That result keeps them 20 points clear of last season’s champions Borussia Dortmund but with six games to play they cannot be caught. Dortmund beat Augsburg 4-2, and Bayer Leverkusen stay third after drawing 1-1 with Wolfsburg. Schalke beat Werder Bremen 2-0, whilst Borussia Moenchengladbach were held 1-1 by Greuther Furth. Freiburg beat Hamburg 1-0 and Mainz lost to Nurnberg 2-1.
In the Premier League Manchester City beat Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford, reducing their advantage at the top to 12 points, although Alex Ferguson’s men are still in control of the title race.
Below them, Chelsea moved up to third after beating Sunderland 2-1 in Paolo di Canio’s first match in charge of the strugglers. Arsenal beat West Brom by the same score but remain fifth despite Tottenham’s 2-2 draw at home to Everton. Liverpool were held 0-0 by West Ham.
In Spain’s La Liga Barcelona and Real Madrid both romped to victory at the weekend. Barcelona were inspired despite Leo Messi’s absence as they trashed Real Mallorca 5-0, and Real Madrid were similarly comfortable in a 5-1 win over Levante. Atletico Madrid were held by city rivals Getafe 0-0. Real Sociedad are up to fourth after beating Malaga 4-2, Malaga slip to sixth, also behind Valencia, who beat Real Valladolid 2-1. Osasuna lost 2-0 to Espanyol and Rayo Vallecano won 2-0 at Celta Vigo.
Paris St Germain remain top in France after a 2-0 win at Rennes this weekend. Marseille remain second after beating Bordeaux 1-0. St Etienne are now up to third after they beat Evian 1-0, and Lyon slipped to fourth after losing 1-0 at Reims. Lille crushed Lorient 5-0, whilst Bastia beat Brest 4-0 and Montpellier, the champions, overcame Valenciennes 3-1. Nice won 4-3 at Toulouse.
Juventus beat Pescara 2-1 this weekend to continue their relentless march towards the Serie A title again. They remain well clear of Napoli, who won 2-0 against Genoa. AC Milan were 2-0 up at Fiorentina but were pegged back for a 2-2 draw. Inter Milan let a 3-1 lead slip against Atalanta, who won 4-3 at the San Siro. Roma and Lazio drew 1-1, and Udinese beat Chievo 3-1.
Galatasaray beat Mersin 3-1, whilst Fenerbahce overcame Orduspor 2-0, to mean the title race stays as it was in the Turkish league. Shakhtar Donetsk won the big game in Ukraine 2-1 away to Dynamo Kiev. Metalurg Donetsk beat Karpaty Lyiv 4-0.
In Russia CSKA Moscow remain clear at the top following a 2-0 win over Nizhny Novgorod. Meanwhile Zenit St Petersburg beat Samara 1-0 to remain in the hunt and Anzhi Makhachkala were held 0-0 by Alania Vladivavkaz. In Portugal Benfica remain in control of the league after a 2-0 win at Olhanense. Porto and Braga met on Monday night, the home side winning 3-1.
In the Netherlands, leaders Ajax remain on course to retain their title after a 4-0 win over Heracles. PSV beat Willem II, Feyenoord beat Venlo 1-0, Vitesse beat NEC Breda 3-0 and Twente beat Roda JC 2-0.
Over the Atlantic in Argentina, Colon won 2-1 at Newell’s in Argentina, meaning they failed to take advantage of leaders Lanus’ goalless draw with Boca Juniors. River Plate won 2-0 against Racing Club.
