LIVERPOOL: Liverpool ensured there would be no happy return for former manager Gerard Houllier as it beat the Frenchman's Aston Villa side 3-0 in the Premier League here Monday. Two goals in the space of three first-half minutes from David Ngog and Ryan Babel all but settled the match in Liverpool's favor before Maxi Rodriguez added a third 10 minutes into the second half. Victory saw Liverpool move up into eighth place in the table but the win still left it 10 points behind leader Arsenal. For Villa, defeat meant the Midlands club remained just two points above the relegation zone. Napoli beats Palermo Christian Maggio scored in the final minute of injury time as Napoli beat Palermo 1-0 in Serie A Monday. Palermo goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu made a series of splendid saves before Edinson Cavani beat the Sicilian club's offside trap in the fifth minute of added time and crossed to Maggio in front of an empty net. The victory moved Napoli level with Juventus on 27 points, six behind leader AC Milan. Palermo remained tied with Inter Milan, Sampdoria and AS Roma with 23 points each. The match may have marked the last Serie A fixture before a players' strike called for next weekend. Mourinho's ban dropped Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho had a suspended one-match ban dropped Monday and his team's fine was also reduced on appeal after claims he instructed players to deliberately get red cards so they could serve bans in a meaningless game. Deportivo wins Deportivo La Coruna defeated Hercules 1-0 in the Spanish Legue match Monday. Deportivo stays 12th in the standings with 17 points while Hercules remains 14 with 15 points.
