Spanish first division leaders Real Sociedad suffered their first defeat of the season with a 3-0 drubbing by Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby on Sunday, but remain four points clear at the top.
Arsenal stretched their lead to six points in the English premier league with a 2-1 win over Fulham, but Manchester United, who have a game in hand, kept the pressure on with a comfortable 2-0 win at Southampton.
AC Milan were joined by Inter at the top of Serie A late on Sunday, but Juventus and Lazio faltered in their title challenge with 1-1 draws.
Reigning champions Borussia Dortmund moved up to second in the Bundesliga after beating Bayer Leverkusen, but remain seven points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich, who were held to a 0-0 draw at Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday.
In a tight French league, Monaco lead Nice and Olympique Marseille only on goal difference, following the principality's 3-0 win over Sedan on Saturday. Marseille failed to take over the top spot on Sunday after losing 3-1 at Bordeaux.
PULSATING MATCH
Joseba Etxeberria put an end to his former club Real Sociedad's unbeaten run this season as he inspired Athletic Bilbao to a 3-0 victory over the Spanish leaders.
The winger, snapped up by Athletic from their Basque rivals in 1995, scored two and made a third to provide a morale-boosting win for his side in what was a pulsating match.
The loss meant Real Sociedad's lead over second-placed Real Madrid was cut to four points, although the European champions could only manage a point at relegation-threatened Espanyol.
Real came back from 2-0 down with second half strikes from Roberto Carlos and Luis Figo.
Defending champions Valencia kept tabs on the leaders after a narrow 1-0 win over Real Mallorca, but Barcelona, whose Dutch coach Luis van Gaal was replaced by Yugoslav Radomir Antic last week, continued their miserable run with a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid.
The Catalan side now lie 15th, just three points off the relegation zone.
AC Milan lead city rivals Inter at the top of Serie A on goal difference after Inter's 2-0 win late on Sunday over bottom club Torino.
The Milan duo are now three points clear of their nearest rivals, reigning champions Juventus and Lazio, who were held to 1-1 draws at Atalanta and Chievo respectively.
An attacking line-up including international strikers David Trezeguet, Alessandro Del Piero and Marco di Vaio could not prevent Juventus from dropping two points on their trip to Atalanta.
FINE SAVES
After being 1-0 down at the halfway stage, Di Vaio put Juventus back on level terms but his side's attempts to get a winner were thwarted by fine saves from goalkeeper Massimo Taibi.
Lazio also had to come from behind after Eugenio Corini put Chievo ahead and had to wait until the 88th minute before Argentine Diego Simeone headed in their equaliser.
Arsenal stretched their lead at the top of the English premier league to six points after a last gasp goal from Robert Pires -- his second of the game and third in a week -- gave the reigning champions a 2-1 win over Fulham.
Manchester United kept up the pressure on their London rivals, however, with a comfortable 2-0 win at Southampton.
They leapfrogged Newcastle United, whose match against Middlesbrough was postponed due to bad weather, into second place.
United kept their first clean sheet away from home this season at St Mary's stadium. Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored his 25th goal of the season when he rifled the ball into the roof of the net after 15 minutes, before Ryan Giggs sewed up the match seven minutes later.
