By JOHN BOSCHINI

Start printing the banners and begin tying red ribbons to the Premier League trophy. Barring a miracle, Manchester United are going to be the champions of England.

Manchester City continued their terrible run of form with a 1-0 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates and the so-called "noisy neighbors" fall eight points behind United in the race for the Premier League title with six games to play. Mikel Arteta scored a beautiful, long-range goal in the 87th minute to give Arsenal, who are now solidly in third place, the victory. Mario Balotelli was sent off for two reckless challenges on Barcaray Sagna. 

Manchester United cemented their eight-point lead with a 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers. Shaun Derry was controversially sent off in the 14th minute for pulling back Ashley Young inside the box and Wayne Rooney slotted home the ensuing penalty. Paul Scholes scored in the second half to double United's lead but the league leaders were never in danger of dropping points after the red card.

As done as the title race is in England, things have tightened up in other parts of Europe. Juventus are back atop Serie A with a win over Palermo coupled with AC Milan's loss to Fiorentina. Real Madrid are slowly allowing Barcelona back into the title race as a 0-0 draw with Valencia narrows the gap to only four points with el Clasico looming in just two weeks.

Here is a closer look at all the results from around Europe.

ENGLAND

As United march towards the title, the most intriguing race in England is the race for the Champions League. Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Newcastle are battling for the final two spots. Chelsea were the beneficiaries of poor refereeing and were able to squeak by Wigan with a 2-1 scoreline. Both Branislav Ivanovic and Juan Mata were offside when their goals were scored. Newcastle kept pace with Chelsea thanks to a 2-0 win over Swansea.

Tottenham continue to slip down the table as a they played to a 0-0 draw with Sunderland. Tottenham's lead over Chelsea is now just three points. Liverpool are well off the pace and suffered further embarrassment in the form of a 1-1 home draw to struggling Aston Villa.

PREMIER LEAGUE SCOREBOARD

Swansea City 0, Newcastle United 2
Sunderland 0, Tottenham Hotspur 0
Bolton Wanderers 0, Fulham 3
Chelsea 2, Wigan Athletic 1
Liverpool 1, Aston Villa 1
Norwich City 2, Everton 2
West Bromwich Albion 3, Blackburn Rovers 0
Stoke City 2, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Manchester United 2, Queens Park Rangers 0
Arsenal 1, Manchester City 0

MONDAY

Everton vs. Sunderland, 10 a.m.
Newcastle United vs. Bolton Wanderers, 10 a.m.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Norwich City, 10 a.m.
Aston Villa vs. Stoke City, 12:30 p.m.
Fulham vs. Chelsea, 3 p.m. 

Spain

Real Madrid's offense was uncharacteristically stagnant at the Bernabeu on Sunday as they slumped to a 0-0 draw with Valencia. Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post in Madrid's best chance of the game. Barcelona kept the pressure on with a 4-1 thrashing of Real Zaragoza which featured Lionel Messi's 60th goal of the season but it was Rayo Vallecano's 6-0 victory over Osasuna that was the weekend's most lopsided victory.

Levante moved into a Champions League spot with a 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid while Malaga can retake fourth place with a win over Racing Santander this afternoon.

LA LIGA SCOREBOARD

Espanyol 2, Real Sociedad 2
Getafe 2, Sporting Gijon 0
Rayo Vallecano 6, Osasuna 0
Real Zaragoza 1, Barcelona 4
Real Betis 3, Villarreal 1
Levante 2, Atletico Madrid 0
Mallorca 0, Granada 0
Athletic Bilbao 1, Sevilla 0
Real Madrid 0, Valencia 0

MONDAY

Malaga vs. Racing Santander, 3 p.m.

Germany

The gap between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich remains at four points as both sides secured victory. Schalke are secure in third place with a 3-0 win over Hannover while Borussia Monchengladbach were held to a scoreless draw by Hertha Berlin. Monchengladbach is still nine points clear of fifth-placed Stuttgart.

BUNDESLIGA SCOREBOARD

Bayern Munich 2, FC Augsburg 1
FC Cologne 1, Werder Bremen 1
Kaiserslautern 1, TSG Hoffenheim 2
SC Freiburg 2, Nurnberg 2
VfB Stuttgart 4, Mainz 1
VfL Wolfsburg 1, Borussia Dortmund 3
Borussia Monchengladbach 0, Hertha Berlin 0
Schalke 3, Hannover 0
Hamburg 1, Bayer Leverkusen 1

Italy

Juventus are back in pole position in Serie A as their unbeaten season continues. Leonardo Bonucci and Fabio Quagliarella scored for the Turin-based club. Carvalho Amauri scored in the 89th minute to give Fiorentina a 2-1 victory over AC Milan.

Lazio are three points clear in third place after a 3-1 win over Napoli. Udinese moved up to fourth with a win over Parma.

SERIE A SCOREBOARD

AC Milan 1, Fiorentina 2
Atalanta 1, Siena 2
Cagliari 2, Inter Milan 2
Cesena 0, Bologna 0
Chievo Verona 3, Catania 2
Lecce 4, AS Roma 2 
Novara 1, Genoa 1
Udinese 3, Parma 1
Palermo 0, Juventus 2
Lazio 3, Napoli 1

France

Both Montpellier and Paris Saint-Germain earned 2-1 wins over the weekend to keep the top of the table unchanged. Montpellier is still in the lead thanks to a superior goal difference. Lyon moved to within three points of Lille for the final Champions League spot with a 2-1 win over AJ Auxerre.

SATURDAY

AC Ajaccio 1, St Etienne 1
Brest 3, Lille 1
Dijon FCO 0, AS Nancy Lorraine 2
Evian Thonon Gaillard 1, Stade Rennes 3
Montpellier 2, Sochaux 1
Valenciennes 2, Toulouse 0
Lyon 2, AJ Auxerre 1
Caen 0, Bordeaux 0
Nice 2, Lorient 0
Paris Saint-Germain 2, Marseille 1

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What do you think of this weekend's results? Do you see anyone other than Manchester United winning the title? Can Juventus hold on to their lead in Italy? Can Barcelona overtake Real Madrid?

Share your thoughts below.