The Argentine has now scored in 17 successive La Liga games, which is a world record of its own. Barcelona’s lead is still 13 points over Real Madrid, who beat Celta Vigo 2-1 to move ahead of Atletico Madrid for the first time this season. Atletico drop to third after losing 1-0 to Real Sociedad, who are now in the Champions League spots.
Behind them are Malaga, who drew 1-1 with Valladolid, Real Betis who beat Osasuna 2-1 and Valencia, beaten 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao. Rayo Vallecano are still in the hunt for the top four too after beating Espanyol 2-0.
In Germany Bayern Munich won 3-2 against Fortuna Dusseldorf at the weekend, a result which means they are now a remarkable 20 points clear of second placed Borussia Dortmund, who were beaten for the second time this season 2-1 by fierce rivals Schalke in the Ruhr derby. Schalke are now in fourth place, just behind Bayer Leverkusen, who lost 1-0 to Mainz. Eintracht Frankfurt drew 0-0 with Hannover and are just adrift of the top four, as are Hamburg, who beat Stuttgart 1-0. Borussia Moenchengladbach drew 1-1 with Werder Bremen whilst Freiburg were slashed 5-2 at home by Wolfsburg.
Paris St Germain strengthened their lead in France as they came from behind to beat Nancy at the weekend, 2-1. That result puts them four points clear of Olympique Lyonnais, who could only draw 0-0 with third placed Marseille. Paris St Germain’s next opponents are St Etienne, who drew 2-2 with Rennes. Nice are still riding high after beating champions Montpellier 2-0, whilst Lille’s revival continued with a 3-1 win over Valenciennes. Bordeaux beat Bastia 1-0.
In Italy Juventus also strengthened their advantage at the top with a 1-0 win over Catania. They are now nine points clear of Napoli, who lost 2-0 at Chievo, and are now only two points clear of third placed AC Milan, who won 2-0 against Genoa. Fiorentina are up to fourth after beating Lazio 2-0, and Inter remain fifth after a 1-0 home loss to Bologna. Roma drew 1-1 at Udinese.
In England the biggest Premier League game of the weekend saw Liverpool beat Tottenham 3-2 in an entertaining game at Anfield which puts the Merseysiders in the hunt for a Champions League spot, whilst denting Tottenham’s hopes of a top four finish. In the FA Cup Manchester United drew 2-2 at home to Chelsea, forcing a replay, and the winner will face Manchester City in the semi final. City beat Barnsley 5-0. Blackburn and Millwall drew 0-0 and will replay for the right to face Wigan, who beat Everton 3-0.
In Greece Olympiakos won their 40th league title with an emphatic 3-0 win over AEK Athens. That means they have an unassailable 16 point lead at the top of the table. Shakhtar Donetsk continued their irrepressible march to the Ukrainian title with a 1-0 win at Vorskla Poltava. Dynamo Kiev won 2-0 at Volyn Lutsk whilst Metalist Kharkiv beat Arsenal Kyiv 2-1.
Turkish league leaders Galatasaray were stunned 1-0 at home by Genclerbirligi, but Besiktas could not take full advantage as they drew 0-0 with Trabzonspor to cut the lead to four points. Fenerbahce are level on points with Besiktas after beating Bursaspor 4-1.
In Russia CSKA Moscow beat Krylya Sovetov, to extend their lead to five points over Anzhi Makhachkala, who lost 2-0 at Saransk. Zenit St Petersburg lost 1-0 to Rubin Kazan whilst Spartak Moscow beat Terek Grozny 3-1. Benfica maintained their lead in Portugal after thrashing Gil Vicente 5-0, to stay two points clear of Porto, who beat Estoril Praia 2-0. Both teams are still unbeaten this season.
Champions Ajax went top of the Dutch league after beating Zwolle 3-0 at the weekend, leapfrogging previous leaders PSV Eindhoven, beaten 2-1 by Heerenveen. Feyenoord beat Roda JC 1-0, whilst Vitesse are fourth after beating Twente 1-0.
