Clint Dempsey posts historic hat trick

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LONDON -- Underlining his growing reputation as the United States' top player in Europe, Clint Dempsey became the first American to score a hat trick in the Premier League in Fulham's 5-2 comeback win over Newcastle on Saturday.

The 28-year-old Dempsey scored three goals in a 30-minute span in the second half.

"We never found our rhythm in the first half, but we began to get into their penalty area in the second half," Dempsey said. "Luckily, the ball kept going in. We never took our foot off the gas and we took our chances."

Dempsey put Fulham ahead 2-1 in the 59th minute with his 50th goal for the Cottagers, bundling in from 3 yards after Bobby Zamora's shot rebounded off goalkeeper Tim Krul.

Six minutes later, he slotted in a right-footed goal from 10 yards. Then he split two defenders, heading the ball down to himself, and two touches later scored in the 89th minute on a shot from 12 yards.

Behind 1-0 at halftime, Fulham tied it with a goal by Danny Murphy. Bobby Zamora extended the lead to 4-1.

Dempsey, from Nacogdoches, Texas, scored a career-best 15 goals this season, including nine in the Premier League. On Friday, Dempsey was voted the U.S. Soccer Federation's male athlete for 2011.

Fulham signed Dempsey from the New England Revolution in January 2007.

Dempsey had scored his first hat trick in England on Jan. 7, against Charlton in the third round of the FA Cup.

"Clint Dempsey is our top scorer," Fulham manager Martin Jol said. "He is doing what he does best. Clint scores goals. You can only say he is a fantastic player."

He is tied for seventh in the league in scoring, trailing only Robin van Persie, Demba Ba, Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney, Ayegbeni Yakubu and Edin Dzeko.

Elsewhere, Chelsea squandered a chance to trim the gap on the Premier League pacesetters on Saturday by drawing 0-0 at Norwich.

Needing a win to boost its faint chances of reeling in the two Manchester clubs and Tottenham, fourth-place Chelsea was frustrated by poor finishing at Carrow Road, with misfiring Spain striker Fernando Torres the biggest culprit. American left back Zak Whitbread helped keep Torres scoreless for his 16th straight club match, a career high.

Qualifying for the Champions League may be Chelsea's main target now, so news of Liverpool's 3-1 defeat at Bolton and Newcastle's loss at Fulham will have been welcome.

Liverpool was surprisingly overrun by a Bolton team that had been languishing in the bottom three, surrendering an opportunity to move within three points of Chelsea.

League leader Manchester City hosts third-place Tottenham and Manchester United, which is second, visits Arsenal on Sunday in an important day for the title chasers.

Robbie Keane, on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy, scored twice in his starting debut for Aston Villa in a 3-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Landon Donovan's chip bounced off Marouane Fellaini and was tucked in by Tim Cahill in the 24th minute for his first goal in 13th months, helping Everton to a 1-1 tie against Blackburn. The visitors tied it in the 72nd when American goalkeeper Tim Howard missed a long ball, and Cahill's attempted clearance hit David Goodwillie flush in the chest and rebounded into the back of Everton's net.

Spain

Radamel Falcao scored three goals, raising his league total to 14, helping Atletico Madrid win 4-0 at Real Sociedad and extend its unbeaten streak to three games under new coach Diego Simeone.

Falcao converted a penalty kick in the third minute after a hand ball call on Vadim Demidov in the penalty area, and Adrian Lopez volleyed in his own rebound after Sociedad goalkeeper Claudio Bravo blocked his header in the 47th.

Falcao then caught Bravo off his line with a chip from outside the area in the 83rd, and scored off a pass from Koke Resurreccion in stoppage time.

Elsewhere, Espanyol overcame a depleted front line to defeat Granada 3-0 at home, and Sevilla drew 1-1 at Real Betis in the first Seville derby in nearly three years.

League leader Real Madrid hosts the in-form Athletic Bilbao on Sunday before second-place Barcelona visits Malaga.

Italy

Juventus won 2-0 at Atalanta to keep the Italian league's lead at the season's midpoint, and Roma captain Francesco Totti sealed his place in the Serie A record book with two early goals in a 5-1 win over Cesena.

