Barcelona upstaged Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season, while in England Manchester United regained winning ways after their shock midweek Champions League exit.
ENGLAND
Manchester United put the pain of their Champions League exit behind them with a 4-1 win at home to Premier League strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers. Victory, secured by two goals apiece from Nani and Wayne Rooney, saw the champions close to within two points of leaders Manchester City who are at Chelsea on Monday. Arsenal marked their 125th anniversary with a 1-0 win at home to Everton thanks to a goal from in-form striker Robin van Persie.
SPAIN
Defending champions Barcelona came back from a goal down against Real Madrid to take the El Clasico honours 3-1 at the Bernabeu. After Alexis Sanchez cancelled out Karim Benzema’s shock 23-second opener, Barca took the lead when a Xavi drive took a wicked deflection off Marcelo and past Iker Casillas in the Real goal. Cesc Fabregas then scored with a diving header for the former Arsenal captain’s tenth goal of the season to secure the three points which put Barcelona top on goal difference although Real have a game in hand.
FRANCE
France international striker Kevin Gameiro scored his first goal for two months as Paris Saint Germain squeezed out a 1-0 win at Sochaux to stay in second place on 36 points but only behind pace-setters Montpellier, who lost 1-0 at Valenciennes, on goal difference. Montpellier stay top despite their first loss in the league since September 24. Marseille, buoyed by their qualification for the Champions League last 16, were held to a 0-0 draw by Bordeaux and remained eighth. Third-placed Lille put their Champions League exit behind them with a 2-0 win over Dijon.
GERMANY
Bayern Munich went three points clear after coming from behind as Germany star Mario Gomez struck twice in their 2-1 win at 10-man VfB Stuttgart. Stuttgart went ahead after Christian Gentner’s sixth minute volley. Bayern drew level seven minutes later when Gomez fired home from the tightest of angles. The hosts then had defender Cristian Molinaro sent off after 29 minutes for his second booking. Bayern took the lead when Gomez who rifled home his 15th league goal in as many German league games to make him the Bundesliga’s top scorer on 57 minutes. Defending champions Borussia Dortmund were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Kaiserslautern, which left them second, level on points with third-placed Schalke, who beat Hertha Berlin 2-1.
ITALY
Udinese went top of Serie A with a 2-1 win at home to Chievo as AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw at Bologna, but Juventus, one point adrift, can reclaim the lead on Monday when they travel to Roma. Captain Antonio Di Natale and Dusan Basta put Udinese in control before Alberto Paloschi’s late consolation kept things interesting right to the end. In Bologna Marco Di Vaio and Alessandro Diamanti scored for the hosts with Clarence Seedorf and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, from the spot, replying for the champions.
