Manchester United barely held onto first place in the English Premier League, while Valencia took over at the halfway point of the Spanish season and AS Roma remained atop the standings in Italy.

The defending champions, Red Devils, were held to a 0-0 draw by visiting Newcastle, giving them a one-point lead over Arsenal. The draw ended United’s eight-match winning streak in all competitions dating to Dec 6.

Chelsea kept third place after trouncing Leicester, 4-0. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored twice, while Adrian Mutu and Celestine Babayaro added one each.

Jason Euell scored both goals as fourth-place Charlton beat last-place Wolves, 2-0. And Liverpool beat Aston Villa, 1-0, to win for the third time in seven days and move into fifth. Villa’s Mark Delaney scored an own-goal.

Manchester United are in first place with 50 points, one more than Arsenal. Chelsea are next with 45 points, followed by Charlton with 34 and Liverpool with 32.

Valencia took over the lead from Real Madrid in Spain after topping Albacete, 1-0. Jorge Lopez netted the only goal from the penalty spot.

Madrid, which lacked the injured David Beckham, lost for the first time in eight matches as struggling Real Sociedad got a second-half goal from Valery Karpin to sink the defending champions.

Alessandro Mancini got the game-winner as Roma kept their hold of first place in the Serie A by beating Perugia, 1-0. The goal came on a tough shot through several defenders from just inside the area.