The leaders in Germany, France and England all moved a step closer to glory this weekend, while the title races were given fresh impetus in Italy and Spain.

Serie A frontrunners Inter now enjoy a mere four-point lead over Roma after losing at home to Juventus. It was another underwhelming performance from the champions, whose recent form has given their challengers hope with eight games left to play.

In Spain, meanwhile, Real Madrid also slipped up at home, succumbing to troubled Valencia to give pursuers Barcelona the chance to close the gap at the top. Victory for Frank Rijkaard's men over Valladolid put the destination of the Primera Division crown back in doubt.

In contrast, there is little suspense left in Germany and France, where Bayern Munich and Lyon both picked up wins while their rivals faltered. Nothing has yet been decided in the Premier League, but Manchester United look well placed to come out on top after dismantling Liverpool and watching Arsenal lose to Chelsea.

FIFA.com reviews the weekend action in Europe's leading leagues.

Premier League: Manchester United make their move
Who will be able to stop Manchester United's march towards a 17th title? That is the most pressing question in the Premier League at the moment after the Red Devils continued their inexorable run and Arsenal failed to keep pace. Defeated at Chelsea, the Gunners even dropped to third behind their London neighbours, just days after topping the table themselves.

In the duel between two of the country's fiercest rivals, United made the most of an off day for Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina and the indiscipline of midfielder Javier Mascherano. The Argentinian saw red in a dispiriting 3-0 reverse for Liverpool, which sent United five points clear of Chelsea and six clear of Arsenal.

The two outfits from the capital met at Stamford Bridge, where Didier Drogba's brace earned the Blues a 2-1 victory over Arsene Wenger's men, who had earlier taken the lead when Bacary Sagna struck his first professional goal.

In the tussle for UEFA Cup berths, Everton were the weekend's major winners despite a 1-1 draw with West Ham. That proved to be a point won rather than two lost as Aston Villa and Portsmouth both suffered defeats. At the opposite end of the standings, Sunderland lifted themselves away from trouble by winning at Villa Park, while Fulham sunk further into the mire and Bolton failed to climb out of danger.

Top three: Manchester United (73 points), Chelsea (68), Arsenal (67)
Bottom three: Bolton Wanderers (26 points), Fulham (23), Derby County (10)
Top scorers: Cristiano Ronaldo (25 goals), Fernando Torres (20), Emmanuel Adebayor (19)
Weekend stat: Cristiano Ronaldo boasts a goals-per-game average of 0.93 following yet another strike on Sunday. The Portuguese winger has been in electric form this term as this extraordinary statistic proves.

Bundesliga: Bayern streak clear
Bayern Munich took a major step towards their 21st championship this Saturday with a probing 2-1 triumph over Bayer Leverkusen in the 25th round of matches. A week after their humiliating 2-0 loss to Cottbus, Ottmar Hitzfeld's charges were back to their imperious best as they overcame a Leverkusen side still riding high in the top three.

Bayern were also able to celebrate setbacks for the teams below them, with Werder Bremen held to a 1-1 draw at modest Bielefeld and second-placed Hamburg involved in a 1-1 draw of their own with Wolfsburg. Schalke 04 and defending champions Stuttgart fared much better, on the other hand, leaving the contest for European places tight down the final stretch.

At the bottom of the table, Cottbus dropped back into the danger zone, while fellow strugglers Nuremberg and Duisburg did their prospects little good with 1-1 stalemates.

Top three: Bayern Munich (53 points), Hamburg (46), Bayer Leverkusen (44) Bottom three: Energie Cottbus (20 points), 1. FC Nuremberg, MSV Duisburg (19)
Top scorers: Luca Toni (16 goals), Mario Gomez (15), Mladen Petric (12), Marko Pantelic (11)
Weekend stat: Bayern's Italian striker Luca Toni has now scored 26 goals in all competitions this season after netting twice at the weekend. That is also the combined total of Bundesliga goals plundered by Toni and partner Miroslav Klose, who have earned the collective nickname 'Kloni' in the German press.

Ligue 1: Lyon close to seventh heaven
Since their UEFA Champions League elimination, Lyon have once again become untouchable in their Ligue 1 stronghold. After putting Monaco to the sword last time out, the Rhone club slipped four goals past Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday evening in a 4-2 success that put them nine points ahead of Bordeaux, who fell at Valenciennes.

Fred helped Lyon into a two-goal lead after 36 minutes, but the six-time champions allowed their opponents a lifeline and were dragged back to level terms when Jerome Rothen scored from the penalty spot. The Parisians fell behind again 13 minutes later, however, with Sidney Govou hitting the target before Juninho Pernambucano secured the result.

