Weekend Developments From Europe's Top Leagues 16/4

Borussia Dortmund closed in on successive titles in Germany, while it’s as you were in Spain and England after another big weekend.

German Bundesliga

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

It was a huge weekend in Germany, as Borussia Dortmund moved eight points clear with a big Ruhr derby victory over Schalke, while Bayern Munich stumbled to a goalless draw with FSV Mainz. Schalke’s defeat and Monchengladbach’s win over Koln means the battle for third spot, and an automatic Uefa Champions League spot, is heating up.

With three games to play, Kaiserslautern are all but down, while Hamburg SV and Augsburg both claimed important wins which has eased their relegation concerns. Hertha BSC fought back from 2-0 down but conceded late to draw with Leverkusen in a blow for them.

Topscorers, Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) 25 goals, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Hamburg SV) 24 goals, Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund) 20 goals, Lukas Podolski (FC Koln) 17 goals, Martin Harnik (VfB Stuttgart) 17 goals

Spanish La Liga

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

Real Madrid stayed four points clear with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring his 41st goal of the season in their 3-1 win over struggling Gijon. Barcelona kept the pressure up with a 2-1 win away to Champions League hopefuls Levante. Another Champions League hopeful, Valencia, suffered a stunning 4-0 loss to Espanyol, while Malaga moved up to fourth with a draw against Real Sociedad.

Tomislav Dujmovic scored the winner to keep alive Real Zaragoza’s survival hopes as they edged past 17th-placed Granada 1-0. Villarreal blew the chance to move well clear of the danger zone after Lautaro Acosta’s late goal earned Racing Santander a 1-1 draw.

Topscorers, Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) 41 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 41 goals, Radomel Falcao (Atletico Madrid) 22 goals, Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid) 21 goals

English Premier League

Weekend Results, Saturday; Norwich City 1 Manchester City 6, Sunderland 0 Wolverhampton 0, Swansea City 3 Blackburn 0, West Bromwich 1 QPR 0, Sunday; Manchester United 4 Aston Villa 0, Monday; Arsenal v Wigan

It’s as you were at the top, after both Manchester United and Manchester City cruised to big wins. Carlos Tevez hit a hat-trick in his side’s 6-1 crushing of Norwich, to ensure City keep the pressure on the Red Devils.

Wolverhampton claimed a point away to Sunderland but it hardly does enough to boost their survival hopes with only four games to play. Blackburn are also in deep after another defeat, 3-0 away to Swansea where there was some woeful defending.

Topscorers, Robin van Persie (Arsenal) 27 goals, Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 24 goals, Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) 21 goals, Demba Ba (Newcastle) 16 goals, Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Blackburn) 16 goals, Clint Dempsey (Fulham) 16 goals

Italian Serie A

Weekend postponed after the death of Serie B player Piermario Morosini.