Spanish Primera Liga: Barcelona came from a goal down at the Nou Camp to beat Espanyol 4-1 last night to keep their championship hopes alive.
The visitors opened the scoring on 20 minutes through a Raul Tamuda penalty before Ronaldinho equalised 16 minutes later with a sublime header. A double strike from Javier Saviola was complemented by a Giovanni van Bronckhorst second-half goal.
Valencia, however, are best placed to win their second Spanish title in three seasons when an emphatic 2-0 win over Real Betis yesterday opened a four-point gap at the top.
Goals either side of half-time from defender Curro Torres and midfielder Ruben Baraja gave Valencia a deserved victory and put them firmly in the driving seat as the title race reaches its climax.
With three games to go Rafa Benitez's side are on 75 points, followed by champions Real Madrid. David Beckham and his team mates slumped to their second successive defeat on Saturday when they lost 2-0 at Deportivo La Coruna, who are fourth on 71 and assured of a place in the Champions League qualifiers next season.
Third-placed Barcelona are now just one point behind Real and are very much the in-form team in Spain at the moment.
The surprise result of the day came when already relegated Murcia, coached by former Liverpool forward John Toshack, gained their fourth victory of the season with a 2-1 win at home to Valladolid.
