Football / European Round-Up: Porto pocket another title

PORTO made sure of retaining the Portuguese league title yesterday when the Romanian international, Ion Timofte, scored three minutes after the interval to give them a 1-0 win away to Beira-Mar. They now have an unassailable lead over Benfica.

Marseille maintained their hold on the French title amid unseemly scenes on Saturday. The European champions put the issue beyond doubt with a 3-1 home win over Paris- St-Germain in a match interrupted in the closing stages when visiting fans hurled smoke bombs and missiles at Marseille supporters.

A neck-and-neck race for the Turkish crown ended in Galatasaray's favour yesterday when the Istanbul club, coached by the German Karl- Heinz Feldkamp, crushed Ankaragucu 8-0 away to pip Besiktas, the club steered to the title for the past three seasons by Gordon Milne, the former England full-back.

The German Bundesliga is also set for a photo-finish after Werder Bremen beat Hamburg 5-0 on Saturday to overtake Bayern Munich at the top on goal difference. With one game left, they have a one-goal edge over Bayern, who beat VfL Bochum 3-1. Bremen's last game is away to the champions, VfB Stuttgart, while Bayern have an easier trip to play Schalke 04.

Real Madrid moved a point clear at the top of the Spanish League with three games to play despite being held to a 0-0 draw at Osasuna. They took advantage of an unexpected 3-2 defeat for Barcelona, the champions, at Celta Vigo, where they conceded two goals in the first nine minutes.