It was a good weekend for Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and FC Barcelona as they all moved as step closer to winning their respective titles.
PSG stretched their cushion to nine points in France and United returned 15 points clear in England.
France
PSG bounced back from the disappointment of losing to Barcelona in the Champions League in midweek by winning 1-0 at ES Troyes AC, a victory that left them nine points clear at the top of the table. Second-placed Olympique de Marseille were unable to match the leaders, drawing 0-0 at LOSC Lille, while third-placed Olympique Lyonnais finally returned to winning ways, defeating Toulouse FC 3-1 after a five-game winless run.
England
With Manchester City involved in FA Cup action, Manchester United took advantage to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier Leaguewith a 2-0 success at Stoke City FC. Arsenal FC moved up to third, meanwhile, rallying late to see off Norwich City 3-1 while QPR are all but relegated after losing 2-0 at Everton.
Spain
Barcelona moved another victory closer to reclaiming the Liga crown with a 3-0 triumph at struggling Real Zaragoza, Cristian Tello scoring twice in a comfortable win for Barça’s experimental lineup. Second-placed Real Madrid also won, 3-0 at Athletic Club, and Falcao scored two in a 5-0 victory for third-placed Atlético Madrid against Granada. There was a win as well for Real Sociedad, in fourth, as they beat Rayo Vallecano 2-0.
Italy
Napoli missed the chance to close within six points of leaders Juventus after failing to find victory at San Siro against third-placed Milan. With the champions travelling to Lazio on Monday, Walter Mazzarri’s men spurned the opportunity to put pressure on the pacesetters, drawing 1-1, but were at least able to preserve the four-point gap to Milan. The Viola defeated Atalanta 2-0, while Roma battled past Torino 2-1 and Cagliari defeated Inter Milan 2-0 to end Inter’s hopes of playing in Europe next year.
Germany
Already confirmed as champions, a much-changed Bayern Munich refused to take it easy at home to Nürnberg, winning 4-0. The league may be gone, but second-placed Borussia Dortmund also turned on the style to win 6-1 at SpVgg Greuther Fürth, while Schalke came from two down to earn a draw with Bayer Leverkusen in the battle between third and fourth.