Genoa upstage Platt strike

OVERSEAS FOOTBALL

A goal by the England captain, David Platt, was not enough for Sampdoria, who were beaten 2-1 in yesterday's derby match with struggling Genoa. Platt scored the opener after 52 minutes, but John Van't Schip cancelled Sampdoria's advantage before the Czech striker, Tomas Skuhravy, sealed victory with a 76th-minute penalty.

The result lifts Genoa out of the bottom four, one point ahead of Cremonese, who forced a 0-0 draw at the San Siro against Internazionale, and two points clear of Foggia, held 2-2 in the Puglia derby with Bari. Reggiana, however, will join Brescia in Serie B next season, after a 4-0 defeat at home to the defending champions, Milan, who move into third place, a point ahead of Roma.

The Lazio coach, Zdenek Zeman, left Paul Gascoigne on the substitutes' bench for the second successive week as his side draw 0-0 with Cagliari. Lazio struggled to break though Cagliari's rearguard, with Pierluigi Casiraghi and Roberto Rambaudi squandering gilt-edged chances.

Not even the appearance midway through the second half of Gascoigne, clearly struggling to find a role in Lazio's three-man attack, managed to lift the game.

Juventus maintained their eight-point lead at the top of the table with an impressive 4-1 win at Fiorentina on Saturday. Their nearest challengers, Parma, beat Brescia 2-1. Both matches were brought forward 24 hours to give Juve and Parma an extra day's preparation before they continue their season-long rivalry in the first leg of the all-Italian Uefa Cup final on Wednesday.

In the Netherlands, Feyenoord's hopes of securing a Uefa Cup place next season faded yesterday, when they lost 2-1 at RKC Waalwijk. The result, clouding Feyenoord's news that they were poised to sign the Dutch international, Ronald Koeman, on a two-year contract, left the club in fifth place - 12 points behind the league leaders, Ajax.

Roda JC Kerkrade's 2-1 victory over FC Groningen on Saturday narrowed Ajax's lead to four points, although the Amsterdam club still have a game in hand.

In the German Bundesliga, Werder Bremen lost ground in the battle for the title by playing out a lacklustre 0-0 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. The result means Bremen will be under pressure to win next Sunday's showdown against the leaders, Borussia Dortmund, who beat Dresden 2-0 on Saturday. Bremen have not now won an away match since 3 March.

The gap at the top of the Spanish First Division widened even further yesterday, when Real Madrid recorded a 1-0 victory over Tenerife. Ivan Zamorano, the Chilean who leads the race for the Spanish equivalent of the Golden Boot with 27 goals, gave Real an eight-point lead over second- placed Deportivo La Corua. Barcelona are 10 points adrift, with only seven matches remaining.