LONDON, May 5: Real Madrid and Bayern Munich clinched their respective league titles on Sunday as Inter missed the chance to win the Serie A crown in Italy with a 2-1 defeat to city rivals AC Milan.

Ten-man Real came from a goal down to snatch a 2-1 victory in the final minute against Osasuna to make sure of their 31st Spanish league title. Bayern’s goalless draw against VfL Wolfsburg was enough to secure their 21st German crown.

SPAIN

Real Madrid fought their way back after a sending off and going a goal down to snatch a dramatic 2-1 victory at Osasuna and retain their league title on Sunday.

With Villarreal beating Getafe 2-0 in an earlier match, Real had to win the game to take the championship but suffered a major blow when defender Fabio Cannavaro was sent off at the start of the second half.

Osasuna midfielder Patxi Punal struck home from the penalty spot after centre-back Gabriel Heinze had handled in the area before Dutch winger Arjen Robben and Argentine Gonzalo Higuain, a minute before the final whistle, clinched the win.

With three matches left to play, Real have an unassailable 10-point lead over Villarreal at the top of the table.

Villarreal have a four-point advantage over Barcelona in the race for the runners-up spot after the Catalans hammered a beleaguered Valencia 6-0 at the Nou Camp.

Javier Clemente’s Real Murcia were relegated after they squandered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at high-flying Racing Santander and will now join Levante in the second division.

ITALY

Inter Milan missed the chance to seal the Serie A title in style when they lost 2-1 to derby rivals AC Milan, who move up to the fourth Champions League spot after Fiorentina went down 2-1 at Cagliari.

In-form Filippo Inzaghi and Brazil’s Kaka put Milan two ahead early in the second half with Julio Cruz’s free kick too little for Inter, who now lead second-placed AS Roma by just three points after Luciano Spalletti’s men won 3-0 at Sampdoria.

Inter, who suffered their third league defeat this term, will still retain their title if they beat Siena next weekend.

With two games left, Roberto Mancini’s side would prevail if they finish level because of a superior head-to-head record over Roma.

The relegation fight continues to be tight but bottom side Livorno, five adrift of safety, look doomed after a late 3-2 defeat at Atalanta.

GERMANY

Bayern Munich secured their 21st German league title on Sunday when they held on for a goalless draw away to VfL Wolfsburg.

Bayern looked to be feeling the effects of their UEFA Cup thrashing by Zenit St Petersburg in midweek as they let Wolfsburg dominate but in the end they did just enough to stretch their lead to 10 with three games to play.

Attention will now turn to the battle for European places.

Werder Bremen took a two-point lead in the battle for second place when they beat Energie Cottbus 2-0, while chief rivals Schalke 04 could only draw 1-1 at home to Hanover 96.

Hamburg SV and VfB Stuttgart kept alive their faint Champions League hopes as they scored commanding wins on Saturday.

FRANCE

Girondins Bordeaux revived their Ligue 1 title hopes when a Pierre Ducasse goal in stoppage time earned them a 2-1 win at Olympique Marseille on Sunday.

Ducasse’s stunning 25-metre strike one minute into injury time gave Bordeaux a deserved win at the Stade Velodrome after Brazilian Wendel had cancelled out Mamadou Niang’s opener for Marseille.

Second-placed Bordeaux, on 71 points with two games left, are two points behind leaders and six-time champions Olympique Lyon, who drew 0-0 at Nice on Saturday.

Marseille are fourth, two points behind Nancy, who hold the qualifying spot for the Champions League third preliminary round following their 3-0 thrashing of strugglers Racing Strasbourg on Saturday.—Reuters