EPL: Manchester United's extra bit of quality proved decisive as they overcame Liverpool 2-1 in a keenly contested clash of English heavyweights. Wayne Rooney put United ahead early in the second half before returning to notch his second on 50 minutes effectively securing all three points for the Red Devils.

Returning to the starting lineup after his eight match ban, Luis Suarez got one back for the Reds, but that was all they would get as they could not find the equaliser.

Arsenal, Fulham and Wigan all recorded much needed 2-1 victories over Sunderland, Stoke and Bolton respectively. Chelsea slumped to an embarrassing 2-0 defeat at the hands of the rejuvenated Everton. The Blues went behind as early as the fifth minute and never really looked like finding a way back in the game despite their superior ball retention in a toothless display. In the battle of Premiership strugglers, Blackburn proved too much as they edged Queen's Park Rangers 3-2.

Grant Holt notched a brace to help his Norwich team to a 3-2 victory over Swansea in the battle of the promoted teams. Emmanuel Adebayor was the star of the show for Tottenham as they ran riot over Newcastle in a 5-0 thumping. The Togolese hit-man scored four goals and got himself on the score sheet as Tottenham strengthen their grip on third spot. Wolves suffered a humiliating 5-1 home defeat to West Brom in the Black Country derby.

Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie was the star of the show as he bagged a hat trick to ease the pressure off manager Roy Hodgson. Manchester City remained on course for title success with a battling 1-0 victory over Aston Villa.

Woeful Barca

La Liga: Defending La Liga champions Barcelona continue to enjoy a torrid time in the league after going down 3-2 at the hands of lowly Osasuna. Dejan Lekic was the star of the show as his brace downed the Catalans and condemned them to a defeat.

It was an uninspiring display from the defending champions and rightly walked away with nothing. Real Betis edged Bilbao 2-1 while Atletico Madrid could only manage a 0-0 draw with Racing Santander.

Christiano Ronaldo's hat-trick inspired Real Madrid to a 4-2 win over Levante to send them 10 points clear of rivals Barcelona. Valencia consolidated third spot with a convincing 4-0 thumping of Sporting Gijon while Villarreal boosted their chances of survival getting by Granada 3-1.

Malaga moved up the table thanks to a 3-1 win over Mallorca, Zaragoza shocked Espanyol 2-0 and the promoted Rayo Vallecano won 2-0 at home against Getafe.

No Ibra, no problem

Serie A: Maxi Lopez may have already repaid the faith in him show by the Milan hierarchy as he started the fight back that saw AC clipping Udinese 2-1.

Antonio Di Natale had given Udinese the lead in the 20th minute and looked sure bet to gather all three points before Milan rallied with two late goals to show championship mettle. Cagliari also edged Palermo by a similar 2-1 margin. Basement boys Novara shocked Inter Milan 1-0 at home to effectively kill off the former champions hope reclaiming the title.

Andrea Caracciolo was the hero of the day scoring shortly after the half-time break. Catania enjoyed an emphatic 4-0 victory over Genoa while Atalanta failed to capitalise on home advantage drawing 0-0 with Lecce.

Gladbach trounce Schalke

Bundesliga: A whirlwind first-half performance from Borussia Monchengladbach saw them running out 3-0 victors over title chasers Schalke.

Marco Rues got the ball rolling as early as the 2nd minute shell shocking Schalke who never recovered and were lacklustre throughout the match.

Defending champions Dortmund clipped Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 while goals from Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller provided Bayern Munich a 2-0 win over Kaiserslautern. Werder Bremen versus Hoffenheim and Mainz against Hannover both ended in 1-1 draws. Martin Harnik's brilliant hat trick capped off a superb performance by Stuttgart who ran rings around Hertha Berlin in a thrilling 5-0 victory.

Jose Guerrero's strike two minutes from time proved the difference as Hamburg clipped Koln 1-0. In a game of missed chances, Augsburg and Nurnberg walked away with a point each in a 0-0 draw.

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