Real and Barca won again while Bayern's defeat allowed the chasing pack to move level on points.
Spanish giants march on; Bayern slip up; Celtic extend lead
Real Madrid and Barcelona won again in Spain while Bayern Munich's defeat allowed the chasing pack to move level on points at the top in Germany.
Juventus continue to lead the way in Italy, although AC Milan and Udinese maintained the pressure with wins of their own.
Marseille and Lyon were given tough times by lower league opposition in the Coupe de France while holders Lille survived a scare.
In Holland, AZ Alkmaar and Ajax finished all-square in the battle of the top two while Celtic have extended their lead on Rangers in Scotland.
Primera Liga
Real Madrid maintained their five-point lead over Barcelona on Sunday with Spain's big two both securing 4-1 victories.
Barca pilled the pressure on the leaders in the early game with Lionel Messi scoring a hat-trick as
Pep Guardiola's side won at Malaga.
Fernando Llorente gave Athletic Bilbao the lead at Santiago Bernabeu before Marcelo equalised. A brace of penalties from Cristiano Ronaldo fired the home side in front before Jose Callejon added the icing on the cake.
Lowly Grenada remain just a point above the bottom three following a
3-0 defeat to Espanyol on Saturday.
Serie A
Juventus continue to lead the way in Italy's top flight following a
2-0 success over Atalanta. Stephan Lichsteiner and Emanuele Giaccherini were both on target for the Old Lady.
Second-placed AC Milan maintained the pressure on Juve by responding on Sunday with a
3-0 success at rock-bottom Novara with Zlatan Ibrahimovic helping himself to a brace.
Udinese remain in third spot following a
2-1 win over Catania, however, in-form Inter Milan have leapfrogged Lazio in the table after beating the Biancocelesti 2-1 at Giuseppe Meazza.
Bundesliga
The title race in Germany could barely be any tighter with Borussia Dortmund and Schalke moving level on 37 points with leaders Bayern Munich.
Bayern restarted their campaign following the winter break with a
3-1 away defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach. Patrick Herrmann bagged a double as the Bavarian giants failed to pick up a point.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund piled the pressure on Bayern courtesy of an impressive
5-1 win at Hamburg. Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Blaszczykowski each scored twice.
Four successive wins sees
Schalke level at the top of the standings. Joel Matip, Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Julian Draxler were all on target as Stuttgart suffered a third
