EPL relegation fight heats up

LONDON (AP) ― Wigan routed Newcastle 4-0 Saturday for another remarkable win in its attempt to avoid relegation from the Premier League and severely dent its opponent’s chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

With the fight for the title not resuming until leader Manchester United makes the short trip to second-place Manchester City on Monday, much of Saturday’s play centered on the teams fighting to stay in the lucrative Premier League.

Newcastle had won six straight to move into fourth place but Wigan, which looked certain to be relegated just over a month ago, followed recent wins over Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal with first-half goals from Victor Moses (two), Shaun Maloney and Franco Di Santo.

Wigan was still last in the standings on March 17 after just one win in 14 Premier League matches but kept up its passing, attacking game to become one of the division’s better teams.

Wigan is three points ahead of the three-team relegation zone. Bolton remained in 18th place despite rallying for a 2-2 draw at Sunderland through Kevin Davies’ second goal of the game, while Aston Villa is still in danger after a 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion.

At the other end of the standings, Robin van Persie scored his 28th league goal of the season to earn third-place Arsenal a 1-1 draw at Stoke.

Nikica Jelavic scored twice as Everton scored four for the third straight league game to beat Fulham 4-0, with Toffees goalkeeper Tim Howard tipping a shot from fellow American Clint Dempsey over the crossbar. Luis Suarez had a hat trick, getting his third on a lob from midfield, as Liverpool beat Norwich 3-0. Last-place Wolverhampton, which has already been demoted, fought back from 4-1 down to draw 4-4 at Swansea.

Queens Park Rangers plays Sunday at Chelsea. Blackburn, the other side in the relegation zone, is at Tottenham also on Sunday.

Southampton was promoted Saturday after a 4-0 win over Coventry sealed its return to England’s topflight after a seven-year absence.

The Saints scored twice in each half to clinch a second straight promotion as runner-up to Reading in the second-tier League Championship.

Germany

Bundesliga top scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar had two goals to help Schalke secure automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League with a 4-0 win over Hertha Berlin.

Huntelaar scored in the 32nd minute before increasing his season total to 27 goals in the 88th. Lewis Holtby and Raul Gonzalez ― playing in his last game at home for Schalke ― also scored.

Freiburg’s 4-1 win over Cologne saved Hertha from relegation for now. Hertha is two points behind Cologne in the relegation playoff place heading to the final weekend’s games.

Augsburg and Hamburg are safe after 0-0 draws at Borussia Moenchengladbach and at home against Mainz.

Borussia Dortmund ― which clinched the title last weekend ― celebrated with a 5-2 win at already-relegated Kaiserslautern, extending its record unbeaten run to 27 games. Second-place Bayern Munich defeated Stuttgart 2-0, allowing Bayer Leverkusen to move into fifth with a 1-0 win over Hannover.

Scotland

Motherwell beat St. Johnstone 5-1 in the Scottish Premier League to clinch a place in European competition for next season and boost its chances of reaching the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.

Michael Higdon and Nicky Law put Motherwell in control with two goals in three first-half minutes before Jamie Murphy scored the best goal with a 52nd-minute volley. St. Johnstone replied with a penalty kick but substitute Henrik Ojamaa made two late goals to help Motherwell go five points ahead in third place.

Spain

Levante moved into fourth place ― Spain’s last Champions League spot ― with a a 3-1 win over Granada, and Racing Santander was relegated with a 3-0 loss at Real Sociedad.

Valdo Lopes set up second-half goals by Arouna Kone and Xavi Torres before scored on a late header for Levante.

France

Lyon won its first trophy in four years, beating third-tier Quevilly 1-0 at Saint-Denis for its fifth French Cup championship.

Lisandro Lopez scored in the 28th minute.

Italy

Fabio Simplicio scored in the 88th minute to give Roma a 2-2 tie at home against Napoli, damaging the visitors’ hopes of returning to the Champions League.