Liverpool sinks Chelsea in EPL

LONDON (AP) ― Glen Johnson sent Chelsea to a second straight home loss in the English Premier League with a late winner at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as Liverpool took a 2-1 victory to reignite its chances of finishing in the top four.

Galloping onto Charlie Adam’s raking pass in the 87th minute, the England right back cut inside international teammate Ashley Cole, burst into the area before curling home left-footed into the bottom corner.

Not only did Johnson’s superb solo goal extend Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the league to seven matches and lift the team above Arsenal into sixth place, it also dealt a major blow to Chelsea’s hopes of reeling in unbeaten leader Manchester City.

City is 12 points clear of Chelsea after nearly a third of the season, which will pile the pressure on the London club’s inexperienced manager Andre Villas-Boas, especially given the notorious impatience of Chelsea’s billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

Spain

Athletic Bilbao beat Sevilla 2-1 on Sunday to extend its unbeaten run to eight games in the Spanish league.

Andoni Iraola gave Bilbao an early lead in the sixth minute with a sharply taken strike from outside the area to put the visitors on their way to their first win at Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in 18 years.

Jesus Navas equalized for Sevilla in the 15th, but Bilbao never lost its attacking verve and Oscar de Marcos put the Basques back ahead for good in the 71st when the left back stole the ball, raced onto Iker Muniain’s through pass and rolled home his own rebound.

Atletico Madrid beat fourth-place Levante 3-2, a third straight loss for the unheralded club after a memorable start to the season that had taken it to the top of the table for the first time in its history.

Italy

Juventus showed no signs of rustiness after a three-week layoff on Sunday, reclaiming the Serie A lead with a dominating 3-0 win over Palermo, as previous leader Udinese lost 2-0 at Parma.

Simone Pepe put Juventus in front with a header in the 20th minute following a well-placed cross from Giorgio Chiellini, and then celebrated by imitating a golf putt into the corner flag.

Germany

Hamburg SV beat Hoffenheim 2-0 Sunday to climb out of the Bundesliga relegation zone and give coach Thorsten Fink his first win since taking over.

“We believed in it and we fought for it,” Fink said.

Jose Paulo Guerrero scored against the run of play in the 25th minute, when the Peru striker was lucky to receive the rebound after his initial shot hit the right post.

Hamburg kept pressing in the second half and Marcell Jansen added the second goal in the 65th.