6. Left-back Vincent Candela and striker Fausto Rossini were also sidelined against Livorno but are expected to be available.
Werder Bremen 2-0 MSV Duisburg
Bremen held on to third place in the Bundesliga, eight points behind FC Bayern München and two adrift of Hamburger SV, after a 2-0 victory against struggling MSV Duisburg. Paraguayan striker Nelson Valdez set Bremen on their way, scoring on 64 minutes after Aaron Hunt had hit the crossbar. Then, only eight minutes later, Tim Borowski increased the lead with a glorious chip over Duisburg goalkeeper Georg Koch to seal the three points.
Bremen were without a number of players for the match. Midfielder Torsten Frings was serving a one-match ban, while strikers Miroslav Klose (broken cheekbone) and Ivan Klasnić (appendix) led the list of injured absentees. Jelle van Damme (groin), Ümit Davala (hip) and goalkeeper Tim Wiese (cruciate ligament) also missed the game. But there was better news for Danish midfielder Daniel Jensen, who returned to the squad after an infection.
"We needed patience until the end," said Bremen coach Thomas Scaaf afterwards. "We were only able to became relaxed during the later stages of the match and because of this we had problems. Despite this, the win is a positive experience with regards to the Champions League."
Atromitos FC 1-0 Panathinaikos FC
Panathinaikos suffered their third league defeat of the season after a less than convincing display at Atromitos. The only goal of the game came during added time when Georgios Korakakis hit a right-footed shot past Mario Galinović. Panathinaikos remain third in the Greek standings, although they are now seven points adrift of leaders Olympiacos CFP, who won 3-1 at Egaleo FC.
Coach Alberto Malesani went into the game without four members of his first-team squad in playmaker Ezequiel González (suspended), Ioannis Goumas (flu), Anthony Šerić and Emmanuel Olisadebe (both knee), while young full-back Filippos Darlas came off injured during the defeat and will undergo further tests before medical staff decide whether he can be considered for Wednesday's match against Bremen.
"We lack stability and that is my responsibility," said Malesani. "Our main problem this season has been our form away from home. We were not good today and lacked movement from the flanks. But our title hopes are not over yet. We recorded seven victories in our previous nine matches and we have a good team. Our players have the right frame of mind, we just need to overcome our homesickness."
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