City had raced into a two goal lead against Tottenham and won with a controversial late winner from Mario Balotelli, who should have been sent off. Man Utd scored late on against Arsenal to keep the pressure on at the top.
Tottenham remain third and Chelsea are in fourth having drawn 0-0 with Norwich. The other Champions League contenders also slipped up, with Arsenal losing, Liverpool being defeated 3-1 at Bolton and Newcastle thrashed by Fulham 5-2.
In Spain, 4-1 wins were achieved by Barcelona and Real Madrid in their battle for La Liga. Barcelona’s win came over the big spending Malaga in Andalucia as Leo Messi grabbed a hat trick. Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice as Real Madrid crushed Athletic Bilbao 4-1 after being behind.
Valencia were held 1-1 by Osasuna and Levante drew 0-0 with Real Zaragoza in the Champions League battle. Atletico Madrid are on a winning track too under new coach Diego Simeone, with a 4-0 win over Real Sociedad. Real Betis and Sevilla drew 1-1 in the Seville derby.
In Germany Bayern Munich were stunned 3-1 by Borussia Moenchengladbach as the Bundesliga resumed after its break. Borussia Dortmund continued their defence of their title by climbing level on points with Bayern after thrashing Hamburg 5-1. Schalke beat Stuttgart 3-1 to remain in and around the title race.
Juventus are still top in Italy and unbeaten after a 2-0 win at Atalanta. One point behind them, AC Milan beat Novara 3-0 whilst Udinese won 2-1 against Catania to stay third. Inter beat Lazio 2-1 to move fourth and Roma are in fifth after a 5-1 win over Cesena. Napoli drew 1-1 at Cesena.
In Holland Twente beat Waalwijk 5-0 to celebrate Steve McClaren’s return as manager, to stay in the title hunt. AZ are still out in front after a 1-1 draw with champions Ajax. PSV drew 1-1 at Utrecht.
In Portugal, Porto are still unbeaten in the last two seasons domestically after beating Vitoria Guimaraes 3-1. Benfica are also unbeaten following a 3-1 home win against Gil Vicente.
Panathinaikos resumed their title push in Greece with a 1-0 win over Atromitos Athinon, whilst Olympiakos lost the lead in the title race after losing 1-0 at Xanthi.
Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmoni won 4-0 against Ironi Nir Ramat Hasharon in Israel to continue their good form and stay 11 points clear in Israel. Nearest rivals Ashdod lost 1-0 at Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv are third after a spectacular 7-3 win over Maccabi Netanya.
Istanbul sides Galatasaray Fenerbahce and Besiktas are still out in front in Turkey. Gala were held 0-0 by Eskisehirspor, whilst Fener won 4-0 against Kayserispor. Besiktas won 2-1 against Antalyaspor.
In Mexico, Toluca are on top after beating Tigers 2-1, and then after them are Club Tijuana, who claimed a 2-0 win at Guadalajara. Santos Laguna are level with both on seven points after a 1-0 win over Jaguars.
