Real Madrid's trouble continued as it lost to relegation candidate Levante, 1-0, at home on Sunday, and fans at the Bernabeu Stadium demanded the resignation of President Ramon Calderon and Coach Fabio Capello.
Real Madrid fell behind on Salva Ballesta's 11th-minute penalty and rarely looked like it would equalize against Levante, 18th in the 20-team La Liga. Fans jeered and waved their programs in disgust at the end of the match. MLS-bound David Beckham again watched from the stands, where Capello hinted he'd remain despite Real's problems on the field.
''[Beckham] has been here three years and the results have not been good,'' said Capello. ''We are trying a new lineup, and I am waiting for important players [to return from injuries]. I am convinced by my decisions. For example, [Beckham] played against Depor, and we lost.''
Beckham hasn't played since coming on as a substitute in a 2-0 loss at Deportivo Coruna on Jan. 7, four days before announcing he'd play for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The Real Madrid dropped to fourth place with the loss to Levante. Valencia climbed to third after beating Atletico Madrid, 3-1, thanks to two goals from Fernando Morientes. The only consolation for Real Madrid was that Barcelona and Sevilla both dropped points with scoreless ties against Osasuna and Real Sociedad, respectively. Barca leads Sevilla by one point, Valencia by four and Real Madrid by five and also has a game in hand.
ENGLAND. Manchester United showed off its championship form with a 4-0 demolition of Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday to remain six points ahead of Chelsea, a 1-0 winner at Charlton. Cristiano Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs scored for United, which put the game away with three goals in nine minutes on either side of halftime.
FRANCE. Leader Lyon remained winless in Ligue 1 play since Dec. 17 when it fell to tiny Troyes, 1-0, on a late winner by winner by captain Benjamin Nivet. Lyon, shooting for its six straight league title, saw its lead drop to 11 points as Lens moved up to second thanks to a convincing 3-1 win at Valenciennes.
GERMANY. Schalke 04 took over first place from Werder Bremen with a 2-0 win at Werder's Weserstadion on Sunday. Dane Peter Lovenkrands scored both goals on assists from Brazilian Lincoln and Kevin Kuranyi. Schalke opened up a three-point lead over Werder, which went into the game in the lead on goal difference. Ottmar Hitzfeld's return to the sidelines as Bayern Munich coach was a disaster as Bayern fell, 3-0, at Nuremberg. The defending champion fell 11 points off the lead; it trailed Werder Bremen and Schalke by only three points when league play resumed a week ago.