Hertha feel the heat from Bayern and Wolfsburg

Hertha BSC Berlin's leadership of the Bundesliga is down to a solitary point after the capital club lost 2-0 at VfB Stuttgart and nearest challengers FC Bayern München and VfL Wolfsburg both won.

Stuttgart respond
Lucien Favre's Hertha had won three successive league games prior to visiting a Stuttgart team reeling from a 4-0 loss to Werder Bremen last Sunday but had their run brought to an abrupt halt by Cacau (47) and Sami Khedira (51). Champions Bayern kept up their pursuit with a 1-0 home defeat of bottom side Karlsruher SC, José Ernesto Sosa scoring the only goal eleven minutes before the break.

Hoffenheim run
Bayern are level on points with Wolfsburg, who won 3-0 at fourth-bottom DSC Arminia Bielefeld. Christian Gentner (19) set Felix Magath's team on their way before Grafite's 18th league goal of the season and Ashkan Dejagah (87) secured all three points and a seventh consecutive league success. Hamburger SV will join Bayern and Wolfsburg on 48 points should they win at FC Schalke 04 on Sunday. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim extended their winless run to seven matches with a 2-2 home draw against Hannover 96 and remain fifth, two points ahead of Stuttgart.

Bremen beaten
Meanwhile, Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 1-1 at home with Eintracht Frankfurt, missing the chance to close the gap on the European places, while Alexander Frei's 64th-minute goal earned BV Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 victory against UEFA Cup quarter-finalists Bremen, who are marooned in mid table. Elsewhere, 1. FC Köln increased FC Energie Cottbus's relegation worries by inflicting a 2-0 home defeat on the second-bottom club and VfL Bochum are three points clear of the bottom three after a 1-0 win at relegation rivals VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday.

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United defeat opens the door for Liverpool

Fulham FC blew the Premier League title race wide open by inflicting Manchester United FC's second successive defeat on a day when second-placed Chelsea FC also lost, 1-0 at London rivals Tottenham Hotspur FC.

Two dismissed
If United's defeat by Liverpool FC last week reignited hopes on Merseyside of a first championship in 19 years, then such optimism will have been heightened by events in west London where the Red Devils lost consecutive league games for the first time since April 2005. United's afternoon started and ended badly with Paul Scholes being dismissed for handling a goal-bound header after 17 minutes, allowing Danny Murphy to convert from the penalty spot. Zoltán Gera (87) added a second and, a minute from time, a frustrating day for the champions was compounded by the dismissal of substitute Wayne Rooney for his second booking.

Hiddink defeated
Chelsea could have closed to within a point of United but Guus Hiddink lost his first game as Blues manager, Luka Modrić (50) scoring the only goal at White Hart Lane to edge Tottenham up to ninth. Liverpool will do what Chelsea failed to if they overcome Aston Villa FC on Sunday. In the late game, Arsenal FC consolidated fourth place with a 3-1 win at third-bottom Newcastle United FC. Obafemi Martins (58) − who had a first-half penalty saved − cancelled out Nicklas Bendtner's opener for Arsenal less than a minute earlier only for the Gunners to hit back shortly after through Abou Diaby and Samir Nasri.

Stoke soaring
Meanwhile, relegation-threatened Portsmouth FC came from behind to beat visitors Everton FC 2-1, while Ryan Shawcross scored six minutes from time to earn Stoke City FC a 1-0 victory against a Middlesbrough FC team now four points from safety. Elsewhere at the bottom, West Bromwich Albion FC drew 1-1 at home with Bolton Wanderers FC, while another struggler, Blackburn Rovers FC, played out the same result with West Ham United FC.

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Quim the hero of Benfica triumph

SL Benfica goalkeeper Quim saved three spot-kicks as the Eagles defeated their city rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal 3-2 on penalties to win the Portuguese League Cup at the Algarve Stadium following a 1-1 draw.

Red card
Bruno Pereirinha edged Sporting in front three minutes after the restart, a lead which they held until the 75th minute when Reyes converted a penalty after Pedro Silva was penalised for handball. That earned the latter his second booking but, despite the numerical advantage, Benfica were unable to strike again and so the contest went straight to a shoot-out where, after Quim's third stop, Carlos Martins struck the winning kick.

