Lierse join the party

European round-up

It was a weekend of celebration across Europe as several major championships were decided. Juventus launched the party mood with their 1-1 draw at Atalanta on Friday which secured the Italian Serie A crown, and on Saturday and yesterday they were joined by Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven... and little Lierse.

A 3-0 win yesterday at Standard Liege brought Lierse their first Belgian title since 1960. Goals from Dirk Huysmans, Eric van Meir and David Brocken meant Lierse ended the season two points clear of the outgoing champions, Club Bruges. The match was halted for almost half an hour due to a pitch invasion by Standard fans.

Based in Lier, a town of just 33,000 inhabitants, Lierse took the title for the fourth time in their history. The Lierse coach, Eric Gerets, the former Belgian international full-back, is leaving the club this summer, however - to take over at Club Bruges.

PSV Eindhoven claimed the Dutch title for the 14th time in their history, and the first since 1992, when they beat Willem II Tilburg 3-1 yesterday. With one game to go, PSV have 77 points and an unassailable four-point lead over Feyenoord, who beat Heerenveen 4-2.

The PSV coach Dick Advocaat, was dismissed from the bench for abusing referee Dick Jol halfway through the first half. However, goals from Luc Nilis, Gilles de Bilde and Wim Jonk calmed his nerves.

Bayern Munich won the German Bundesliga with a 4-2 home victory over VfB Stuttgart on the penultimate weekend of the season. They have a four- point lead over Bayer Leverkusen, who were crushed 4-0 at Cologne.

In Spain, a last-minute goal from Ronaldo earned Barcelona a 1-0 home win over Deportivo La Coruna. In France, another last-minute winner, from Vincent Guerin, gave Paris St-Germain a 2-1 win over Strasbourg and a place in the European Cup.