CR7 scores 5
EPL
Gunners fire to go second
Arsenal has leapt into second place after defeating Liverpool 4-1 at Emirates Stadium. Hector Bellerin, Mesut Oezil and Alexis Sanchez gave the hosts a comfortable 3-0 lead at the break. After Jordan Henderson’s intervention via a penalty, Olivier Giroud finished the scoring in stoppage time with a fine strike.
Charlie Adam’s audacious strike from 65 metres was not enough to prevent Chelsea from overcoming Stoke 2-1 on Saturday. Adam caught out Thibaut Courtois with a shot from inside his own half to scare the Blues at 1-1. However, Loic Remy put the game to bed with a tap in on 62 minutes.
Manchester United 3 – Aston Villa 1
West Brom 1 – QPR 4
Everton 1 – Southampton 0
La Liga
Ronaldo’s five spurs massive win
Real Madrid returned to their clinical best after destroying La Liga strugglers Granada 9-1 at Santiago Bernabeu. Cristiano Ronaldo remarkably netted a hat-trick within eight first-half minutes just after Gareth Bale’s opener. Ronaldo returned to score two more times, including a towering 89th minute header.
It took a 73rd minute diving header from Jeremy Mathieu for Barcelona to win all three points against Celta Vigo with a 1-0 result. The veteran defender fought off his marker to nod home Xavi’s free-kick at the far post.
Valencia 0 – Villarreal 0
Cordoba 0 – Atletico Madrid 2
Sevilla 2 – Atheltic Bilbao 0
Serie A
Roma cement second place
Bosnian playmaker Miralem Pjanic’s early strike was enough for AS Roma to secure a rare 1-0 win over Napoli in the Italian capital. Pjanic slotted home in the 15th minute to diminish Napoli’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season. The team from Naples currently sit in sixth place, eight points behind third place Lazio.
Juventus continue to march towards a fourth straight Serie A title after defeating Empoli 2-0 on Saturday. Carlos Tevez fired in from an indirect free kick inside the penalty area on 43 minutes before Roberto Pereyra late tap in.
Fiorentina 2 – Sampdoria 0
Cagliari 1 – Lazio 3
Hellas Verona 3 – Cesena 3
Bundesliga
Bayern edge Der Klassiker
Bayern Munich had to outmuscle their German rivals Borrusia Dortmund to grab a 1-0 win at Signal Iduna Park. Neither team truly dominated the game for long periods but saw Robert Lewandowski take the initiative to nod home on 36 minutes and give Bayern Munich the winner to send them 10 points clear.
Second place Wolfsburg beat Stuttgart 3-1 to virtually confirm their place among Europe’s elite next season. Wing-back Ricardo Rodriguez scored a brace while new signing Andre Schurrle scored Wolfsburg’s third in the 76th minute.
Hoffenheim 1 – M’gladbach 4
Bayer Leverkusen 4 – Hannover 0
Hertha Berlin 1 – Paderborn 0