CSKA carve out title success

Le Mans UC 72 3-0 Olympique de Marseille

Marseille slipped to 12th place in France's Ligue 1 on Saturday after their worst result of the campaign against surprise package Le Mans. Swiss Under-21 international Davide Chiumiento, on loan from Juventus, opened the scoring on five minutes. James Fanchone made it two on the hour after a handling error by Marseille goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. Ismaël Bangoura wrapped up an emphatic victory 13 minutes from time.

Marseille were without forwards Mamadou Niang (ankle sprain) and Sergio Koke (dislocated shoulder), and both are doubtful for the match at home to Heerenveen on 24 November. "A lack of strikers wasn't the problem. The whole team was the problem. The final score was a fair reflection of our performance," said Marseille president Pape Diouf. "We need to analyse this setback because the same team has achieved good results recently. This is a big disappointment."

PFC Vihren Sandanski 1-2 PFC Levski Sofia

Levski cut Bulgarian Premier League leaders PFC CSKA Sofia's advantage to four points with a 2-1 win at high-flying Vihren on Monday. Emil Angelov - scorer of the Matchday 2 winner against Dinamo Bucuresti - put the visitors ahead after 28 minutes before Vihren equalised seven minutes after the break through Viktor Sofroniev. However, Dimitar Telkiyski secured three points for Levski on 63 minutes after good work from Valeri Domovchiyski. The home side's misery was compounded by defender Zoran Tsvetkovic's dismissal.

Levski were without captain Elin Topuzakov, who sustained a short-term ankle injury against Dinamo, while experienced midfielder Daniel Borimirov is struggling with a bruised ankle. "The pitch was hard to play on," said coach Stanimir Stoilov. "But we showed great spirit and went on to win the match."

SC Heerenveen 4-0 FC Groningen

Heerenveen prevailed in the 'derby of the north', scoring four goals without reply against Groningen. The hosts took a fortuitous early lead as Klaas Jan Huntelaar's header was deflected in by a Groningen defender. Paul Bosvelt put Heerenveen two up at the break, after visiting goalkeeper Bas Roorda strayed off his line to clear, only for the ball to fall to Bosvelt who shot first time from the halfway line. It was 3-0 within a minute of the restart, Huntelaar claiming his second with a bicycle kick, to make it nine goals in nine games. Georgios Samaras completed the rout with a mazy run 16 minutes from time.

Coach Gertjan Verbeek said: "It was a remarkable match. Despite not playing particularly well we were two ahead at the interval, which flattered us. We have had some tough matches recently and it is good to see the team gelling more with every game."

FC Dinamo Moskva 1-2 PFC CSKA Moskva

CSKA Moskva secured their second Russian Premier-Liga title with one game to spare after winning at Dinamo Moskva. The Army Men struggled to make the breakthrough in the first half against injury-plagued opponents, but finally registered within ten minutes of the restart as Aleksei Berezutski was quickest to a rebound. Substitute Evgeni Aldonin carved out the opening for Daniel Carvalho to double the lead 13 minutes later, and although Denis Kolodin hit back for Dinamo, it was not enough to deny the UEFA Cup holders.

"This has been a very difficult but ultimately fantastic season," said coach Valeri Gazzaev. "There have been ups and downs, but we have come out on top because we fought till the end. It is a big achievement. I would like to thank all the players, the fans and the club president because they have all contributed to this success. This is a young and ambitious side with great team spirit and skill." CSKA have been further lifted after striker Ivica Olić, a long-term casualty, resumed light training.

FC Sporting Vaslui 1-2 FC Dinamo Bucuresti

Dinamo Bucuresti bounced back from their 1-0 Group F defeat by PFC Levski Sofia to win at Divizia A's bottom side, Vaslui. Midfielder Mihaita Plesan opened the scoring after 65 minutes before striker Claudiu Niculescu, a 70th-minute substitute, added a second, his first goal since returning from two months out with a shoulder problem. Ionut Badea struck an injury-time consolation for Vaslui.

The victory keeps Dinamo five points clear at the top of Romania's First Division. "This is the happiest I have felt with the team in a long time," said coach Ioan Andone. "Once we had scored the first goal, we dominated and clearly deserved our win."