Gerard Pique was sent off in the second half as the league leaders gave up a 2-0 lead. Atletico Madrid beat Levante 2-0 to close the gap at the top to eight points, with Real Madrid also winning, after they crushed Valencia 5-0 at the Mestalla. Malaga were held 1-1 by Celta Vigo, and Osasuna beat Deportivo la Coruna 2-1. Granada claimed a 2-0 win over Rayo Vallecano, whilst Espanyol beat Real Mallorca 3-2.
Manchester United conceded a dramatic equaliser to draw 1-1 at Tottenham, a result which saw their lead in the Premier League cut to five points after Manchester City beat Fulham 2-0. Chelsea won a controversial London derby 2-1 against Arsenal, and Liverpool thrashed Norwich 5-0. Swansea beat Stoke 3-1.
In Italy Juventus were back to winning ways as they crushed Udinese 4-0 at home, meaning they extend their lead once again over the chasing pack. Both Napoli and Lazio were held, 1-1 and 2-2 respectively by Fiorentina and Palermo. AC Milan beat Bologna 2-1, whilst the big game of the weekend saw Inter Milan hold Roma to a 1-1 draw.
It was all change again at the top of the French league, as Paris St Germain went back to the summit with a 1-0 win at Girondins de Bordeaux. Olympique Lyonnais, the previous leaders, were held 0-0 at home by Evian, with Marseille beating Montpellier 3-2 to stay in touch at the top. Rennes beat Bastia 2-0 and St Etienne won 1-0 at Brest. Nice stunned Lille 2-0 and Toulouse beat Nancy 2-1.
The Bundesliga returned with a bang as champions Borussia Dortmund thrashed Werder Bremen 5-0 to underline their intent to retain the title. Bayern Munich beat Greuther Furth 2-0 to keep their strong hold on the title race. Schalke won 5-4 against Hannover, Wolfsburg beat Stuttgart 2-0, Bayer Leverkusen won 3-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt and Hoffenheim drew 0-0 with Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Panathinaikos’ miserable form in Greece continues, as they were held 1-1 at home by Panthrakikos, whilst Olympiakos look set to win the league as they won yet again, 2-0 against PAS Giannena.
Twente went top in the Netherlands despite a 0-0 draw at home to Waalwijk, as PSV were shocked 3-1 at home by Zwolle. Champions Ajax beat rivals Feyenoord 3-0, and Vitesse remain fifth despite a 4-1 loss at AZ. In Portugal Porto beat Pacos de Ferreira 2-0 to move level at the top Benfica, who have a game on Monday against Morereinse. Both sides are still unbeaten this season.
In Turkey Galatasaray lost 2-1 at Kasimpasa, as they failed to take advantage of Besiktas dropping two points in a 2-2 draw at home to Buyuksehir. The two Istanbul giants are separated by two points and meet this weekend. Third placed Antalyaspor also lost, 5-3 at home to Genclerbirligi. Fenerbahce also drew, 2-2 at home to Elazigspor, whilst the fourth major Istanbul side, Trabzonspor, remarkably also failed to win on a strange weekend as they were beaten 3-1 by Karabukspor.
