Weekend Developments From Europe's Top Leagues 9/4

It was a huge weekend around Europe as the title races in England, Italy and Spain took major twists.

English Premier League

Weekend Results, Saturday; Sunderland 0 Tottenham 0, Bolton 0 Fulham 3, Chelsea 2 Wigan 1, Liverpool 1 Aston Villa 1, Norwich 2 Everton 2, West Bromwich 3 Blackburn 0, Stoke City 2 Wolverhampton 1, Sunday; Manchester United 2 QPR 0, Arsenal 1 Manchester City 0

Manchester United moved eight points clear at the summit with a 2-0 win over QPR, which had some controversy about it. Manchester City though dropped points with a 1-0 loss at Arsenal which seems to have all but ended the title race. The Gunners boosted their Champions League hopes on the process, along with Chelsea who needed a late goal to beat Wigan 2-1.

It wasn’t a good weekend for the strugglers as they all suffered defeats, with Wolverhampton slipping to another loss 2-1 at Stoke City which seems to have them on their way down. Wigan felt hard down by with their last-gasp loss at Chelsea.

Topscorers, Robin van Persie (Arsenal) 26 goals, Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 22 goals, Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) 17 goals, Demba Ba (Newcastle) 16 goals

Italian Serie A

Weekend Results, Saturday; AC Milan 1 Fiorentina 2, Atalanta 1 Siena 2, Cagliari 2 Inter Milan 2, Cesena 0 Bologna 0, Chievo Verona 3 Catania 2, Lecce 4 AS Roma 2, Novara 1 Genoa 1, Udinese 3 Parma 1, Palermo 0 Juventus 2, Lazio 3 Napoli 1

Juventus moved into top spot this weekend after AC Milan slipped to a 2-1 home defeat against Fiorentina. Former Juve striker Amauri netted a late winner to complete a poor week for Milan. Juventus recorded a 2-0 win at Palermo with two second-half goals to move into top spot, while Lazio’s 3-1 win over Napoli boosted their Champions League aspirations.

Lecce continued their impressive push to avoid the drop with a fine 4-2 win over AS Roma with Luis Fernando Muriel and David Di Michele netting the goals. Fiorentina’s fine win over Milan moved them away from the drop, five points from the danger zone and up to 15th .

Topscorers, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan) 23 goals, Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) 20 goals, Edinson Cavani (Napoli) 19 goals, Diego Milito (Internazionale) 18 goals, Rodrigo Palacio (Genoa) 17 goals

Spanish La Liga

Weekend Results, Saturday; Real Betis 3 Villarreal 1, Real Zaragoza 1 Barcelona 4, Rayo Vallecano 6 Osasuna 0, Getafe 2 Sporting Gijon 0, Espanyol 2 Real Sociedad 2, Sunday; Real Madrid 0 Valencia 0, Athletic Bilbao 1 Sevilla 0, Mallorca 0 Granada 0, Levante 2 Atletico Madrid 0, Monday; Malaga v Racing Santander

Real Madrid dropped points in the Spanish title race to know leave it wide open, with Barcelona closing to within four points after their 4-1 win at struggling Real Zaragoza. Madrid were held to a goalless draw with Champions League hopefuls Valencia. Lionel Messi hit a brace as Barca came from behind to get past Zaragoza.

Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano moved well clear of the drop zone after their big wins on the weekend, while struggling pair Mallorca and Granada drew 0-0. Villarreal’s loss at Betis keeps them in trouble, while Zaragoza’s winning run came to an end at home to Barcelona.

Topscorers, Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) 38 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 37 goals, Radomel Falcao (Atletico Madrid) 20 goals, Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid) 20 goals

German Bundesliga

Weekend Results, Saturday; Bayern Munich 2 Augsburg 1, SC Freiburg 2 FC Nurnberg 2, Kaiserslautern 1 Hoffenheim 2, Stuttgart 4 FSV Mainz 1, FC Koln 1 Werder Bremen 1, Wolfsburg 1 Borussia Dortmund 3, Borussia Moenchengladbach 0 Hertha BSC 0, Sunday; Schalke 04 3 Hannover 96 0, Hamburg SV 1 Bayer Leverkusen 1

Robert Lewandowski hit a double to help Borussia Dortmund maintain their buffer at the top with a 3-1 win over Wolfsburg. Bayern Munich kept up the pressure with a 2-1 win over Augsburg which was harder than expected. Schalke all but confirmed their place in next season’s Champions League with a 3-0 win over Hannover 96 who slipped down to eighth.

None of the bottom eight in Germany managed a win this weekend, although Nurnberg spurned a great chance to push clear of the drop after a 2-2 draw with SC Freiburg where they head led by two goals. Kaiserslautern’s home loss to Hoffenheim seems to have them doomed.

Topscorers, Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) 25 goals, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Hamburg SV) 24 goals, Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund), 19 goals, Lukas Podolski (FC Koln) 17 goals, Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen) 16 goals