BARCELONA: Barcelona moved to within one point of its third straight Spanish league title by beating Espanyol 2-0 in Sunday's Catalan capital derby. Andres Iniesta opened the scoring for Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the 29th, and Gerard Pique doubled the host's lead three minutes after halftime. Barcelona can clinch its 21st title with at least a draw at Levante on Wednesday. It leads second-place Real Madrid by eight points and holds the head-to-head advantage with three rounds to play. Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals as Real Madrid thrashed Sevilla 6-2 Saturday. “We will now go to Valencia to earn (the title),” Iniesta said. “The important thing is to win another league (crown).” Wrapping up the domestic competition early would also give Barcelona extra time to prepare for the Champions League final against Manchester United on May 28. Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola only rested Carles Puyol despite his team coming off a grueling four-game series against Madrid that ended in the Catalan club eliminating its fierce rivals from the Champions League semifinals Tuesday. Without shining, Barcelona controlled possession throughout in an unusually subdued match between the crosstown rivals. Barcelona forward Pedro Rodriguez tested goalkeeper Carlos Kameni with a shot in the 20th, and moments later Kameni dove to deflect a dipping strike from Iniesta. Espanyol winger Jose Callejon broke free on right side in the 24th, and the Barcelona defense scrambled to clear his low cross for striker Pablo Osvaldo in the box. Iniesta's goal was an individual effort as he cut back to shake his defender and shot past Kameni with a low right-footer. David Villa had a good chance to make it 2-0 about 10 minutes later after trademark passing buildup by Barcelona, but the Spain striker fired wide with only the keeper to beat. Pique put the result beyond doubt when he beat his marker to reach Xavi Hernandez's corner at the near post. Elsewhere, fourth-place Villarreal drew 0-0 at Mallorca Sunday, to close the gap to third-place Valencia to five points. The games began after a minute's silence in memory of Seve Ballesteros, the Spanish golf great who died Saturday. Lecce stuns Napoli Napoli fell four points behind second-place Inter Milan in Serie A Sunday after slumping to a 2-1 loss at Lecce in which leading scorer Edinson Cavani was sent off. Daniele Corvia gave Lecce the lead with a penalty before he was sent off himself. Giuseppe Mascara equalized, but any hopes Napoli had of winning disappeared down the tunnel with Cavani 16 minutes from time. His fellow Uruguayan Ernesto Chevanton then hit a spectacular, but controversial, winner with a half volley from the edge of the area that Napoli claimed had not crossed the line. “Lecce won with a great shot, but there was a penalty before that we should have been given,” Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri said. “It has been a long season for Cavani since the World Cup and he's tired. He got frustrated today because the more he tried to score, the less likely it seemed.” Inter, meanwhile, bounced back from losing its league title to city rival AC Milan Saturday, with a convincing 3-1 win at home to Fiorentina. AC Milan ended five years of dominance by city rival Inter after clinching the title Saturday with a heated 0-0 draw at Roma. To rub salt into Cavani's wounds, his rival for the leading scorer title – Antonio Di Natale – scored twice in Udinese's 2-0 win over Lazio to take his tally to 28, two more than Cavani. Lazio's loss means Napoli is guaranteed a place in next year's Champions League, but if it loses its last two games and Udinese wins both, then Udinese will take the automatic qualification place as it won both matches between the sides this season. At the bottom of the table Brescia was relegated after a 2-1 loss to Catania. Also Bologna and Parma drew 0-0, while Cesena won 2
