By ADAM TROXTELL

It was a frustrating day for some big teams across Europe, and Chelsea was at the top of that list.

The Premier League leaders were held to a 0-0 draw by Sunderland. The Black Cats earned their point with two lines of red and white shirts digging in and holding Chelsea scoreless for the first time in any competition this season.

With the likes of Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Oscar bearing down on the defense, it initially seemed like a matter of time before the Blues broke through. They put seven shots on target to keep Costel Pantilimon on his toes.

But as the game progressed, Sunderland moved forward enough to test the Chelsea goal three times and cause plenty of havoc. Chelsea dominated for the opening 30 minutes before Sunderland flipped the script, out-possessing the league leaders for the final 15 of the first half.

It was in that time that they carved out the best chance of the game. Lee Cattermole, in between working hard to plug the defensive gaps, won a 50-50 ball on the right and swung in a low cross. Right back Santiago Vergini got a foot to it, sending a shot over a flailing Thibault Courtois and off the top of the cross bar.

Here is a look at the rest of Saturday’s action across Europe:

In Spain, Real Madrid set a new club record with their 16th consecutive win in a 2-1 result over Malaga. Karim Benzema opened the scoring after 18 minutes before Gareth Bale doubled their lead with seven minutes to go. Both goals were supplied by Cristiano Ronaldo, who leads La Liga with eight assists.

PSG kept pace with Marseille in France, but only just in a 1-0 win against Nice. Bayern Munich solidified their top spot in Germany but also had to settle for just a 1-0 win against Hertha Berlin.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

The frustration for Chelsea boiled over in Diego Costa’s antics.

Sunderland’s defense, and John O’Shea in particular, zeroed in on Chelsea’s top man to keep him shackled in the scoreless draw. A first half encounter between Costa and the Irish defender in which the Chelsea striker appeared to lash out produced a talking-to from referee Kevin Friend but no cards.

Costa was booked, however, when an errant arm struck defender Wes Brown square on the nose, meaning he will miss Tuesday’s game against Tottenham.

Even with late additions of Remy, Drogba and Andre Schurrle, Chelsea could only extend the gab between them and second placed Southampton to seven points.

Both Arsenal and Liverpool had a tough time getting 1-0 results against West Brom and Stoke, respectively. Manchester United kept up their good form in a 3-0 win over Hull, sealed by a Robin Van Persie wonder-strike. Injury worries continue, however, as Angel Di Maria limped off early.

Arsenal fans can sympathize with their London neighbors. A Danny Welbeck headed goal in the 60th minute took the Gunners past West Brom. The Baggies surged late, but their attempts produced no fruit for a third straight loss.

Liverpool left it even later to make the Anfield crowd happy. Glen Johnson bravely headed in a rebound five minutes from time for a 1-0 win over Stoke. He paid the price with stitches to the head as he was kicked by Erik Peters in the process.

The first for Liverpool in six games and first in the league since Oct. 19 comes at a vital time with boss Brendan Rodgers facing increasing pressure. The Reds still sit 11th in the table.

In contrast, Manchester United are flying. A 3-0 win over Hull — their first three-game win streak since mid-December last year — has them back up to fourth place. Defender Chris Smalling bundled over a deflected corner kick before Wayne Rooney threaded the ball between two defenders to double the lead by halftime.

Then it was Van Persie’s turn. Ander Herrera supplied the ball to feet before the Dutch striker turned to his left foot and fired one inside the near post. A return to form for him would be welcome after Di Maria limped off after 14 minutes with what appeared to be a hamstring problem.

QPR lifted themselves off the bottom of the table in a 3-2 win over Leicester. Newcastle’s six-game winning streak was halted in a 0-1 loss to West Ham.

Here’s all the results from England on Saturday:

West Brom 0, Arsenal 1

Burnley 1, Aston Villa 1

Liverpool 1, Stoke 0

Manchester United 3, Hull 0

QPR 3, Leicester 2

Swansea 1, Crystal Palace 1

West Ham 1, Newcastle 0

Sunderland 0, Chelsea 0

SPAIN PRIMERA DIVISION

Already with 20 goals this season, Ronaldo turned provider in Real Madrid’s record-setting 16th win over Malaga.

Ronaldo first found Benzema in the 18th minute before flicking on a long ball by Marcelo for Gareth Bale’s sixth goal of the campaign. In a Madrid-dominated encounter, the win could have perhaps been put beyond doubt much earlier.

Roque Santa Cruz’s headed goal for Malaga in stoppage time provided some late drama, but the 16th in a row for Real was never really in doubt. It did cost Malaga their unbeaten record at home this season.

Espanyol came from behind to defeat Levante 2-1 and leapfrog them in the race to avoid relegation. Levante sit just two points clear of the bottom three ahead of Sunday’s games, while Espanyol are now four points clear.

Here’s the full list of results from Spain:

Getafe 1, Athletic Bilbao 2

Espanyol 2, Levante 1

Malaga 1, Real Madrid 2

Celta Vigo, Eibar

FRENCH LIGUE 1

Only a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty kept PSG hot on Marseille’s heels in the title race on Saturday.

The 1-0 result keeps the Parisians just one point behind in second place. Lucas Moura won the spot kick when he was brought down chasing a ball in the 14th minute.

While they didn’t possess the ball as much, Nice did all they could to equalize. Salvatore Sirigu turned away four shots on goal to preserve the clean sheet. Edison Cavani sent a near post header over the bar as PSG struggled to get goal number two late in the second half.

Elsewhere there was nothing to separate relegation threatened Caen and European spot contender Montpellier in a 1-1 draw. Mathieu Duhamel equalized for Caen in the 40th minute.

Rennes moved up to fourth with a 2-0 win over Monaco. It came against the run of play, with Monaco in control for most of the match to put five shots on goal.

Here’s the full list of Ligue 1 results:

PSG 1, Nice 0

Caen 1, Montpellier 1

Lens 2, Metz 0

Reims 2, Bastia 1

Rennes 2, Monaco 0

Toulouse 2, Lorient 3

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA

Bayern Munich got the win they deserved against Hertha Berlin, but it easily could have been by more.

Thomas Muller’s back-heel found Arjen Robben in space 20 yards out and the Dutchman’s 27th minute strike was the only difference. This is despite 72 percent possession for Bayern, as well as 14 total shots compared to Hertha’s 4.

A win is a win, however, and now Bayern sit 10 points ahead of Wolfsburg in the table.

The shock of the day came at the Weser-Stadion where Werder Bremen put the hurt on Paderborn in a 4-0 win. Bremen were lethal in their play, logging 14 shots on target as they climbed off the bottom of the table.

Here’s all the results from Germany:

Augsburg 3, Hamburg 1

Bayer Leverkusen 5, Koln 1

Hertha Berlin 0, Bayern Munich 1

Schalke 4, Mainz 1

Werder Bremen 4, Paderborn 0

Hoffenheim 4, Hannover 3

ITALIAN SERIE A

A 0-0 draw left Chievo Verona struggling at the bottom and Lazio on the outside looking into the Champions League spots.

With 11 shots and plenty of possession, it’s the blue half of Rome that’s left ruing a missed opportunity to put more pressure on the top teams in Italy. Any point in a relegation fight is valuable, but Chievo sit even with Atalanta on 10 points with an extra game played after that loss at home.

Sassuolo came from behind to win 2-1 in a mid-table clash with Hellas Verona earlier in the day. Nicola Sansone equalized just five minutes into the second half and Saphir Taider provided all three points with a 78th minute goal.