Cesc Fabregas provided the inspiration as Arsenal stayed in hot pursuit of Premier League leader Chelsea and champion Manchester United with a 2-0 victory at Bolton Wanderers Sunday. The 22-year-old Spanish livewire scored the opener and played a big part in compatriot Fran Merida's first league goal as Arsenal moved to 45 points with United, which has played a game more, on 47 and Chelsea on 48 after they both enjoyed convincing victories Saturday. Aston Villa became the latest top-four challenger to squander an opportunity when it was held to a disappointing goalless draw by West Ham United and Fulham's poor away form continued with a 2-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers. The battle for the final Champions League qualifying slot is as wide open as the scrap for the title but the four clubs best-placed to fight it out all faltered. Tottenham Hotspur occupies fourth on 38 points but it was held 0-0 at home by Hull City. Manchester City is fifth, also on 38, after losing for the first time under Roberto Mancini, 2-0 at Everton, with Villa sixth on 36. Liverpool is seventh on 34. Valencia closes in on Real David Villa netted twice to fire Valencia to a 4-1 win over 10-man Villarreal in La Liga Sunday and lift Unai Emery's side to within three points of second-placed Real Madrid. Real slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao Saturday to remain on 41 points after 18 matches, five behind undefeated champion Barcelona, which took full advantage of Real's slip-up by thrashing Sevilla 4-0 at the Nou Camp. Valencia has 38 in third and Real Mallorca leapfrogged Deportivo Coruna into fourth with a 2-0 home win over the Galicians earlier Sunday. Atletico Madrid continued its recovery from a poor start to the campaign with a nervy 3-2 win over Sporting Gijon and Racing Santander's 18-year-old midfielder Sergio Canales cemented his status as La Liga's rising star when he netted the equalizer in a 1-1 draw with Real Valladolid. In other matches, the bottom of the table clash between Xerez and Real Zaragoza ended in a 0-0 draw. Malaga moved out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win over Getafe. That result saw Tenerife replace Malaga in the final relegation place after a 1-1 draw with Almeria. Hat trick by Ronaldinho Resurgent Ronaldinho netted a hat trick to help AC Milan hammer 10-man Siena 4-0 Sunday and close the gap on Serie A leader Inter Milan to six points. The title race is now very keen. Inter drew 2-2 at Bari Saturday and Milan has a game in hand. The top two meet in the city derby next weekend. Juventus is out of the running though after a 1-0 defeat at Chievo, its fifth loss in seven games in all competitions. Gennaro Sardo netted for the dominant hosts in the first half. Claudio Ranieri's AS Roma has leapfrogged former club Juve into third, 11 behind Inter, after on-loan striker Luca Toni grabbed his first two goals for the club from close range in a 3-0 home win over Genoa. Napoli is fourth, a point above fifth-placed Juve, following a 0-0 draw with Palermo. Sienaslipped four adrift at the bottom after relegation rival Catania drew 1-1 at Sampdoria and Atalanta stunned Lazio 3-0 at home. Bologna also boosted their survival hopes with a surprise 2-1 win at faltering Fiorentina while Udinese managed a 0-0 draw at Parma in a bad
