AC Milan beat Inter, Real and Celtic left it late while FC Twente lost for the first time this term.
Real and Celtic in late shows; AC beat Inter; FC Twente lose
Real Madrid left it late, as did Celtic, while the Rossoneri triumphed in the Milan derby to go top in Italy.
Elsewhere, French leaders Brest were held, German pace-setters Borussia Dortmund extended their advantage while FC Twente lost for the first time this season.
Primera Division
An 82nd minute goal from Gonzalo Higuain ensured that Real Madrid remain top of the table as they beat Sporting Gijon 1-0. On Saturday, second-placed Barcelona defeated Villarreal 3-1 with Lionel Messi scoring a brace.
Valencia climbed to fourth spot with a 2-0 scalp of Getafe while Malaga boosted their survival hopes as they claimed a
first victory in seven attempts with a 1-0 win over Levante.
SPL
Celtic had Gary Hooper to thank as the striker netted in the 90th minute to land the Hoops a vital triumph over St Mirren after pace-setters Rangers had overcome Aberdeen 2-0 at Ibrox 24 hours earlier.
Hearts rose into third as they
inflicted a fourth straight loss on out-of-form St Johnstone while Hamilton Academical remain rooted to the foot of the table following a 3-1 home loss versus Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Serie A
AC Milan saw off bitter rivals Inter Milan to go top of the table as
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored from the penalty spot versus his former club while Ignazio Abate was dismissed in the second period at Giuseppe Meazza.
Lazio secured a significant 2-0 win over Napoli to ensure they are a point below the table-toppers,
Juventus drew 1-1 with Roma while Udinese cruised to a 4-0 victory over Lecce.
Ligue 1
Brest's lead at the summit was
cut to one point after they played out a 1-1 stalemate with Sochaux. Meanwhile, a hat-trick from Moussa Sow helped Lille on their way to a 5-2 success at Caen to ensure the former remain hot on Brest's heels.
Third-positioned Montpellier edged their way past Toulouse,
Lyon overcame Nice's resilience to triumph 1-0 and climb to eighth while Marseille were held to a 1-1 draw at home against Lens.
Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund opened up a
seven-point advantage at the top in Germany following a 2-0 defeat of Hamburg. High-flying Mainz, meanwhile, suffered a third loss in a row as they were beaten at home by Hannover.
A brace from Mario Gomez inspired a 3-0 triumph for Bayern Munich over Nurnberg while Borussia Monchengladbach landed
just their second win of the season as they saw off Cologne 4-0.
Eredivisie
FC Twente suffered their first league loss of the campaign after they were stunned by a late NAC Breda rally, with the latter emerging as 2-1 victors. That slip-up allowed
PSV to leapfrog their title rivals into first with a 4-2 win over Excelsior.
Elsewhere, Vitesse climbed out of the relegation places in some style as they
thumped fellow strugglers VVV 5-1 while Ajax lost ground in the title race after they were beaten 2-0 at AZ Alkmaar.
Best of the rest
Porto maintained their unbeaten record, and their healthy lead at the top of the Liga standings, with a 2-0 victory over Portimonense, Galatasaray's Super Lig troubles continued as they fell to a 2-0 loss at home to Manisaspor while Danish leaders FC Copenhagen left it late to earn a point as they drew 3-3 at Sonderjyske.
