By ADAM TROXTELL

In the absence of attacking prowess, Chelsea turned to defensive tactics to maintain a five-point lead at the top of the English Premier League.

A 1-1 draw against second-place Manchester City was enough to keep the Blues five points clear at the top. Chelsea was content to sit back and absorb pressure from the Citizens, who were determined to get three points in their quest to retain the title.

In place of the suspended Diego Costa, striker Loic Remy gave Chelsea the lead in the 42nd minute. He tapped the ball in from a low, first-time cross by Eden Hazard.

The game was level just three minutes later thanks to an important touch from David Silva. Thibaut Courtois failed to deal with a cross in front of the Chelsea goal, allowing Sergio Aguero to send a low shot to the far post that was poked in by his Spanish teammate.

Man City created plenty of chances, with five of 10 shots landing on target. The introduction of former Chelsea man Frank Lampard as they were chasing the winner only brought loud cheers from both sets of fans inside Stamford Bridge.

The high-profile match of the day in Germany also ended in a draw, as neither Bayer Leverkusen nor relegation-threatened Borussia Dortmund found the back of the net. In Spain, both Madrid teams eased to victory.

Here is a full look at the action from Europe (recap after the jump):

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

A seven-match unbeaten streak is good enough news for Liverpool, but they now have another reason to be happy.

Daniel Sturridge marked his return from injury with his first Premier League goal in a 2-0 win against West Ham. Sturridge capped an impressive Liverpool performance when he took Coutinho’s pass and guided the ball inside the near post in the 80th minute.

It was one of eight shots on goal for Liverpool, who took the lead through Raheem Sterling just six minutes after halftime. Coutinho was the provider of both goals that handed West Ham a first Premier League defeat of 2015.

Elsewhere, Manchester United capitalized on a solid first-half in a 3-1 win against Leicester City. Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao scored within five minutes of each other before a Wes Moregan own goal had the Red Devils 3-0 up before halftime.

Jermaine Defoe scored his first goal since joining Sunderland from Toronto FC in a 2-0 win against Burnley.

Here is a full look at the results from England:

Hull 0, Newcastle 3

Crystal Palace 0, Everton 1

Liverpool 2, West Ham 0

Manchester United 3, Leicester City 1

Stoke City 3, QPR 1

Sunderland 2, Burnley 0

West Brom 0, Tottenham 3

Chelsea 1, Manchester City 1

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA

While avoiding a loss, Borussia Dortmund dropped to the very bottom of the Bundesliga in a 0-0 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.

Dortmund avoided conceding in the face of four shots on target by third-place Leverkusen. Mats Hummels played a crucial role when he headed Hakan Calhanoglu’s shot off the line in the 38th minute.

Ciro Immobile almost gave Dortmund the lead just inside the second half. The Italian gathered a failed clearance for a shot inside the area, but Bernd Leno’s reactions were perfect in the Leverkusen goal to maintain the clean sheet.

Dortmund were condemned to the bottom by a 4-1 win for Freiburg against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Here are all the results from Germany:

Freiburg 4, Frankfurt 1

Hamburg 0, Koln 2

Mainz 5, Paderborn 0

Schalke 1, Hannover 0

Stuttgart 0, Borussia Monchengladbach 1

Bayer Leverkusen 0, Borussia Dortmund 0

SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISION

There was no Cristiano Ronaldo, but no real problems for Real Madrid in a 4-1 win against Real Sociedad.

Karim Benzema scored twice in the second half, once on an assist from Gareth Bale who was Ronaldo’s replacement for the match. Real had to come back after Artiz Elustondo’s opening goal in the first minute handed Sociedad a surprise lead.

James Rodriguez equalized for Los Blancos just two minutes later. Sergio Ramos scored on a rebound in the 37th minute as Real were on the way to a 12th straight win at home in all competitions.

The win maintains a four-point lead for Real at the top of La Liga even as rivals Atletico Madrid secured their own win. Atletico cruised past Eibar 3-1 behind two goals from Mario Mandzukic.

Elsewhere, Granada secured a vital 1-0 win against fellow strugglers Elche.

ITALIAN SERIE A

Fiorentina holds a slight advantage in the race for European spots over Genoa after a 1-1 draw.

Gonzalo Rodriguez canceled out an own goal from Ciprian Tatarusanu to preserve the draw for the Viola. Fiorentina had to get the result without Juan Cuadrado, who was absent from the lineup amid reports he will soon sign for Chelsea in the English Premier League.

FRENCH LIGUE 1

Marseille put pressure on league leaders Lyon with a 1-0 win against Evian.

Andre-Pierre Gignac converted a penalty kick in the 49th minute to put Marseille just one-point back in second place. Lyon face a tricky test on the road to Monaco on Sunday.