Stephan Lichsteiner headed in a perfect pass from Andrea Pirlo in the 55th minute, and second-half substitute Emanuele Giaccherini scored on a volley in the 81st as Juventus opened a four-point lead over AC Milan, which visits last-place Novara on Sunday.

With his 211th goal for Roma in Serie A, Totti broke the mark of 210 Gunnar Nordahl set with AC Milan in the 1950s for the most goals with one club in the Italian league.

Totti put Roma ahead after 40 seconds at Stadio Olimpico and doubled the lead in the eighth. Fabio Borini made it 3-0 a minute later.

Eder scored for Cesena in the 58th, but Juan restored Roma's three-goal lead in the 62nd and Miralem Pjanic completed the rout in the 70th.

"This is what I've always wanted: To always wear the same jersey and to beat record after record," said the 35-year-old Totti, who made his Serie A debut in 1993 at 16 and has played his entire career for his hometown club.

On the overall scoring list, Totti is fifth, trailing only Silvio Piola (274 goals), Nordahl (225), Giuseppe Meazza (216) and Jose Altafini (216).

"I dedicate these goals to my sister-in-law who recently gave birth and the victims of the Costa Concordia," Totti added in a halftime TV interview, referring to the capsized cruise ship off the Tuscan coast.

Roma moved into sixth place, eight points behind Juventus.

Germany

Schalke brushed aside Stuttgart 3-1 to draw level on points with Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich on Saturday.

Joel Matip put Schalke ahead in the third minute, defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos scored in the 57th, and Julian Draxler sealed the win by finishing a wonderful team move in the 80th.

Striker Shinji Okazaki scored an 87th-minute consolation for Stuttgart, after Tamas Hajnal's initial shot hit the post.

"You have to stay realistic and not think about the league trophy. That only brings misfortune. Bayern is title candidate No. 1," Schalke coach Huub Stevens said.

Freiburg climbed off the bottom of the table when 18-year-old Matthias Ginter headed an 88th-minute winner 18 minutes into his Bundesliga debut to beat Augsburg 1-0 and leave the visitors last.

Nuremberg beat Hertha Berlin 2-0 in its 1,000th Bundesliga game to climb above the visitors in the standings, big-spending Wolfsburg beat Cologne 1-0 and Hoffenheim drew 0-0 with Hannover.

Joe Gyau, 19-year-old American forward, was deprived of his Bundesliga debut for Hoffenheim after being left on the bench. His father, Phillip, had six caps for the U.S. team and his grandfather, Joseph, played for Ghana.

Scotland

U.S. midfielder Maurice Edu scored an equalizer for Rangers in its 1-1 draw at home to Aberdeen, which left the reigning champions four points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premier League.

Edu's goal -- his third of season and first since Sept. 24 -- canceled out Kari Arnason's opener for Aberdeen four minutes earlier.

Celtic tightened its grip on first place by beating St. Mirren 2-0 thanks to second-half goals by winger James Forrest and captain Scott Brown.

It secured the leaders a 12th straight league victory, stretching back to Oct. 29.

Forrest strengthened his burgeoning reputation a week after being named by FIFA as one of 13 young players to watch in 2012.

France

Defending champion Lille needed an overtime goal to beat nonleague Compiegne 1-0 and reach the last 16 of the French Cup, and first-division team Ajaccio lost 3-2 to amateur Bourg-Peronnas.

Lille was heading for a penalty shootout against Compiegne, which plays three divisions below the French champion, until substitute Bruno Gianni turned in Florent Balmont's cross with six minutes remaining in extra time.

Soulimene Ben Chaib scored twice for Bourg-Peronnas, and strike partner Julio Tavers got the other.

Dijon beat Istres 2-1 with Gael Kakuta and Koro Kone scoring in each half.

Bordeaux withstood a scare at third-division Creteil, winning 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the match ended 2-2.

Rennes beat Nice 5-4 on penalty kicks in an all-first division match that ended 0-0. Nice winger Anthony Mounier's kick was saved by Benoit Costil.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

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