The shocking incident led to the game being abandoned and cast a dark shadow over the weekend’s football, with tributes being paid to the player and well wishes from across the continent, with Real Madrid paying tribute and Andrea Pirlo dedicating Juventus’ 5-0 win over Fiorentina to him.
In Spain, perhaps the most surprising result of the weekend involved Real, who drew 1-1 at home to Malaga thanks to a last minute equaliser from Santi Cazorla. That meant they are just eight points clear of Barcelona, who won 2-0 at Sevilla. Valencia beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 thanks to a hat trick from Roberto Soldado, whilst Levante beat Villarreal 1-0. Atlético Madrid lost 2-1 at Mallorca.
Paris St Germain could only draw 2-2 at Caen, but they were thankful to Nancy for a 1-0 win over Montpellier which meant the Parisians’ title lead was extended to two points. Lille crushed Valenciennes 4-0 to stay third. Marseille continued their dire form as they lost 2-1 at home to Dijon. St Etienne lost the Rhone derby 1-0 at home to Lyon, whilst Toulouse claimed a 1-0 win at Rennes. Sochaux beat Nice 2-0 and Evian beat Auxerre 2-0.
Juventus got back to winning ways in style with a crushing 5-0 win over Fiorentina in Florence. The win gave them renewed optimism in the title race, but they are still adrift of AC Milan, who won 2-0 at Parma. Inter drew 0-0 at home to Atalanta, Lazio lost 1-0 at Catania, Cagliari beat Cesena 3-0 and Palermo drew 1-1 at Lecce. Udinese drew 2-2 with Napoli in the Champions League race.
Bayern Munich continued their remarkable goalscoring exploits, making it 20 in three games after hammering Hertha Berlin 6-0. It meant they kept up the pressure on leaders Borussia Dortmund, who were 1-0 winners over Werder Bremen, whilst Schalke crushed Kaiserslautern 4-1. Borussia Moenchangladbach beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 away, whilst Freiburg won 3-1 at Hamburg. Wolfsburg beat Nurnberg 3-1.
In England, the FA Cup meant there were just four Premier League games. Man Utd extended their lead to four points over Man City after easily dispatching Wolves 5-0. Fulham lost 3-0 at home to Swansea, whilst Wigan drew 1-1 at home to WBA and Newcastle beat Norwich 1-0.
In Russia Zenit continue their march to the title with a 5-1 win at Dinamo Moscow, whilst Lokomotiv Moscow beat Anzhi 1-0.
In Portugal Porto beat Nacional 2-0 to keep up the momentum towards the championship but Benfica also won, 3-1 against Beira Mar, to keep up the pressure. In Holland AZ drew at home to NAC Breda 0-0, with champions Ajax beating Den Haag 2-0, PSV crushing Heerenveen 5-1 and Feyenoord winning 2-0 at Twente in the thrilling title race.
In the Brazilian state championship, Lucas of São Paulo ran the show in a 3-2 win over Santos, whilst Botafogo beat Vasco 3-1. Flamengo beat Friburguense 1-0. Internacional smashed Juventude 7-0.
In Argentina Tigre are still top after a 1-1 draw with Estudiantes, as Boca Juniors beat San Martin de San Juan 1-0.
In Mexico Club America beat Unam Pumas 2-1, whilst Chivas’ winning run came to an end as they lost to Queretaro, whilst Tigres beat Tijuana 1-0.
In the MLS Sporting Kansas City beat New England Revolution, whilst Houston defeated San Jose 1-0. Vancouver won at Chivas USA, whilst Real Salt Lake beat New York 2-0.
In Chile Universidad de Chile beat Union Espanola 3-2, whilst O’Higgins beat Antofagasta 2-0.
