By JOHN BOSCHINI
Manchester City are back on track with as a 1-0 victory over Arsenal put the noisy neighbors back atop the English Premier League. Mario Balotelli and David Silva combined for the only goal of the contest and snapped Arsenal's eight-game unbeaten run in league play.
Manchester City are two points clear of Manchester United, who had no trouble on the road with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers.
In Italy, Juventus remain the only unbeaten side among the big four leagues with a 2-0 win over Ovara. The win puts the Turin giants two points clear of AC Milan with a slightly worse goal difference. Simone Pepe and Fabio Quagliarella provided the goals for Juve.
There were no goals in the highly anticipated clash at the top of Ligue 1 as Paris St. Germain and Lille battled to a goalless draw. PSG is level on points with Montpellier at the top of the table while Lille retains a Champions League spot in third.
Here is a rundown of the weekend's action in Europe's top leagues.
ENGLAND
A Peter Cech howler cost Chelsea a vital road win as the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw against Wigan at the DW Stadium. Jordi Gomez tapped in an 88th minute equalizer to cancel out Daniel Sturridge's opening goal. Blackburn and Bolton sunk deeper into the relegation zone with losses to West Brom and Fulham respectively.
Queens Park Rangers 0, Manchester United 2
Aston Villa 0, Liverpool 2
Tottenham Hotspur 1, Sunderland 0
Manchester City 1, Arsenal 0
Blackburn Rovers 1, West Bromwich Albion 2
Everton 1, Norwich City 1
Fulham 2, Bolton Wanderers 0
Newcastle United 0, Swansea City 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1, Stoke City 2
Wigan Athletic 1, Chelsea 1
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SPAIN
Real Madrid rebounded from last week's Clasico loss to Barcelona with a thumping 6-2 win over Sevilla to establish a three-point lead at the top of La Liga. Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a hat trick for Real Madrid. Valencia took advantage of Levante's loss to win 2-0 over Malaga and establish a four-point cushion in third place. Villareal moved closer to the relegation zone with a 2-1 loss to Osasuna.
Athletico Madrid 0, Real Betis 2
Grenada 2, Levante 1
Osasuna 2, Villareal 1
Racing Santander 0, Real Sociedad 0
Valencia 2, Malaga 0
Mallorca 1, Getafe 2
Sporting Gijon 1, Espanyol 2
Athletic Bilbao 2, Real Zaragoza 1
Sevilla FC 2, Real Madrid 6
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GERMANY
Borussia Mochengladbach continue to surprise the Bundesliga as a team that flirted with relegation last season moved to within four points of first place with a 1-0 win over Mainz. Schalke thrashed Werder Bremen 5-0 and Bayern Munich had no trouble with FC Cologne with a 3-0 victory Friday. Bayer Leverkusen continue to disappoint and are in trouble of falling out of the Champions League picture after a 3-0 upset at the hands of Nurnberg.
Kaiserslautern 1, Hannover 96 1
Borussia Monchengladbach 1, Mainz 0
Bayer Leverkusen 0, Nurnberg 3
Hamburg 1, Augsburg 1
SC Freiburg 1, Borussia Dortmund 4
TSG Hoffenheim 1, Hertha Berlin 1
VFL Wolfsburg 1, VfB Stuttgart 0
Schalke 5, Werder Bremen 0
Bayern Munich 3, FC Cologne 0
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ITALY
AC Milan stayed within striking distance of Juventus with a 2-0 win over Siena. Antonio Nocerino and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored for Milan. Across town, Inter continued their slow but steady march back up the table with a road win against Cesena. The 2010 champions are up to fifth in the table but are still eight points off a Champions League spot and 10 points adrift of Juve.
Catania 2, Palermo 0
Cesena 0, Inter Milan 1
Genoa 2, Bologna 1
Juventus 2, Novara 0
Parma 3, Leece 3
Lazio 2, Udinese 2
Napoli 1, AS Roma 3
Chievo Verona 2, Cagliari 0
AC Milan 2, Siena 0
Fiorentina 2, Atalanta 2
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FRANCE
It's crowded at the top of the Ligue 1 as two points separate first from fourth. Montpellier were unable to put any distance on PSG, settling for a 1-1 draw with Toulouse. Lyon saw off Evian Thonon Gaillard to open up a five-point gap at fourth place and move even on points with Lille for third.
AC Ajaccio 1, Stade Rennes 0
Bordeaux 1, Sochaux 0
Paris Saint-Germain 0, Lille 0
Brest 1, AJ Auxerre 0
Caen 1, AS Nancy Lorraine 2
Dijon FCO 1, St. Etienne 2
Marseille 2, Lorient 1
Montpellier 1, Toulouse 1
Nice 2, Valenciennes 0
Lyon 2, Evian Thono Gaillard 0
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What did you think of the weekend's results? Is the title City's to lose? Can Juventus continue their unbeaten run? Who do you see returning strong as Germany enters its wineter break?
Share your thoughts below.