EPL: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hailed their 3-1 victory over Blackpool after Arsenal got their title charge back on track. The win close the gap atop the League to seven points with a game in hand as the Gunners retain their League ambition.

Manchester United continued their march towards the title with an easy 2-0 win over Fulham. In a match where Fulham offered little, United dominated their opponents resulting in Dimitar Berbatov’s 21 goal of the season. The vibrant Antonio Valencia scored the other after only his second start after returning from injury.

Defending champions Chelsea huffed and puffed, but could only manage a single goal with Florent Malouda being the hero in their 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic. Aston Villa gave under-fire manager Gerard Houllier a much needed boost with a 1-0 home victory over Newcastle while Tottenham and West Brom both had similar 3-2 victories Stoke and Sunderland respectively.

Merseyside club Everton made Wolves’ relegation battle much harder by slamming them 3-0 with Bolton handing fellow Premier League strugglers West Ham a similar defeat. Blackburn Rovers played out a nervy 1-1 draw at home to Birmingham City with neither side able to propel themselves out of the relegation fight.

Two goals, two penalties

La Liga: Real Madrid’s Brazilian midfielder notched a brace in Real Madrid’s easy 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao. Kaka scored two penalties in Madrid’s victory with Christiano Ronaldo netting the third. Lionel Messi scored twice as leaders Barcelona laboured a little to see off basement side Almeria 3-1 to move on to 84 points with seven games remaining. Mallorca and Sevilla played out to a 2-2 draw while Sporting Gijon followed their stunning victory over Real Madrid with another 1-0 win over Osasuna.

Hercules against Espanyol and Malaga versus Deportivo both ended in goalless draws. Rafa Jorda equalised a minute from time as Levante drew 1-1 at Racing Santander. Goals from Filipe Luis, Mario Suarez and Sergio Aguero handed Atletico Madrid a comfortable 3-0 victory against struggling Real Sociedad. Valencia dealt a blow to Villarreal’s hopes of securing an automatic Champions League spot as Los Che thrashed the Yellow Submarine 5-0 courtesy of a brace each from Roberto Soldado and Juan Mata.

Milan train continues

Serie A: Leaders AC Milan continues to lead Serie A as they emerged victors in their hard fought match with Fiorentina. The victory puts them one-step closer to their first Serie A title in seven years as they won 2-1. Goals from Clearance Seedorf and Alexandre Pato were enough to lead Milan to victory.

Rivals Inter got the better of Chievo Verona 2-0 on home soil while Roma left it very late against Udinese to win 2-1. Napoli kept the pressure on Serie A leaders AC Milan with a 2-0 win at Bologna with Lazio enjoying a similar score line against Parma. Bari against Catania and Cagliari versus Brescia both ended in a 1-1 draw.

Lecce boosted their survival hopes with an impressive 2-1 win at fellow strugglers Sampdoria while Palermo drew 2-2 at home against Cesena.

Juventus twice came from behind to overcome Genoa 3-2 in Turin with Luca Toni scoring a dramatic winner to boost their European ambitions.

Bayern suffer Champions League blow

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were dealt a blow as they were held 1-1 by Nuernburg. FC Hollywood are now one point behind Hannover in the race for third place who defeated Mainz by two goals to nil.

Borussia Dortmund needed a last-gasp leveller to claim an unlikely 1-1 draw at Hamburg while Wolfsburg remain third from bottom following a 1-0 defeat to Schalke. 10-man Freiburg stunned Hoffenheim 3-2, while Kaiserslautern moved six points clear of the drop zone in the battle of the relegation-threatened sides as they beat Stuttgart 4-2 away from home.

Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to beat second from bottom St Pauli 2-1 and close the gap on leaders Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga. In the biggest win of the round, Borussia Monchengladbach gave their survival hopes a real boost as they defeated Cologne 5-1.