Liverpool enjoy splendid weekend

Liverpool moved within four points of leaders Chelsea after trouncing Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford. Steven Gerrard scored a penalty in each half while Luis Suarez added another late on. United captain Nemanja Vidic was sent off for a late tackle on Daniel Sturridge, who was later caught to have dived; it was poetic justice however as Gerrard missed the ensuing penalty.

There were three ejections for Chelsea at Villa Park on Saturday, where they lost to Aston Villa 1-0. Willian, Ramires and manager Jose Mourinho were all sent off in the second half. Meanwhile, Fabian Delph scored the winner with just eight minutes left.

Hull City 0 — Manchester City 2

Everton 2 — Cardiff City 1

Tottenham 0 — Arsenal 1

Ronaldo magic seals win

Real Madrid nudged past Malaga on Saturday with a 1-0 win at La Rosaleda. The game probably deserved more goals as both teams had several chances. Cristiano Ronaldo played hero again when he moved past three defenders to strike home the only goal after 23 minutes.

Barcelona emphatically returned to winning ways with a 7-0 massacre of Osasuna. Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick while all of Alexis Sanchez, Andres Iniesta, Christian Tello and Pedro had one each.

Atletico Madrid 1 — Espanyol 0

Getafe 3 — Granada 3

Sevilla 4 — Real Valladolid 1

Late Pirlo stunner rescues Juve

Veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo ensured Juve kept winning when he sealed Juventus’ 1-0 win over Genoa at home. The Italian maestro scored a sublime free-kick when his team needed it most to break the deadlock with one minute left. Juve now moves 17 points clear.

Inter Milam maintained their hold on fourth place when they defeated Hellas Verona 2-0. Goals from Rodrigo Palacio and Jonathan pushed Inter’s unbeaten run to six. Inter will be seeking to get to that elusive third spot which would seal a Champions League place.

Milan 2 — Parma 4

Cagliari 0 — Lazio 2

Fiorentina 2 — Chievo 1

Bayern makes it 50 games unbeaten

Bayer Leverkusen gave Bayern Munich another close game this season but that was not enough to prevent Bayern from going 50 games unbeaten by winning 2-1. Mario Mandzukic heading in yet again before Bastian Schweinsteiger scored from a free kick after the break. Stefan Kiessling later nodded in a late consolation.

Borrusia Moenchengladbach notched a league double over Borrusia Dortmund this season with a 2-1 at home. Raffael and Max Kruse each scored for ‘Gladbach to go two up before the break. Milos Jojic got one back for Dortmund with only 13 minutes remaining

Hoffenheim 2 — Mainz 4

Augsburg 1 — Schalke 2

Hertha Berlin 0 — Hannover 3