Those three points were all the more gladly received as closest pursuers Bordeaux succumbed 3-1 at Valenciennes to surely end their dreams of a first title since 1999. The weekend's other major losers in France were Marseille, who suffered a 1-0 defeat by Sochaux at the Stade Velodrome. The Mediterranean outfit have been experiencing a mini-crisis since their French Cup humiliation, and they now lie six points behind Nancy, who earned a hard-fought 2-1 win over Metz.

PSG will have been encouraged by their performance at Lyon, yet it did nothing to alleviate their relegation fears. Sochaux's success took them out of the bottom three at the capital side's expense, and PSG now find themselves two points away from safety. Elsewhere, Toulouse missed the chance to boost their survival hopes by drawing 1-1 with Le Mans.

Top three: Olympique Lyonnais (64 points), Girondins de Bordeaux (55), Nancy (52)
Bottom three: PSG (32), Toulouse (31), Metz (18)
Top scorers: Karim Benzema (17 goals), Mamadou Niang, Tulio De Melo (12) Weekend stat: A total of 33 goals were scored in Ligue 1 this weekend. Almost half of them (15) ended up in the back of the net at the grounds of Caen, Lyon and Rennes.

La Liga: Barça back in contention
Beaten in the Copa del Rey semi-finals by Valencia in midweek, Barcelona found something to smile about again after overcoming Valladolid 4-1 at the Camp Nou on Sunday. Promising youngster Bojan helped himself to a brace as the Catalans re-ignited the title race by closing to within four points of leaders Real.

That was made possible by Madrid's surprise defeat on home soil, where Valencia picked up their second significant scalp of the week following their Cup success. Ronald Koeman's men sealed their 3-2 victory in the dying minutes to continue their recovery, and once again their key man was David Villa, with the Spanish international grabbing two goals.

Unbeaten since 27 January, Villarreal continued their surge up the standings by collecting maximum points in a 2-1 win at basement club Levante. A day earlier, Atletico consolidated their hold on fourth place by beating Sevilla 2-1 in Andalusia.

Murcia remain in the drop zone, meanwhile, despite getting the better of Espanyol. Real Betis moved a little clearer of danger by winning 1-0 at Osasuna.

Top three: Real Madrid (62 points), FC Barcelona (58), Villarreal (56)
Bottom three: Recreativo Huelva (32 points), Real Murcia (26), Levante (19) Top scorers: Luis Fabiano (22 goals), Raul, Diego Milito, Daniel Guiza (15) Weekend stat: Villarreal have experienced no defeats since 27 January. The Yellow Submarine's excellent form has put them hot on the heels of Barcelona in second, and just six points behind Real.

Serie A: Inter give Roma hope
Juventus breathed fresh life into the Italian title equation on Saturday by triumphing 2-1 at Inter, a result that allowed Roma to close the gap at the summit to four points courtesy of their own 2-1 win over Empoli. Defending champions Inter enjoyed a comfortable 11-point cushion a little over a month ago, but with eight games left to play they cannot afford to let their slump in form continue.

David Trezeguet did the damage against Roberto Mancini's troops, registering the second goal for a Juve side that is starting to find their feet again after a difficult spell. Christian Panucci was the hero for ten-man Roma, meanwhile, hitting the winner after Empoli had equalised and while team-mate Simone Perrota was taking an early shower.

For their part, AC Milan missed injured Brazil star Kaka during their laboured display at Torino. The European champions went into the match on the back of their humiliating home defeat by Sampdoria, but they just about mustered a 1-0 win thanks to a Pato strike.

The FIFA Club World Cup champions none the less remain in fifth spot, four points away from fourth and a coveted UEFA Champions League berth. Indeed, current incumbents Fiorentina kept their distance by securing a 1-0 victory over a Lazio side playing with ten men for more than an hour.

Top three: Inter Milan (68 points), AS Roma (64), Juventus (58)
Bottom three: Reggina (27 points), Empoli (26), Cagliari (25)
Top scorers: Marco Borriello, David Trezeguet (17 goals), Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Adrian Mutu (15)
Weekend stat: Inter enjoyed an imposing 11-point advantage over Roma after the 23rd round of matches. In the seven games since then, the Giallorossi have eaten away at that gap in their pursuit of a team that has stuttered badly since being dumped out of the UEFA Champions League.

Elsewhere
After watching second-placed FC Bruges lose a day earlier, Belgian pacesetters Standard Liege moved seven points clear with seven games remaining by sealing a 2-0 win at home to Le Mans. Michel Preud'homme's men could be forgiven for preparing the champagne already, and the big question now is whether the talented young side can survive the entire season undefeated.

Seven points is also the lead enjoyed by PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The leaders and defending champions saw off Groningen 3-0 and profited from Ajax's 2-1 reverse at FC Twente to take a giant step towards a fourth successive league crown.

The die looks to be cast in Portugal too, after a draw for Benfica and a win for FC Porto put the Dragons 16 points ahead of their nearest rivals.