Lionel Messi strikes, relegated Portsmouth reach FA Cup final

Lionel Messi's remarkable season continued when he set Barcelona on the way to a 2-0 win away to Real Madrid in Spain''s Clasico.                                          

Debt-ravaged Portsmouth were relegated from the Premier League in England but then beat Tottenham Hotspur to reach the FA Cup final and Inter Milan were knocked off the top in Italy for the first time since October.

Spain                                          

Pep Guardiola became the first Barcelona coach to win four consecutive "Clasicos" against Real Madrid when goals from La Liga top scorer Lionel Messi and Pedro fired the champions to a 2-0 win at the Bernabeu on Saturday. 

With seven matches remaining, Barca are three points clear of their arch rivals at the top of the table and also lead in the head-to-head record that would be used to separate the teams if they were level on points at the end of the season.

Argentina forward Messi maintained his brilliant form with his 27th league strike of the season in the 33rd minute before Pedro doubled Barca''s lead in the 56th, both goals coming from outstanding passes delivered by Spain midfielder Xavi.               

Italy                                          

Inter Milan, who had led Serie A since October and were nine points clear in February, were knocked off the top of the table after a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina.

AS Roma moved a point ahead of the Serie A champions with a 2-1 home win over relegation-threatened Atalanta thanks to first-half goals from Mirko Vucinic and Marco Cassetti.

AC Milan's title bid suffered a setback when they were held 2-2 by Catania at the San Siro to fall four points behind the leaders. Forward Marco Borriello''s second-half brace earned Milan the draw after they had been 2-0 down at halftime.

England                                          

Premier League basement club Portsmouth were relegated on Saturday and reached the FA Cup final on Sunday after beating Tottenham with extra-time goals from Frederic Piquionne and former Spurs player Kevin-Prince Boateng.

Portsmouth will face league leaders Chelsea, who beat Aston Villa 3-0, in next month's final.

Manchester United's chances of claiming a fourth consecutive league title took a knock when they were held 0-0 at Blackburn Rovers, leaving them one point behind Chelsea who have a game in hand.

France                                      

Lucho Gonzalez inspired Olympique Marseille to a 4-1 win over lowly Nice which sent them two points clear in Ligue 1.                                           

The Argentine midfielder was involved in all four goals as Marseille kept alive their hopes of landing their first league title since 1992.

A late goal by Daniel Niculae gave surprise package Auxerre a 1-0 win at Nancy and put them second. Olympique Lyon are third, four points behind the leaders, after a 1-1 home draw with Lille in a tense game with a red card for each side.

Germany

Bayern Munich extended their lead in the Bundesliga to two points even though they drew 1-1 at Bayer Leverkusen.

Dutchman Arjen Robben put Bayern ahead with a penalty early in the second half and Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal levelled just before the hour for third-placed Leverkusen. 

Second-placed Schalke 04 lost 4-2 at relegation-threatened Hanover 96.