Barcelona back on top, Chelsea see off Arsenal

Zlatan Ibrahimovic came off the bench to give Barcelona a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid and put the champions back on top of La Liga.

Chelsea remained five points clear in the Premier League and look to have cut the number of realistic chasers as their 3-0 win at the Emirates left Arsenal trailing by 11 points.

Spain

Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the only goal as Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0 at home in El Clasico to return to the top of the table. He netted a volley after 56 minutes and Barca survived a red card for Sergio Busquets soon after, as they went two points clear of their arch-rivals with 30 points from 12 games.

Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano scored twice in the second half to earn his side a 2-2 draw at home to struggling Malaga, that left them third with 26 points.

England

Two goals from Didier Drogba and an own-goal by Thomas Vermaelen gave Chelsea an important victory over London rivals Arsenal to add to home wins over Manchester United and Liverpool earlier in the season.

They top the standings on 36 points, five clear of United, who won 4-1 at Portsmouth with a Wayne Rooney hat-trick and a free kick from Ryan Giggs, who turned 36 on Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur are third on 26 after a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa, with Arsenal fourth. Liverpool are fifth on 23 points after they beat Everton 2-0 in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

Italy

Inter Milan left it late but deservedly downed Fiorentina 1-0 and strengthened their grip on Serie A. The champions are seven points clear after Diego Milito's 85th-minute penalty.

AC Milan are their new nearest rivals after little-used substitute Klaas Jan Huntelaar grabbed his first two goals for the club in injury time to secure a 2-0 win at Catania.

Milan leapfrogged Juventus, who lost 2-0 at Cagliari and continue to struggle to integrate close-season signing Diego as playmaker. Juve host Inter next Saturday.

Germanu

Bundesliga top scorer Stefan Kiessling notched a hat-trick to steer leaders Bayer Leverkusen to a 4-0 win over VfB Stuttgart and a three-point lead at the top of the table. 

Werder Bremen battled back with a stoppage-time goal from defender Per Mertesacker to draw 2-2 with champions VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday and stay in second on 27 points.

Schalke 04, third on 25, lost to in-form Borussia Moenchengladbach. Bayern Munich eased past Hanover 96 3-0 to move into fourth place, a point behind Schalke.

France

Girondins Bordeaux recaptured the lead with a 3-0 win at Nancy on Sunday after losing their previous two league games.

Girondins moved to 28 points from 14 games, two points ahead of seven-times champions Olympique Lyon, who were held to a 1-1 home draw by Stade Rennes.

Auxerre dropped to third, level on points with Lyon, after a 1-0 defeat at Paris St Germain, who paid a heavy price for their win when keeper Gregory Coupet fractured his left ankle while trying to prevent a corner. He will be sidelined for at least three months.

Netherlands                            

Leaders Twente Enschede beat Willem II Tilburg 3-1 for their 10th straight league win, with Bryan Ruiz scoring his 11th goal of the season.

Jonathan Reis and Balazs Dzsudzsak scored within four minutes as PSV Eindhoven came from behind for a 3-2 win at Sparta Rotterdam to stay two points behind the leaders after 15 games. Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord registered away wins to remain third and fourth respectively.

Portugal                                     

Sporting and Benfica drew 0-0 in a Lisbon derby played mostly in midfield and with few chances.

Benfica are top on 26 points, one ahead of Braga, who play on Monday, with Porto third on 23.

Miguel Veloso almost won it for Sporting on 57 minutes, but his powerful long-distance shot was tipped over the bar by Quim. Benfica came close to scoring in the 71st minute when Argentine forward Angel Di Maria shot against keeper Rui Patricio.

Greece                                           

Olympiakos overhauled Panathinaikos at the top of the Greek Super League with a 2-0 victory over their bitter rivals in an absorbing Athens derby.

Kostas Mitroglou scored a goal in each half for Olympiakos as the champions moved on to 30 points after 12 matches, one clear over Henk ten Cate's team.

Mitroglou bundled the ball home from close range on the stroke of half time and he then acrobatically volleyed in a Jaouad Zairi centre after 54 minutes.

Scotland

Rangers suffered their first league defeat of the season when they went down 1-0 at Aberdeen, allowing Celtic to climb top two points ahead of them courtesy of their 3-1 home win over St Mirren.

Lee Miller's close-range goal after 17 minutes was enough for Aberdeen, despite playing the last 30 minutes with 10 men after Mark Kerr was sent off.

To complete a forgettable week for Rangers, who suffered another embarrassing early exit from Europe, striker Nacho Vovo is in trouble for dropping his shorts as he walked off the pitch.

Russia

Zenit St Petersburg beat second-placed Spartak Moscow 2-1 on the final day to finish third and seal a Champions League qualifying berth as champions Rubin Kazan, who retained their title last weekend, won 3-0 at relegated Kuban Krasnodar.

Russia midfielder Konstantin Zyryanov drilled in a 30-metre free kick and Belgium defender Nicolas Lombaerts headed home a corner for Zenit, who were reduced to 10 men on the stroke of halftime when Hungary striker Sabolcs Huszti was sent off.

Serbia

Champions Partizan beat leaders Red Star 2-1 in an ill-tempered Belgrade derby to close the gap on them to a point after Lamine Diarra and Cleo scored either side of a Srdjan Knezevic own-goal.

Knezevic compounded his miserable afternoon when he was sent off early in the second half, when play was held up for several minutes as Partizan fans set fire to several seats in their end and ripped out dozens of them. Eight people were injured and 40 arrested in violence before, during and after the match, police said.

Poland

Champions Wisla Krakow strolled to a 3-1 success at bottom team Odra Wodzislaw Slask to stay top three points clear of traditional rivals Legia Warsaw, who kept up the pressure with a 1-0 win at fifth-placed Belchatow.

Slovenian Andraz Kirm scored from close range and rifled in a piledriver from 25 metres either side of a Patryk Malecki solo effort in the first half to keep Wisla on course for their third consecutive league title.

Bulgaria

Leaders Litex Lovech's 11-match unbeaten streak was ended by a 3-0 defeat at mid-table Beroe Stara Zagora, allowing CSKA Sofia to cut the deficit to two points with a 0-0 draw at Cherno More Varna.

Defender Ivo Ivanov and midfielder Petar Dimitrov gave Beroe a 2-0 lead with quick goals midway through the second half before striker Georgi Andonov sealed the rout in injury time.

Croatia                                           

Champions Dinamo Zagreb, who are chasing their fifth consecutive league title, had their lead cut to three points after a 0-0 draw at struggling Istra 1961.

Closest rivals Sibenik gained ground with a 2-0 home win against bottom team Croatia Sesvete thanks to a goal in each half by Ivan Bozic and Bosnia striker Ermin Zec.