European football: Victory at Nou Camp sees Real take ‘giant step’ towards title

REAL Madrid captain Iker Casillas admitted his side had taken a “giant step” towards landing the Primera Division crown with a 2-1 victory at arch-rivals Barcelona on Saturday night.

Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed the winner seconds after Barca substitute Alexis Sanchez had cancelled out Sami Khedira’s opener. The win moved Jose Mourinho’s men seven points clear of Barca with just four games remaining as Los Merengues closed in on their first La Liga title since 2008. “We played as a team,” goalkeeper Casillas said. “Cristiano did a fine job but all 11 did well.

“We played well as a team from the beginning. We worked well from start to finish although we suffered when they equalised. But we responded and got the win. Although there are still points at stake and we must be respectful, we have taken a giant step.”

Barca manager Pep Guardiola was gracious in defeat. “I want to congratulate Madrid for the win and for the league they are going to win,” he said.

Guardiola appeared to prioritise tomorrow’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Chelsea – they go into the return 1-0 down – by dropping Cesc Fabregas to the bench and starting with Cristian Tello, and the youngster missing a couple of excellent chances. “Maybe I was wrong, leaving out Cesc,” he said. “But what I can say is that Tello had a fantastic match in defence and attack. We played with many young players and that is very good news.”

Meanwhile Borussia Dortmund won their eighth Bundesliga title as they made it 26 league games unbeaten with a 2-0 home win over Borussia Moenchengladbach.

In Italy, rioting Genoa fans interrupted their team’s Serie A match at home to Siena for nearly 45 minutes. Relegation-threatened Genoa were losing 4-0 early in the second half when home fans began throwing flares and smoke-bombs on to the field, causing the referee to halt the game.

Some also climbed over the perspex barrier around the pitch and demanded that the players take their shirts off, the logic being that they were not worthy of wearing them Several players did so and the game re-started with Siena, who had retreated to the dressing room, eventually winning 4-1.