Liverpool tops Premier League after beating Spurs

Liverpool tops Premier League after beating Spurs

Published Mar. 30, 2014 7:08 p.m. ET

After a 24-year wait, the English league title could be on its way back to Liverpool.

Liverpool routed Tottenham 4-0 Sunday and overtook Chelsea to become the new Premier League leader.

The fight for Champions League qualification also intensified across the other leagues to Europe, too. And Serie A leader Juventus fell to a rare loss in Italy.

A look at the games across the continent's top leagues:

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ENGLAND

Liverpool fueled the growing belief that the English championship could be returning to Anfield by thrashing Tottenham 4-0, lifting the team to the top of the Premier League.

Everton won 3-1 at last-place Fulham to close to within four points of fourth-place Arsenal before their meeting at Goodison Park next weekend.

Liverpool, the league's top-scoring team, attacked a porous Spurs defense. Younes Kaboul's second-minute own-goal was followed by strikes from Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson. It was the eighth straight win for the Reds.

They made the most of Chelsea's 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Saturday and are two points ahead of Jose Mourinho's side with six games left. Manchester City, which drew 1-1 at fourth-place Arsenal, is two points further back in third and crucially has two games in hand.

Chelsea and City play at Anfield next month.

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SPAIN

Getafe rallied for a 3-1 victory at Valencia, breaking a 15-round winless streak and escaping from the Spanish league's relegation zone.

Forwards Angel Lafita, Ciprian Marica and Pedro Leon scored for Getafe after Eduardo Vargas had given Valencia the lead.

Real Sociedad was held to a 1-1 draw at Osasuna and Villarreal drew 1-1 at home with Elche. Real Sociedad and Villareal were unable to capitalize on the losses by Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, and Espanyol on Saturday in the fight for a European spot.

That left Bilbao in fourth place and in control of the last Champions League spot. Sevilla and Real Sociedad are six points behind in fifth and sixth places, while Villarreal is a further point back in seventh.

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ITALY

Jose Maria Callejon scored in the first half and Belgium international Dries Mertens added a late goal as Napoli handed Serie A leader Juventus its second loss of the season with a 2-0 victory Sunday.

Juventus has an 11-point lead over second-place Roma and is 17 points ahead of Napoli with seven rounds remaining.

In the 37th minute at the San Paolo stadium, Callejon beat Juve midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah to redirect a cross from Lorenzo Insigne from the edge of the box for his 12th goal since transferring from Real Madrid in the offseason.

Mertens added the second in the 81st with a long bouncing shot.

Earlier, Roma beat relegation-threatened Sassuolo 2-0 and fourth-place Fiorentina was held to a 0-0 draw at Sampdoria. Parma remained one point behind Inter Milan in the race for fifth and the final Europa League berth after a 3-2 loss at Lazio, and Luca Toni scored twice after Marco Donadel's opener in Hellas Verona's 3-0 win over Genoa.

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GERMANY

Borussia Moenchengladbach rallied to beat Hamburger SV 3-1 and leave the visiting side in next to last place in the Bundesliga.

Hamburg is the only club to have played in each of the Bundesliga's 51 seasons and the players are under immense pressure to prevent its first relegation.

Moenchengladbach reclaimed sixth place while Hamburg is just two points above last-place Eintracht Braunschweig, and behind 16th-place Stuttgart on goal difference.

Sebastian Proedl's last-minute header earned Werder Bremen a 2-1 win at Hannover later Sunday, lifting his club eight points above the relegation zone.

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FRANCE

Lille edged Guingamp 1-0 to pull within six points of second-place Monaco in the French league despite a mediocre performance. Rennes defeated Bastia 3-0 to move closer to the safety zone.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Lille's Marko Basa redirected a corner toward Salomon Kalou, who flicked home the winner for his 11th league goal this season. In Rennes, the hosts took the lead in the 14th minute with a strike from Romain Alessandrini that goalkeeper Mickael Landreau fumbled into his own net.

Sweden forward Ola Toivonen fired a half-volley into the top corner to double the lead in the 28th and set up Jean Makoun for the third goal in the 59th.

Also, Saint-Etienne kept pace with Lille in the race for a Champions League spot by defeating Lyon 2-1.

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