United adds to Liverpool’s misery

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester United’s resurgence continued in the English Premier League as the Red Devils beat archrival Liverpool for a sixth consecutive league win on Sunday, while Juventus has its lead cut to one point in Serie A.

In Spain, Villarreal ended Atletico Madrid’s streak of 27 straight home games without a loss and defending champion Paris Saint-Germain lost its first game in the French league.

Manchester United’s unlikely title challenge in the Premier League gained further momentum with a 3-0 win over Liverpool, plunging last season’s runner-up into more disarray. Goals by Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie sealed a sixth straight win for United, which has recovered from a disappointing start to the campaign to climb to third place and within eight points of leader Chelsea.

The scoreline was harsh on Liverpool, which was repeatedly denied by United goalkeeper David de Gea, but exposed the team’s inefficiency up front and underlined the change in fortunes of England’s two biggest clubs.

Eliminated from the Champions League on Tuesday, Liverpool dropped to 10th place in the Premier League after Tottenham’s 2-1 win at Swansea in Sunday’s other game.

Christian Eriksen drove in an 89th-minute winner for Spurs, who are seventh.

Patrice Evra scored his first goal in Serie A but Juventus was held 1-1 at home by Champions League hopeful Sampdoria.

Radja Nainggolan scored as second-place Roma won 1-0 at 10-man Genoa to bounce back from its Champions League elimination and set up a title fight with three-time defending champion Juve in the second half of the season.

“We took advantage of the chance to pull within one point that we didn’t take advantage of last time,” Roma coach Rudi Garcia said, referring to a wasted opportunity last weekend. “We’ve learned well.”

Evra put Juventus ahead with a header before Sampdoria substitute Manolo Gabbiadini equalized by shooting inside the far post for his sixth goal of the season.

Also Sunday, AC Milan beat Napoli 2-0 at the San Siro with goals from Jeremy Menez and Giacomo Bonaventura, ending Napoli’s 11-match unbeaten streak

Still unbeaten at the start of the week, Paris Saint-Germain was handed a second consecutive loss in the space of five days as the French champions lost 1-0 at relegation-threatened Guingamp following their 3-1 defeat against Barcelona in the Champions League.

Jeremy Pied headed home the winner and goalkeeper Jonas Lossl denied Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a decisive save in the closing stages. But leader Marseille did not take advantage of PSG’s setback as Marcelo Bielsa’s team also lost 1-0 at Monaco. Bernardo Silva scored the winner, preventing Marseille from extending its lead at the top of the standings to four points.

Villarreal striker Luciano Vietto scored late to grab a 1-0 over Atletico Madrid, using a quick change of foot to shed Diego Godin before firing the winner past goalkeeper Miguel Moya with six minutes to play.

The defending champions hadn’t lost in the league at its Vicente Calderon Stadium since May 12, 2013, a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona.

Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Moenchengladbach drew 1-1 in the Bundesliga, while promoted Paderborn held second-place Wolfsburg by the same score on Sunday.

Leverkusen midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu opened the scoring in the early game with an effort inside the far corner. But the home side failed to hold on to the lead and was made to pay six minutes before the break when Roel Brouwers equalized after a corner.