By NICK IUELE

In a clash that showed why Barcelona and Real Madrid are often considered the two best teams in the world, and why Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are considered the two best players in the world, Barcelona and Real Madrid played to an excitin 2-2 draw in front of a crowd of 95,000 at Barca’s Camp Nou on Sunday.

Messi and Ronaldo put on a show, scoring two goals each in an intense battle. Ronaldo opened the scoring for Real Madrid in the 23^rd minute, but Messi quickly answered with an equalizer in the 31^st. Messi gave Barcelona the lead with a brilliant 61^st minute free kick, but Ronaldo matched it with goal six minutes later to tie the match for good. Messi and Ronaldo share the league lead with eight goals apiece.

In Italy, the Milan derby lived up to the hype as Inter downed AC Milan 1-0. Walter Samuel sunk i Rossoneri in the third minute with a header past Christian Abiati. The loss is Milan’s fourth of the season and adds to the club’s abysmal start.

Chelsea topped Norwich City 4-1 in dominating fashion to hold the top spot in the English Premier League table. Norwich’s Grant Holt surprised with the opening goal of the game, but Chelsea fought back with goals from Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard, Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovich to take all three points.

Here are the rest of the results from the top leagues in Europe.

ENGLAND

Manchester United pushed their way into a tie for second in the table with a 3-0 win over Newcastle. Patrice Evra, Tom Cleverley and Johnny Evans scored the goals for the Red Devils. The United defense also kept Demba Ba off the score sheet which is no easy task these days.

Title holders Manchester City downed Sunderland 3-0 to force a tie for second in the table. Aleksander Kolarov, Sergio Aguero and James Milner all scored goals in the comprehensive victory. City is now four points back of Chelsea for the top spot.

English Premier League Scoreboard:

Manchester United 3, Sunderland 0

Chelsea 4, Norwich City 1

Swansea City 2, Reading 2

West Bromwich Albion 3, Queens Park Rangers 2

Wigan Athletic 2, Everton 2

Arsenal 3, West Ham United 1

Southampton 2, Fulham 2

Liverpool 0, Stoke City 0

Tottemham Hotspur 2, Aston Villa 0

Manchester United 3, Newcastle 0

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ITALY

Roma inched closer to the top five with a 2-0 win over Atalanta. Erik Lamela and American international Michael Bradley scored the goals for i Lupi. A win next week could propel Roma into position for European football.

Lowly Cagliari cooled down a hot Torino side with a 1-0 win. Nene hit the winner with a 74^th minute converted penalty kick. The loss snaps Torino’s three match unbeaten streak and drops them to 10^th in the table.

Serie A Scoreboard:

Chievo Verona 2, Sampdoria 1

Genoa 1, Palermo 1

AS Roma 2, Atalanta 0

Catania 2, Parma 0

Fiorentina 1, Bologna 0

Juventus 2, Siena 1

Cagliari 1, Torino 0

Lazio 3, US Pescara 0

Inter Milan 1, AC Milan 0

Napoli 2, Udinese 1

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SPAIN

Atletico Madrid got the best of Malaga in a 2-1 win. Falcao continued his phenomenal start with an opening goal in the sixth minute. Roque Santa Cruz equalized in the 36^th, but an own goal by Weligton gave Madrid the lead and soul possession of second in the table.

Mallorca failed to gain ground on Malaga,  losing to Granada 2-1. After more than a half of scoreless football, Youssef El Arabi and Gabriel Torje scored in the 65^th and 76^th respectively to give their side all three points.

La Liga Scoreboard:

Levante 1, Valencia 0

Granada 2, Mallorca 1

Athletic Bilbao 1, Osasuna 0

Barcelona 2, Real Madrid 2

Atletico Madrid 2, Malaga 1

Rayo Vallecano 2, Deportivo La Coruna 1

Getafe 1, Real Zaragoza 0

Valladolid 1, Espanyol 1

Real Betis 2, Real Sociedad 0

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GERMANY

Borussia Monchengladbach shocked the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win over second-place Eintracht Frankfurt. Juan Arango and Luuk de Jong scored as Monchengladbach snapped a five game losing streak.

Hannover and title holders Borussia Dortmund fought to a 1-1 draw. Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring in the 26^th minute. Dortmund thought all three points were in the bag until Mame Biram Diouf hit the equalizer in the 86^th to secure a point for Hannover.

Bundesliga Scoreboard:

Borussia Monchengladbach 2, Eintracht Frankfurt 0

Hannover 96 1, Borussia Dortmund 1

VfB Stuttgart 2, Bayer Leverkusen 2

Bayern Munich 2, TSG Hoffenheim 0

Mainz 1, Fortuna Dusseldorf

SC Freiburg 3, Nurnberg 0

Schalke 04 3, VfL Wolfsburg 0

Hamburg SV 1, SpVgg Greuther Furth 0

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FRANCE

Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille fought to a 2-2 draw in a matchup of top two sides. Zlatan Ibrahimovich and Andre-Pierre Gignac each had a brace. The win leaves Marseille three points ahead of PSG for the top spot in Ligue 1.

Third-place Lyon was held by Lorient in a 1-1 draw. Befatimbi Gomis gave Lyon the lead in the 23^rd minute, but Jeremie Aliadiere equalized in the 47^th to secure a point for Lorient. Lyon is only one point ahead of Lorient for a Champions League position.

Ligue 1 Scoreboard:

Brest 1, Bordeaux 1

Lorient 1, Lyon 1

Marseille 2, Paris Saint-Germain 2

Evian Thonon Gaillard 3, Montpellier 2

Bastia 3, Troyes 2

Lille 2, AC Ajaccio 0

Stade de Reims 3, Nice 1

Toulouse 2. Valenciennes 2

St. Etienne 4, AS Nancy Lorraine 0