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A whistle-stop tour of the weekend's action from around the globe, with Shandong Luneng claiming the Chinese Super League crown.

CHINA

Shandong Luneng had Zhejiang to thank as they claimed their second league title in three years with a 0-0 draw against Guangzhou.

Shanghai Shenhua would have been champions on goal difference had they held on to a 2-1 lead over Zhejiang but Tan Yang's 76th minute equaliser handed Shandong their third title since the national league was started in 1994.

"I would be happier if we had won but our team has done the best throughout the year," Shandong's Serbian coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic said.

Shandong finished with 63 points from 30 games, two better than Shanghai, who also had a penalty saved by Zhejiang's goalkeeper Jiang Bo before Tan's strike.

Beijing Guoan beat Chengdu Blades 2-0 in their last match at Fengtai Stadium to finish third with 58 points and go into the draw for next year's revamped Asian Champions League along with the top two and Tianjin, who finished fourth with 57 points.

Brazilian striker Eber Luis Cucchi scored four as Tianjin ended their season with a 5-3 thrashing of eight-times champions Dalian Shide.

The once-proud Dalian had a miserable season, just escaping relegation by finishing 14th in the 16-team league.

Liaoning filled the one remaining relegation spot left over after Wuhan quit the league in a row over the suspension of a player in October.

Shandong cannot win the double as they did in 2006 as the Chinese FA Cup was cancelled to allow the Olympic team to prepare for their failed attempt to reach the last four at the Beijing Games.

With the senior team already knocked out of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, Shandong's triumph brings to an end another miserable year for Chinese football.

ARGENTINA

Playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme scored twice to give Boca Juniors a 2-1 win over Racing Club and keep them top of the Argentine championship.

Unfashionable Tigre moved into second place after coming from behind for a 3-1 win over defending champions River Plate who, incredibly, are bottom of the table.

San Lorenzo, previously second, dropped to fourth after their game against Huracan on Saturday was suspended by a torrential downpour in the 16th minute.

The Argentinian FA has not yet announced when the match, which Huracan were winning 1-0, will be completed.

With two games to play, Boca lead the Apertura championship with 35 points from 17 games, two ahead of Tigre.

Riquelme opened the scoring with a 40th-minute penalty, ignoring provocation from goalkeeper Pablo Migliori to place the ball calmly in the bottom left corner.

The penalty was controversially awarded for a foul by Migliori on Luciano Figueroa.

Franco Sosa outjumped a group of Boca defenders to head Racing level in first-half stoppage time.

After becoming involved in an altercation with a supporter in the members' seats who apparently insulted him early in the second half, Riquelme volleyed the winner on the hour.

He then ran 50 metres to celebrate in front of the fan who became involved in a fight with other supporters around him.

Tigre fell behind when Paraguay striker Santiago Salcedo curled in a second-minute free kick for River before two goals from Carlos Luna gave them a 2-1 halftime lead.

Luna got in behind the River defence to equalise in the 26th minute and latched on to Martin Morel's incisive pass to chip the second in first-half stoppage time.

River dominated the second half but Tigre held on and added the third in the fifth minute of stoppage-time when Morel sent Cristian Bardaro clear and he chipped over goalkeeper Daniel Vega.

Bardaro, who had only been on the pitch for a few minutes, was sent off as he picked up a second yellow card for a shirtless goal celebration.

BRAZIL

Sao Paulo missed a chance to clinch the Brazilian championship title with a match to spare when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Fluminense.

Gremio kept the title race alive by coming from behind to win 4-1 at Ipatinga, cutting Sao Paulo's lead to three points.

Portuguesa and Ipatinga became the first two teams to be relegated while Flamengo continued an unhappy sequence of mishaps at the Maracana stadium when they blew a 3-0 lead and were held 3-3 at home by Goias.

Fluminense, beaten finalists in this year's Copa Libertadores, took a shock lead at the Morumbi when Tarta scored from a rebound four minutes into the second half.

Striker Borges equalised eight minutes later despite failing to connect properly with Jorge Wagner's cross.

Sao Paulo defender Andre Dias headed against the post with seven minutes left, leaving his team needing a draw from their visit to Goias next Sunday to win the title for the third time in a row.

Gremio fell behind to a fifth-minute goal from Pablo Escobar at Ipatinga but two goals from striker Marcel and one from Jean gave them a 3-1 halftime lead before Leo added another after halftime.

The result condemned bottom club Ipatinga to the second division and Portuguesa, who like Ipatinga were promoted last year, followed them when they were held 2-2 at home by Sport Recife.

The bottom four in the 20-team table go down.

Flamengo's chances of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Copa Libertadores suffered a blow with their home draw against Goias.

The Vultures raced to a 3-0 lead in only 35 minutes with two goals from striker Obina - a cult figure at the club - and one from full back Juan.

Goias pulled two back before halftime with a Paulo Baier penalty and an Ernando header before Thiago Feltri levelled midway through the second half to leave Flamengo fifth.

