England
If this was Jozy Altidore’s final appearance for Hull City, he didn’t leave a lasting memory with the Tigers faithful. The American striker was red-carded just before halftime in Hull’s 1-0 loss to Sunderland for a retaliatory headbutt on Alan Hutton after the defender angrily threw the ball at Altidore’s head.
Hull ended up losing the match and almost assured themselves of relegation back to the second division. Altidore’s red card means a mandatory three-match ban, which means he won’t make another appearance for Hull this season before his loan from Spain’s Villarreal expires.
Hull are now six points from safety with two games to play, and West Ham’s 3-2 victory over Wigan -- despite a Jonathan Spector own-goal -- means Hull will have to win their final two games and hope the Hammers drop both of theirs to survive the drop.
At the other end of the table, Manchester United ended Tottenham Hotspur’s hot streak with a 3-1 win at Old Trafford, thanks to two penalty-kick goals from Ryan Giggs and a third strike from Nani. United regained the top spot in the Premier League, at least temporarily, until Chelsea face Stoke City on Sunday.
Spurs retained fourth place -- and a chance at England’s final Champions League berth -- thanks to Manchester City’s scoreless draw at Arsenal. Despite the return of Robin van Persie to the lineup, Arsenal couldn’t manage a goal, but still sit in third place with 72 points.
Germany
U.S. international Ricardo Clark finally made his Bundesliga debut with the start for Eintracht Frankfurt in a 3-3 draw with Mainz. The former Dynamo midfielder went the full 90 and nearly logged an assist in his first Frankfurt appearance.
Elsewhere, Schalke drew even with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich with a 1-0 win at Hertha Berlin. Bayern got a 73rd-minute goal from Miroslav Klose off the bench to salvage a 1-1 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Clark’s U.S. teammate Michael Bradley helped put the home side ahead in the 60th minute off a well-run counterattack -- the son of U.S. coach Bob Bradley sent the ball on the run into the path of Marco Reus, who one-timed it past Bayern keeper Hans-Jörg Butt.
Schalke and Bayern are even atop the table with 64 points. Both teams have two remaining matches, although Bayern have a far superior goal differential.
Meanwhile, Steve Cherundolo’s Hannover moved closer to the drop after suffering another rout, this time at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen by a 3-0 score line. Hannover remain in 17th place in the Bundesliga, a point from safety.
Spain
Jeffrén Suárez, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored as Barcelona held their top spot in La Liga with a 3-1 win over last-place Xerez. Real Madrid remained a point back with a gritty 2-1 win at Real Zaragoza. Kaká came off the bench to score the winner in the 82nd minute off a pass from Cristiano Ronaldo. The match marked the Brazilian playmaker's return from six months on the sidelines due to a groin injury.
Italy
Inter Milan again retook the Serie A lead over idle Roma with a 3-1 win over Atalanta. Diego Milito, Sulley Muntari and Christian Chivu scored for José Mourinho's men, who looked sluggish at first after their win over Barcelona in the Champions League this past week. Elswhere, Palermo sent AC Milan to their second straight defeat, 3-1 at the Renzo Barbera. Roma face Sampdoria on Sunday.
Greece
Freddy Adu came on as an 83rd-minute substitute, but it wasn't enough as Aris fell to Panathinaikos 1-0 in the Greek Cup final in Athens.
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