With the exception of Lyon in France, it was a winning weekend for the leaders in Europe’s top leagues. Hertha Berlin, Barcelona and Inter Milan all maintained or extended their advantages over the chasing packs, while one or two pursuers, Real Madrid and Hamburg among them, suffered dents to their title ambitions.

In England, meanwhile, progress rather than points was at stake, as big guns Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all went in search of places in the next round of the FA Cup. FIFA.com reviews the weekend action around Europe.

La Liga: Barcelona back in business
Real Madrid’s ten-game winning streak in the league came to a halt in the derby with bitter rivals Atletico. The showdown at the Bernabeu ended 1-1 after Atletico’s Diego Forlan and the home side’s Klaas Jan Huntelaar traded goals either side of half-time. To rub salt into Real’s wounds, leaders Barcelona bounced back from consecutive defeats with a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao, extending their advantage over the men from Madrid to six points.

In the race for UEFA Champions League places, Sevilla beat Almeria 2-1, Villarreal defeated Espanyol by the only goal of the game, Deportivo La Coruna overcame Racing Santander 5-3, and Malaga beat Getafe 2-1. Promoted Numancia kept their hopes of avoiding relegation alive with a surprise 2-1 victory over cup holders Valencia, condemning Espanyol to bottom spot in their place.

Top three: Barcelona (63 points), Real Madrid (57), Sevilla (50)
Bottom three: Osasuna (25), Numancia (23), Espanyol (21)
Leading scorers: Samuel Eto'o (23 goals), David Villa (19), Lionel Messi, Diego Forlan (both 18)
Weekend stat: 7 - Numancia finally won again after a run of seven defeats on the trot

Bundesliga: Hertha pull clear but Bayern issue notice
Hertha Berlin remain the team of the moment in the Bundesliga. The men from the capital travelled to Energie Cottbus and won 3-1 courtesy of an Andriy Voronin hat-trick, extending their lead in the table to four points. Champions Bayern Munich vented their frustration at a midweek cup exit on hapless Hannover 96, moving up to joint second with a thumping 5-1 victory.

The German title race still remains wide open, as the teams from second to fifth are all dead level on points. Hoffenheim in joint-second were held to a goalless draw by Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg beat Karlsruhe 1-0, while Hamburg slipped to fifth after a 4-1 defeat to struggling Monchengladbach.

Top three: Hertha Berlin (46 points), Hoffenheim, Bayern (both 42)
Bottom three: Energie Cottbus (20), Borussia Monchengladbach (19), Karlsruhe (17)
Leading scorers: Vedad Ibisevic (18 goals), Patrick Helmes (17), Mario Gomez, Grafite (both 14)
Weekend stat: 14 - In Hertha’s 3-1 victory over Cottbus, Andriy Voronin netted the 14th hat-trick by a Berlin player in the 46-year history of the Bundesliga

Serie A: Top three march on
The three front-runners in Serie A, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus, all earned maximum points at the weekend. Leaders Inter beat Genoa 2-0 away from home with an early strike from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a second from Mario Balotelli on the hour. Second-placed Juve, meanwhile, defeated Torino in the Turin derby courtesy of a Giorgio Chiellini strike ten minutes from time.

As for AC Milan, they comfortably overcame Atalanta 3-0, veteran marksman Filippo Inzaghi netting all three for the Rossoneri. The top three pulled clear in the standings, as fourth-placed Fiorentina fell 2-0 to Palermo, and AS Roma were held 1-1 by Udinese.

Top three: Inter Milan (63 points), Juventus (56), AC Milan (51)
Bottom three: Chievo Verona (24), Lecce (23), Reggina (19)
Leading scorers: Marco di Vaio (19 goals), Alberto Gilardino, Diego Milito, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (all 15)
Weekend stat: 15 – Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has reached the 15-goal mark in a Serie A season for the fourth time, a new league record

Ligue 1: Paris profit from Lyon lapse
Leaders Olympique Lyon warmed up for their Champions League return away to Barcelona in the worst possible way with a 2-0 defeat to Lille. Robert Vittek struck on the hour before Fernandes Bastos wrapped up the points for the northerners at the death. Worse still for Lyon, Paris St Germain took full advantage, beating Lorient 1-0 away from home to move within a point of the leaders.

Elsewhere, third-placed Olympique Marseille played out a dour goalless draw at home to lowly Valenciennes. In the biggest clash of the weekend, Toulouse beat Girondins Bordeaux 3-0, leapfrogging their opponents into fourth spot.

Top three: Olympique Lyon (53 points), Paris St Germain (52), Olympique Marseille (49)
Bottom three: Caen, Sochaux (both 26), Le Havre (18)
Leading scorers: Andre-Pierre Gignac (16 goals), Guillaume Hoarau (15), Fernando Cavenaghi (13)
Weekend stat: 0 – It has been a frustrating time for Olympique Marseille’s home crowd recently. The last two matches at the Velodrome, against Le Mans and Valenciennes, both ended scoreless

Elsewhere
In the Greek Super League, the meeting between leaders Olympiakos and second-placed PAOK Saloniki ended goalless. The home side retained their comfortable nine-point cushion at the top, but Saloniki slipped back to third, as Panathinaikos took over second with a 3-0 win against Larisa.

In the English FA Cup quarter-finals, favourites Manchester United and Chelsea eased into the last four. The Red Devils travelled to fellow Premier League club Fulham and cruised to a 4-0 victory, while the Blues beat second division Coventry City 2-0 away from home. The third semi-final berth in the world’s oldest cup competition went to Everton, 2-1 winners over Middlesbrough. Arsenal, who beat Burnley 3-0 in a left over last 16 tie, meet Hull City in the fourth quarter-final.