Brad Friedel helped Blackburn leapfrog over Claudio Reyna and Sunderland in the race against relegation from the English Premier League. St. Pauli is almost certain to receive the send-down in Germany, where Tony Sanneh and Nuremburg remain on the bubble. In Holland, John O’Brien played 67 minutes in another Ajax victory.

Netherlands

Ñ John O’Brien (Ajax, D1) vs. Utrecht, 1-0. Started: 67 minutes. Ajax moved another step closer to its first Dutch league title in four years. Ajax now needs a win and a tie in its final two matches to leave PSV Eindhoven no chance of catching up. PSV has three matches to go, but even winning all three will not be enough if Ajax gets four more points. Ñ Earnie Stewart (NAC Breda, D1) vs. RKC Waalwijk, 1-4. Started: 90 minutes. NAC Breda’s fleeting hopes of a UEFA Cup berth effectively disappeared with this loss. Stewart missed an early, 12-yard chance and narrowly avoided giving the opponents a penalty kick when he knocked down Rick Hoogendorp in the first half.

England

Ñ Brad Friedel (Blackburn, PL) vs. Middlesbrough, 3-1. Started: 90 minutes. Blackburn avenged its FA Cup ousters, but more importantly, earned three imperative points in the race to avoid relegation. Blackburn sits one point above Sunderland with 39 points and four games remaining. Ñ Claudio Reyna (Sunderland, PL) vs. West Ham, 0-3. Started: 90 minutes. Ñ Joe-Max Moore (Everton, PL) vs. Southampton, 1-0. DNP – Not on bench. Ñ Kasey Keller (Tottenham, PL) vs. Bolton, 1-1. Started: 90 minutes. Keller made several admirable stops in the first half, but Tottenham, which could have helped Sunderland and Blackburn by beating Bolton, managed only the draw at home. Ñ Eddie Lewis (Fulham, PL) vs. Leeds, 1-0. DNP – Not on bench. Ñ Jovan Kirovski (Crystal Palace, D1) vs. West Brom, 0-2. Entered as a substitute: 67th minute. Ñ Gregg Berhalter (Crystal Palace, D1) DNP.

Germany

Ñ Tony Sanneh (Nuremberg, D1) vs. Schalke 04, 1-2. Started: 90 minutes. The loss left Nuremburg one point above the relegation zone with two games remaining — one against title-hopeful Bayer Leverkusen and the other against Cory Gibbs’ St. Pauli. Ñ Frank Hejduk (Bayer Leverkusen, D1) vs. Werder Bremen, 1-2. DNP – Not on bench. Leverkusen missed a chance to wrap up the Bundesliga title by losing to the fifth-place team. Ñ Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96, D2) vs. Arminia Bielefeld, Monday. Ñ Conor Casey (Hannover 96, D2) vs. Arminia Bielefeld, Monday. Ñ Cory Gibbs (St. Pauli, D1) vs. Hamburg, 0-4. DNP. St. Pauli’s descent to the second division is all but decided now with two games remaining. The only way St. Pauli can stay up is by winning its two remaining games while Freiburg fails to earn any points last two , Cologne loses at least one of its last two.

France

Ñ David Regis (Metz, D1) Bye week. Ñ Greg Vanney (Bastia, D1) Bye week.

Chile

Ñ Jonny Walker (Universidad Catolica, D1) vs. Cobresal, 7-0. Started: 90 minutes. A dominant performance by Catolica left Walker without too much work, but he handled the shots he faced without error.

Norway

Robbie Russell (Sogndal, D1) vs. Start (0-0). Started: 90 minutes. For the second week in a row, Russell received his team’s highest rating from VG Nett while playing right back. Sogndal started its season last week with a tie against Moss (3-3).