Bayer Leverkusen won some breathing space atop the German soccer standings Saturday with a 4-2 away win at sixth-placed Kaiserslautern.
Leverkusen's Ulf Kirsten stunned the home side with a goal only 16 seconds into the game before Oliver Neuville added another score 15 minutes later. Kaiserslautern recovered from its initial shock and scored two goals to make it a contest before Leverkusen pulled away late.
Leverkusen, which has never won the title, now has 62 points with five games remaining. Second-placed Borussia Dortmund is four points back after losing 3-2 at Stuttgart. Defending champion Bayern Munich remains third with 55 points after a goal-less draw at Hamburg.
Surging Liverpool had little trouble retaining the top spot in the English (soccer) Premier League Saturday thanks to a 2-0 victory over Charlton on first-half goals from Vladimir Smicer and Michael Owen.
Perennial champions Manchester United kept the pressure on, though, showing good late-season form with a hard-fought, 4-3 win at Leeds. Third placed Arsenal beat Sunderland 3-0 at home.
Liverpool, looking to win its first league title since 1990, now leads the standings with 68 points, one ahead of Manchester United, which faces Spain's La Coruna Tuesday in a Champion's League quarterfinal. Arsenal is two points from the leader.
Inter Milan has come another step closer to ending a 13-year championship drought following its 1-0 victory Saturday at Fiorentina.
Inter got all the scoring it needed at the 61st minute when Christian Vieri netted his 20th goal of the season off a corner kick.
The win leaves the "blue-and-black" with 62 points, three clear of titleholder A-S Roma, which beat Bologna 3-1.