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LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi struck a late winner to earn Barcelona a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday and keep the Spanish champions five points clear at the top of La Liga.

In Italy, Claudio Ranieri resigned as AS Roma coach after they squandered a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 at Genoa.

SPAIN

Lionel Messi rescued a nervy Barcelona with a late goal to earn a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in a thrilling La Liga match on Sunday. The World Player of the Year dinked in the winner in the 77th minute as Barca desperately poured forward after Andoni Iraola had cancelled out David Villa’s early opener with a 49th-minute penalty.

Barca moved on to 65 points from 24 matches, keeping Real Madrid five points back in second after Jose Mourinho’s outfit eased to a 2-0 victory over Levante on Saturday.

Fourth-placed Villarreal’s faltering form continued when they were held 1-1 at home by basement side Malaga and new Osasuna coach Jose Luis Mendilibar led his team to a stunning 4-0 win over sixth-placed Espanyol.

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ITALY

Claudio Ranieri quit as coach of AS Roma after they surrendered a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 at Genoa while fellow underachievers Juventus were beaten 2-0 at lowly Lecce after having Gianluigi Buffon sent off early.

Leaders AC Milan needed a controversial Robinho goal where he used his arm and a late strike from substitute Alexandre Pato to see off Chievo 2-1 but second-placed Napoli kept pace with a 1-0 win over Catania.

Inter Milan in third also had some luck with Andrea Ranocchia’s winner in a 1-0 victory over Cagliari counting despite the Italy defender looking offside.

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ENGLAND

Leyton Orient grabbed the limelight in the FA Cup when they grabbed a dramatic last-minute equaliser to force a 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal in their fifth round tie on Sunday.

The League One side stole the thunder from Everton who ended Chelsea’s dreams of a third successive FA Cup final victory with a 4-3 penalty shootout win at Stamford Bridge after their fourth round replay ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time.

Minor-league Crawley Town also hit the headlines after making Premier League leaders Manchester United, who have won the FA cup a record 11 times, battle for a slender 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

Manchester City kept alive their chances of a first major trophy since 1976 when they thumped League One Notts County 5-0 in a fourth round replay at Eastlands.

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FRANCE

Leaders Lille went down 1-0 at Montpellier, allowing Stade Rennes to cut the gap at the top to two points with a late penalty in a 2-1 victory at Toulouse.

Olympique Marseille, Olympique Lyon and Paris St Germain also all won to set up a thrilling finale to Ligue 1 with five clubs within four points of each other with 14 games left.

Girondins Bordeaux and Monaco lost again as their poor seasons contrast markedly with France’s other big names.

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SCOTLAND

Celtic took a big step towards the Scottish Premier League title by beating their Old Firm rivals Rangers 3-0 at Parkhead on Sunday to move eight points clear at the top of the table, although Rangers have two matches in hand.

Gary Hooper scored twice in the opening 28 minutes to put Celtic in command before Kris Commons made it 3-0 20 minutes from time as the big two played out the fourth of their seven planned meetings this season, including cup games.

Third-placed Hearts moved to within two points of Rangers when they beat Dundee United 2-1 on Saturday but have also played two more matches than Walter Smith’s team.

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NETHERLANDS

PSV Eindhoven brushed aside 10-man NAC Breda 4-1 to go two points clear at the top of the Dutch league as rivals Twente Enschede were held 1-1 by NEC Nijmegen.

Twente had Emir Bajrami to thank for a point after he cancelled out an early opening goal from Nijmegen’s Niki Zimling.

(Editing by Dave Thompson; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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