Football

Stuttgart fire coach Veh after poor showings

Hamburg  - VfB Stuttgart fired coach Armin Veh on Sunday after a string of poor Bundesliga results culminated in a 4-1 hammering at VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday, club spokesman Oliver Schraft said.

Real Madrid second followed by Villarreal, Sevilla, Valencia

Real Madrid second followed by Villarreal, Sevilla, ValenciaMadrid  - Real Madrid stumbled out of their crisis with a streaky 1-0 home win Saturday over spirited but naive Recreativo Huelva.

Real won with a 39th-minute goal from Wesley Sneijder, whose powerful left-footed drive took a wicked deflection off Huelva defender Beto and spun over hapless keeper Asier Riesgo.

The whites did not play well but could have widened their lead in the second half. Huelva showed some neat approach play but lacked power and decision in attack.

Inter Milan stretch lead on Juventus through narrow win

Rome  - A goal by Ghana's Sulley Muntari allowed champions Inter Milan to edge visiting Juventus 1-0 Saturday and move six points clear of their opponents atop of the Serie A.

Juve lost their midfield setup after two minutes when Portuguese Tiago Cardoso Mendes hurt himself and had to be replaced by the young Claudio Marchisio, as Inter produced massive attacks throughout the first half.

Dejan Stankovic tried to finish off a counterattack on 12 minutes but met the rough tackle of two Juve defenders and saw Alex Manninger save his header shortly afterward.

Swede star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic on 25 minutes fired a first shot that caused no problems to Manninger before Sulley Muntari nodded wide off a free kick.

Sneijder ends Real Madrid crisis with winning goal

Madrid  - Real Madrid stumbled out of their crisis with a streaky 1-0 home win Saturday over spirited but naive Recreativo Huelva.

Real won with a 39th-minute goal from Wesley Sneijder, whose powerful left-foot drive took a wicked deflection off Huelva defender Beto and spun over hapless keeper Asier Riesgo.

The whites did not play well but could have scored more goals in the second half. Huelva showed some neat approach play but lacked power and decision in attack.

The latest defeat leaves Huelva, Spain's oldest club, second from bottom with just seven points. They left the Bernabeu complaining about a Pepe handball that was not given as a penalty.

Missed opportunities for Chelsea, Liverpool; Arsenal beaten

London  - Chelsea, Liverpool and champions Manchester United were all left to rue missed opportunities on Saturday after they were each held to goalless draws.

Chelsea, top on goal difference, could not find a way past Newcastle United while second-placed Liverpool were frustrated by a stubborn Fulham side at Anfield and United drew 0-0 at Aston Villa.

Chelsea and Liverpool remain tied on points at the top, eight points clear of United, who have a game in hand. Villa climbed into fourth above Arsenal, who were humbled
3-0 at Manchester City.

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari looked frustrated on the sidelines at Stamford Bridge as his side failed to break through a stout Newcastle defence.

Fiorentina come from behind to stun Udinese

Rome  - Fiorentina came from behind Saturday to beat visiting Udinese 4-2 thanks to a brace from Riccardo Montolivo.

The young midfielder drilled home two smashing shots in the second half inflaming the Florence crowd at the Artemio Franchi while reversing Udinese's lead.

Both goalkeepers had work to do after 15 minutes of largely tactical game that flared up when Udinese striker Antonio Floro Flores called Sebastien Frey to block a header before Montolivo's feeble shot was blocked by Samir Handanovic.

Udinese gradually took the upper hand pressing the Florence hosts in their midfield and went one up on 29 minutes as Floro Flores stunned the French custodian with a precise shot from outside the box.

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