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Juventus sink Roma to put pressure on Inter

A blistering second-half display from Juventus proved too much for a depleted AS Roma to contend with at the Stadio Olimpico, the Bianconeri winning 4-1 to cut FC Internazionale Milano's Serie A lead to four points.

Missing players
Shorn of the injured Francesco Totti, Simone Perrotta, Juan and Rodrigo Taddei as well as the suspended Daniele De Rossi, Roma fell behind eleven minutes before half-time when Vincenzo Iaquinta ran on to Sebastian Giovinco's pass and beat Doni. Centre-back Simone Loria levelled for the Giallorossi three minutes after the break but Juventus were soon back in front through Iaquinta's 55th-minute header. Olof Mellberg headed in Alessandro Del Piero's corner after 68 minutes and substitute Pavel Nedvěd (74) − on the field for just four minutes − confirmed Roma's second home loss of the season with a shot from the edge of the penalty area. Inter host bottom side Reggina Calcio on Sunday.

Paolucci on target
Earlier in the day, Calcio Catania condemned S.S. Lazio to a second consecutive defeat with a 1-0 victory at the Stadio Angelo Massimino. The Etnei's on-loan Juventus striker Michele Paolucci scored the winner midway through the first half, tapping Pablo Ledesma's cross-shot into an empty net for his eighth league goal of the season.

Villarreal and Sevilla strengthen their hands

Second-half goals from Santi Cazorla and Mati Fernández earned UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists Villarreal CF a 2-0 victory against Athletic Club Bilbao at El Madrigal before Frédéric Kanouté scored a hat-trick to inspire Sevilla FC to a 4-1 defeat of Real Valladolid CF.

Super sub
Cazorla (68) fired across Athletic goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz after Giuseppe Rossi's meandering run across the edge of the penalty area drew several Athletic defenders out of position. The visitors were then reduced to ten men when Markel Susaeta was dismissed eleven minutes from time and after the hosts had squandered chances to make the points safe, substitute Mati Fernández secured victory in added time with low shot after a weaving run inside the area.

Kanouté treble
The three points strengthen the Yellow Submarine's position in fourth, five points ahead of fifth-placed Club Atlético de Madrid, although they trail Sevilla in third by six thanks, in part, to Kanouté. Although the Mali striker's eighth-minute opener was cancelled out by Henok Goitom's header, Kanouté restored the Andalusian club's lead two minutes before the break. Luis Fabiano (57) then rounded goalkeeper Justo Villar and 19 minutes from time Kanouté completed his hat-trick by heading in Fernando Navarro's cross for his tenth goal in seven league matches.

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Buoyant Marseille lead the way

Olympique de Marseille are top of Ligue 1 for the first time since September following a 2-0 defeat of FC Nantes while FC Girondins de Bordeaux leapfrogged Olympique Lyonnais into second with a 3-0 win at Le Havre AC.

Brandão goal
Two goals in four second-half minutes from Renato Civelli and Brandão secured the points for UEFA Cup quarter-finalists Marseille at Stade Vélodrome, ensuring Lyon must beat FC Sochaux-Montbéliard at home on Sunday to regain top spot. They find themselves behind Bordeaux for the time being, though, after Yoann Gourcuff (12), Souleymane Diawara (58) and Wendel (88) struck for Les Marine et Blanc at struggling Le Havre.

Lille win
LOSC Lille Métropole are just a point shy of Lyon following their third successive league win, 2-1 at home to Grenoble Foot 38, leaving France's other UEFA Cup contender, Paris Saint-Germain FC, in fifth ahead of the capital club's fixture at sixth-placed Toulouse FC on Sunday. Elsewhere, Stade Rennais FC's push for a place in Europe next term suffered a setback with a goalless draw against Valenciennes FC.

Late equaliser
Meanwhile, AJ Auxerre climbed into the top half by beating Le Mans UC 72 2-0 at Stade Abbé-Deschamps and sit a point ahead of an AS Monaco FC team who won 1-0 at AS Nancy-Lorraine thanks to Chu-Young Park's 70th-minute goal. In the day's other fixture, Olivier Echouafni struck an 88th-minute equaliser to earn OGC Nice a 2-2 draw with second-bottom SM Caen.

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