Title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool on Sunday cancelled each other out 1-1 in a captivating Premier League duel in front of a capacity crowd at Anfield. Alexis McAllister converted a second half penalty to earn Jurgen Klopp’s quadruple chasing Kop a share of the spoils after John Stones had given Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens a 1-0 halftime lead in what was ultimately a tale of two halves.
Arsenal were the principal beneficiaries of the stalemate as their hard fought 2-1 victory over Brentford courtesy of Kai Havertz’s late header on Saturday catapulted them to the summit of the standings where they now command a one point cushion over Liverpool. Tottenham Hotspur moved within two points of Aston Villa by clobbering their hosts 4-0 at Villa Park with James Maddison, Son Heung Min and Timo Werner all getting onto the score sheet.
Across the Euro tunnel Paris Saint Germain boss Luis Enrique left super star Kylian Mbappe Lottin on the bench as the Ligue One leaders were held to a 2-2 draw by Stade Reims but the Parisians still extended their lead atop the table because second placed Stade Brest fell 0-1 at Racing Lens. Monaco moved within a point of the top two by edging Strasbourg 1-0 while Lille Metropole remain fourth after fighting back from two goals down to hold Stade Rennes 2-2.
In Italy, Inter Milan moved closer to their 20th Scudetto by toppling Bologna 1-0 to stretch their lead atop the Serie A standings to a whooping 17 points. AC Milan moved above Juventus into second place after Massimiliano Allegri’s Old Lady were held to a 2-2 draw by Atalanta for whom Teun Koopmeiners netted a brace. Stefano Pioli’s Rossoneri were 1-0 winners over Empoli.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Invincibles stretched their unbeaten sequence to 36 games by taming Wolfsburg 2-0 to maintain a ten point Bundesliga advantage over Bayern Munich who on Saturday clobbered Mainz 8-1 thanks to a Harry Kane hat trick. VfB Stuttgart stayed third by rounding up Union Berlin 2-0 while Borussia Dortmund overcame Werder Bremen 2-1 to keep fourth place ahead of RB Leipzig, 2-0 winners over relegation haunted Darmstadt.
In Spain, Real Madrid remain in pole position to recapture the Liga Santander title after they walloped Rafa Benitez’s Celta Vigo 4-0 less than 24 hours after second placed Girona had dismissed Osasuna 2-0. Reigning champions Barcelona stayed third by edging Mallorca 1-0 but fourth placed Atletico Madrid were ambushed 2-0 at lowly Cadiz for whom Juanmi Jimenez netted a brace