Earlier this year, Flamengo suffered a humiliating elimination in the Copa Libertadores when they were beaten 3-0 at home by Mexican side America, having gone into the match with a 4-2 lead from the first leg.

Their Brazilian title chances were effectively scuppered after another unhappy Maracana experience last month when their biggest home crowd of the season saw them lost 3-0 to mid-table Atletico Mineiro.

NETHERLANDS

David Mendes da Silva and Ari scored in either half to earn AZ Alkmaar a 2-0 win at Groningen that put them three points clear on top of the Eredivisie.

Second place Ajax were held to a 1-1 draw by Utrecht with Miralem Sulejmani on target to salvage a point, while Sparta Rotterdam trashed third-place NAC Breda 4-0.

Champions PSV Eindhoven failed to win away from home again as they struck twice in the final 10 minutes to rescue a draw at Heerenveen, who had gone ahead after a double from Roy Beerens.

Feyenoord striker Roy Makaay scored for the fifth match in a row in a 1-1 draw at Vitesse Arnhem.

GREECE

Olympiacos stayed four points clear at the top of the Greek Super League with a comfortable 4-1 win over Panionios as their biggest rivals Panathinaikos were held to a draw.

Goals from Fernando Belluschi, Diogo and two late on from from substitute Costas Mitroglou put Olympiacos top on 29 points, four clear of PAOK Salonika who needed an injury time winner to beat bottom club Thrasyvoulos 2-1.

Panathinaikos, who produced a memorable win over Italian giants Internazionale in midweek, are back in fourth place - one point behind Xanthi after being held to a 1-1 home draw by Asteras Tripolis.

PARAGUAY

Guarani won 4-1 at 3 de Febrero and closed the gap on leaders Libertad to one point with one match each to play in the Clausura championship.

Relegation-threatened 3 de Febrero said that seven of their players were hit before the match by a bout of food poisoning which was blamed on a juice drink mixed with vitamins.

"This needs to be investigated," said coach Pedro Nelson Fleitas. "We don't know if the product was past its sell-by date of if somebody put something intentionally in the juice."

Defender Juan Ortiz was treated in hospital and several other players missed the game.

Gilberto Palacios scored twice for Guarani while Federico Carballo and Jonathan Fabrro, from a penalty, notched the other goals for Guarani. William Schuster replied for the hosts.

Libertad, attempting to win their fourth consecutive title, were held 1-1 by Nacional. Juan Samudio put Libertad ahead and Julio Ortellado equalised.

VENEZUELA

Deportivo Italia won the first stage of the 2008-09 championship with two matches to spare when they beat Aragua FC 2-0 away.

Cristian Casseres and Mauro Conocciari scored in each half to send Italia eight points clear of second-placed Caracas FC, who suffered a 2-0 home defeat by Monagas.

Deportivo Italia qualified for the end-of-season final where they will meet the winners of the second stage which starts in January. Italia will take the title automatically if they win the second stage as well.

COLOMBIA

Forty-two-year-old goalkeeper Rene Higuita had another miserable day as Pereira were outclassed 3-0 at Deportivo Cali in the semi-final group stage of the Clausura championship.

The eccentric former Colombia international was powerless to stop Danny Aguilar opening the scoring in the ninth minute and lucky not to give away a penalty when he upended Armando Carillo in the second half.

Freddy Montero added two more for Cali in the second half of the Group B match, including the second from a penalty, to take his tally to 16 in the championship.

America went top of the group with five points from three games after a 1-1 draw at Atletico Junior, who had Emerson Acuna sent off in the 33rd minute. Junior and Cali have four points each.

Independiente Medellin won 3-2 at La Equidad to go three points clear at the top of Group A.

CHILE

Palestino came from two goals behind to draw 2-2 at Rangers in their Clausura championship semi-final first leg.

Marcelo Lucero and Juan Manuel Carvallo scored twice in five minutes before halftime for the hosts but Palestino hit back when Francisco Ibanez headed home in the 58th minute and Jean Paul Pineda snatched an injury-time equaliser.

Title favourites Colo Colo drew 3-3 at Cobreloa in the other tie despite having midfielder Rodrigo Melendez sent off in the second half.

ECUADOR

Deportivo Quito beat LDU 2-0 in their derby to move within touching distance of winning the 2008 championship and claiming their first domestic title for 40 years.

Luis Saritama and championship leading scorer Martin Mandra scored in the last 15 minutes, Argentine Mandra taking his tally to 18.

Deportivo went six points clear of LDU with two matches to play in the final stage of the marathon tournament.

URUGUAY

There was no professional football for the second weekend running after the Uruguayan federation suspended the tournament following a riot on the field at the end of the Danubio-Nacional game two weeks ago.

PERU

Former Venezuela coach Richard Paez was fired by Alianza Lima after they lost 2-1 to arch-rivals Universitario in a derby at the weekend.

Deportivo San Martin went nine points clear of Sporting Cristal at the top of the 2008 championship's second stage after winning 2-1 at Alianza Atletico.

Reuters