Dortmund ends year with a bang; Bayern stays on top

Berlin (Agencies): Borussia Dortmund ended the year with a bang, thrashing bottom Energie Cottbus 4-0 on Saturday in its last match before the winter break.

The German champion remained second but closed the gap on leader Bayern Munich with two goals from Czech forward Jan Koller and one each from Brazilian strikers Ewerthon and Marcio Amoroso for a spectacular away victory.

Bayern was held to a 0-0 draw by Schalke 04 but still reaches the halfway point with a comfortable six-point lead on Dortmund and remains ideally placed to win its 18th German crown.

Werder Bremen stayed in third place, also six points off the pace, with a 2-0 home win over Borussia Moenchengladbach courtesy of goals from strikers Markus Daun and Ailton.

Ewerthon was instrumental in Dortmund's win, setting up Koller for its first goal on eight minutes before doubling the advantage from close range two minutes into the second half.

Substitute Amoroso inflicted further punishment on troubled Cottbus with a fine goal, twisting his way past two Energie defenders before scoring from a tight angle with seven minutes remaining.

Koller then completed a fine display of attacking football with his second goal just before the final whistle.

Bayer Leverkusen, last season's league and Champions League runner-up, kept struggling with a 2-0 home defeat to modest Nuremberg.

In the English Premier League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Juan Sebastian Veron scored early to give Manchester United to a 3-0 victory Saturday over West Ham, pulling the Reds level on points with league-leading Arsenal.

Chelsea failed to grab the outright lead in England, managing only a 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough on a tying goal late in the first half by John Terry.

Everton got the winner from 17-year-old Wayne Rooney in the 25th minute and defeated Blackburn 2-1, a victory that moved the Toffies into fourth place with 32 points.

Newcastle and Southampton battled to a 1-1 draw, a valuable point that moved the Magpies into sixth place behind Liverpool with 29 points.

In Serie A, two goals from Argentine striker Julio Cruz helped Bologna come from behind to beat Parma 2-1 on Sunday while Chievo Verpna also kept in touch with the leading pack with a comfortable 3-0 win at Piacenza.

The results moved both clubs level fourth on 26 points with champion Juventus.

In Spain, two goals in the space of nine minutes from John Carew gave Valencia a 2-0 victory over Villarreal on Saturday to keep up the pressure on Spanish League leader Real Sociedad.