Beckham's boys back on top as Red Devil Rossi fires for Parma

Schalke fans are facing more agony after seeing the long-time leaders blow their advantage in the penultimate game. A crowd of 80,708 in Dortmund saw Alex Frei put the home side ahead just before half-time, and Ebi Smolarek complete a 2-0 victory five minutes from time.

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A further 60,000 packed into Schalke's own ground to watch the match on a big screen, but the team who blew the title on the last day in 2001 and have thrown away several other good positions in recent years look like extending their title drought to a 50th year now.

Stuttgart took full advantage with a thrilling 3-2 win at Bochum for their seventh straight win and are two points clear going into the final game at home to Cottbus. Schalke must beat Bielefeld and hope Stuttgart lose, or win by four goals in the event of a Stuttgart draw.

Stuttgart were 2-1 down at half time, but Mario Gomez came off the bench after two months out with a knee injury to grab his 14th of the season on the hour, and Brazilian Cacau won the game on 72 minutes with a brilliant turn and shot.

Werder Bremen could have stayed a point behind Stuttgart but a Naldo own goal consigned them to a 2-1 defeat at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, who staved off relegation in the process.

Mainz beat already relegated Monchengladbach 3-0 but are down barring a mathematical miracle, as are Alemannia Aachen who blew a 2-0 lead at home to Wolfsburg in the final 10 minutes to draw 2-2.

The Spanish title race is even more nailbiting, as Real Madrid, without the suspended David Beckham, produced a stunning comeback to beat UEFA Cup finalists Espanyol after being 3-1 down at half-time following a 19-minute hat-trick by Birmingham reject Walter Pandiani at the Bernabeu.

Raul, Jose Reyes and a last-minute winner by Gonzalo Higuain added to Ruud Van Nistelrooy's first-half strike as Espanyol keeper Carlos Kameni had a nightmare, being partly at fault for all the second-half goals.

Real are top by virtue of a better head-to-head record with Barcelona who were held 1-1 at home by lowly Real Betis in one of the shock results of the season.

Ronaldinho scored his seventh penalty of the season after five minutes, but Barca - beaten 4-0 by Getafe in the King's Cup semi-final in midweek - could not kill off their opponents, and Brazilian striker Rafael Sobis made them pay two minutes from time.

Sevilla, who face Espanyol in the UEFA Cup final in Glasgow in midweek, stayed two points off the pace by beating Recreativo 2-1 while Valencia are a further two points adrift but made sure of their Champions League spot by beating closest rivals Real Zaragoza 2-0.

Celta Vigo suffered their fourth straight defeat under new boss Hristo Stoichkov as they crashed 2-1 at home to fellow strugglers Levante.

Celta are four points from safety with four games left, as are Real Sociedad, but the Basque club gave themselves hope of pulling off a miraculous escape by winning 3-1 at bottom club Gimnastic Tarragona.

AC Milan made certain of their Champions League spot despite only drawing 1-1 at Catania with a full-strength team, as Empoli lost 2-0 at struggling Siena.

That also cemented Lazio's Champions League spot despite their 4-3 defeat at runaway champions Inter Milan. Lazio were two up in five minutes, but Hernan Crespo completed his hat-trick on 81 minutes, and Marco Materazzi grabbed a late winner.

Inter are now an astonishing 21 points clear as second-placed Roma slumped 1-0 at home to struggling Torino.

Manchester United loan striker Giuseppe Rossi scored twice as Parma grabbed four goals in 10 first-half minutes to beat Messina 4-1.

The Sicilians are already down, along with Ascoli, but eight teams are still in danger of taking the third relegation spot with two games to go.

The French league took a break to stage the Cup Final, and Sochaux twice hit back from a goal down to beat Marseille 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse scored both Marseille goals, but former Anfield team-mate Anthony Le Tallec grabbed a leveller five minutes from the end of extra time, and Sochaux went on to secure their first French Cup since 1937, while Marseille are still looking for their first trophy since the 1993 European Cup.