European: Beckham sent off after six minutes

Beckham was sent off just six minutes after going on as a substitute, with his side already a man down after Marco Verrati’s red card. Beckham was shown a straight red card deep into stoppage time following a dangerous lunge on home substitute Youssef Adnane.

In the aftermath, PSG assistant coach Claude Makelele was sent to the stands for remonstrating, and emotions continued to run high after the final whistle, when Evian striker Saber Khelifa and PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu were involved in a scuffle which saw both also dismissed.

The scenes overshadowed the rest of the match, during which Javier Pastore’s 50th-minute goal had proved decisive as PSG re-established their nine-point advantage over second-placed Marseille with four games left.

Behind PSG and second-placed Marseille, Lyon are in third and in pole position to stay there after a 1-1 draw with fourth-ranked St Etienne.

Juventus needed two late goals to beat Torino 2-0 in the Derby della Mole yesterday as the defending champions inched closer to their 29th title.

Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio sealed the result in the closing minutes.

AC Milan remained third in the battle for the last Champions League spot, as sub Giampaolo Pazzini scored twice in as many minutes to help his team fight back to a 4-2 win against Catania.

In Spain, Malaga kept up their push for a possible return to the Champions League next season with a 2-1 win at home against Getafe that lifted them to fifth in La Liga, striker Roque Santa Cruz and defender Weligton getting the goals.

Barcelona must wait at least another week to wrap up the La Liga title after they conceded a late goal in a 2-2 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Lionel Messi got Barca’s first, taking his league tally to 44 goals.