EUROPEAN SOCCER ROUNDUP

updated 6:38 p.m. ET May 12, 2007

MADRID, Spain - Gonzalo Higuain scored the winner in Real Madrid’s 4-3 victory over Espanyol on Saturday that moved it to the top of the Spanish league for 24 hours at least.

Madrid rallied after suffering a scare in the first half when Espanyol striker Walter Pandiani scored three goals to give his team a 3-1 lead.

Ruud van Nistelrooy scored Madrid’s first goal with his 21st of the season, and Raul Gonzalez and substitute Jose Antonio Reyes scored after the intermission in Madrid’s fifth straight victory at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Espanyol’s defeat came four days before it faces Sevilla in the UEFA Cup final in Glasgow, Scotland.

Madrid lacked suspended David Beckham, who picked up his 10th yellow card of the season in last weekend’s win over Sevilla and has just four games left before he joins the Los Angeles Galaxy in August.

In Saturday’s late game, Sevilla maintained its title bid by beating Recreativo Huelva 2-1. Midfielder Enzo Maresca shot the first goal in the 13th minute, with striker Luis Fabiano converting an 81st-minute penalty.

FC Barcelona will reclaim the top spot if it beats Real Betis on Sunday. Madrid, aiming to end a drought without a major trophy that stretches back to 2003, has 66 points. Barcelona has 65, one more than Sevilla.

Madrid and Sevilla have four games to play, while Barcelona has five.

Earlier Saturday, Murcia won promotion, ending a three-year absence from the first division, by drawing 1-1 at La Ponferradina to guarantee the club will spend its centennial year in the top flight.

On Sunday, it’s Getafe vs. Atletico Madrid; Gimnastic Tarragona vs. Real Sociedad; Celta Vigo vs. Levante; Osasuna vs. Villarreal; Racing Santander vs. Mallorca; Athletic Bilbao vs. Deportivo La Coruna; and Valencia vs. Zaragoza.

Bundesliga
Schalke’s bid to win the German league title for the first time in 49 years looks doomed after a 2-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund.

Stuttgart surged two points clear atop the Bundesliga by winning 3-2 at Bochum and Schalke slipped to second in the next-to-last round Saturday.

Stuttgart can seal its first title in 15 years next Saturday with a win at home against Energie Cottbus. Schalke now must hope for a home win over Arminia Bielefeld next week and Stuttgart to lose.

Werder Bremen squandered its hopes of snatching the title when it lost at home 2-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt, which saved itself from relegation.

Premier League
The final round of games in the English Premier League take place on Sunday with the title already on its way to Manchester United but the final relegation spot still to be decided.

Last place Watford and Charlton are already sure to go down. West Ham moved out of the relegation zone last week and now faces Manchester United at Old Trafford and the other two clubs threatened with demotion — Sheffield United and Wigan — face each other.

West Ham and Sheffield United have a three-point advantage over Wigan.

Serie B
Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero scored twice Saturday in a 3-1 win over Bologna in Serie B.

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Claudio Bellucci gave Bologna the lead in the 26th, Del Piero tied the match 10 minutes later and then scored again with a controversial penalty in the 85th. David Trezeguet added another goal for Juventus in injury time.

Juventus, which was penalized nine points and relegated in the Italian match-fixing scandal, leads the second division with 79 points. Genoa is second with 70 and Napoli is third with 68.

Four rounds remain in Serie B and Juventus could clinch the title and gain promotion back into Serie A without playing again if Triestina beats Genoa on Sunday and Napoli doesn’t beat Brescia on Tuesday.

Eredivisie
FC Utrecht advanced to the next round of the Dutch league playoffs for a berth in next season’s UEFA Cup by tying 1-1 at Roda JC on Saturday.

Utrecht won on the away-goals rule after holding Roda to a scoreless tie on Wednesday.

Tim Cornelisse scored in the 38th for Utrecht to cancel out Andres Oper’s goal in the 14th.

Utrecht will next play either FC Groningen or Feyenoord, with the winner gaining a place in the UEFA Cup. Groningen has a 2-1 advantage going into Sunday’s second leg at Feyenoord.

Ligue 1
Sochaux twice came back from a goal down to beat Marseille in a penalty shootout and win the French Cup on Saturday for the first time since 1937.

The match finished 2-2 after extra time with all four goals off headers. Djibril Cisse scored twice for Marseille and Moumouni Dagano and Anthony Le Tallec scored for Sochaux.

Marseille, which also lost last year’s final to Paris Saint-Germain, has not won a trophy since 1993. The win guarantees Sochaux a place in next season’s UEFA Cup.

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