The top two in the Primera Liga stuttered as Real Betis’ game with Athletic Bilbao was marred by an ugly incident, while Internazionale dealt with the pressure to regain their six-point lead at the summit in Serie A.

Celtic’s game against Motherwell was postponed, were stunned in the Bundesliga, Ajax closed the gap on leaders PSV, while Lyon continued their pursuit of seventh Ligue 1 title.

Primera Liga

Barcelona failed to fully capitalise on Real Madrid’s surprise defeat as they could only draw against Almeria on Sunday. Real Madrid faltered in Saturday’s encounter at Deportivo La Coruna, slumping to a 1-0 loss - their fourth defeat in seven league games - with defender Pepe putting into his own net. Barca, meanwhile, looked set to narrow the gap at the summit to five points, but Kalu Uche’s 86th minute strike saw Almeria claim a 2-2 draw at Estadio del Mediterraneo. Elsewhere, Real Betis’ game with Athletic Bilbao was abandoned after 72 minutes when Bilbao keeper Armando was struck by a bottle, Villarreal moved to within two points of second place Barca and the pressure continued to mount on Valencia coach Ronald Koeman.

Serie A

Roma - Manchester United’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final opponents - kept up their chase of leaders Inter, but Roberto Mancini’s side remain six points clear at the top of the table. Luciano Spalletti’s Roma moved to within three points of Inter as they claimed a 2-1 triumph over Milan at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday. But the reigning champions responded in exemplary fashion 24 hours later, with Luis Jimenez striking the winner to secure a 2-1 success against Palermo. Elsewhere, Juventus downed Napoli, Empoli slipped to their fourth consecutive defeat and bottom side Cagliari tasted their sixth league win of the season.

SPL

Celtic were denied the opportunity to go level on points with leaders Rangers as yet another fixture at Fir Park was postponed. Hibernian rose to third in the table with Steven Fletcher and Filipe Morais both on target in the 2-0 triumph over Kilmarnock. Elsewhere, Gretna’s miserable season continued as they slumped to a 3-0 loss, Falkirk picked up three points while St Mirren and Hearts played out a 1-1 stalemate.

Bundesliga

League leaders Bayern Munich suffered a shock defeat as Hamburg reduced the deficit between them and Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side to five points. Energie Cottbus inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Bayern - their first loss in 11 games - at Stadion der Freundschaft, with Branko Jelic grabbing a first-half brace. Hamburg took full advantage of Bayern’s slip-up as Jose Guerrero Gonzales scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win at home to Borussia Dortmund. Elsewhere, Werder Bremen dropped to fourth in the table and Bayer Leverkusen climbed to third with their 4-1 win against Nurnberg, who are now without success in nine league attempts.

Eredivisie

Ajax continued their impressive form to capitalise on PSV Eindhoven’s stalemate at Roda JC. Adrie Koster’s Ajax recorded their fourth consecutive Eredivisie triumph to close the gap between them and leaders PSV to four points as they swept aside Willem II with a 4-1 win. PSV were denied three points in their clash against Roda JC as Marcel Meeuwis struck a late-gasp equaliser for Raymond Atteveld’s men. Elsewhere, Feyenoord downed lowly VVV Venlo, De Graafschap remain without a win in eight games and Heerenveen left it late at Groningen in Friday’s evening fixture.

Ligue 1

Lyon continued their march towards a seventh Ligue 1 title as Alain Perrin’s men recorded a 3-0 win over Monaco at Stade Louis II. However, second-placed Bordeaux refuse to give up hope of catching leaders Lyon as they claimed a convincing 3-0 success against Strasbourg on Sunday to remain five points from the summit. Elsewhere, Caen’s dismal form continued, Lens and Marseille played out a six-goal thriller and Paris St Germain sit outside the drop zone on goal difference after their draw with Valenciennes.

Best of the rest

In Turkey, Chelsea’s quarter-final Champions League opponents Fenerbahce ran out 4-1 victors over Konyaspor, with former Blues striker Mateja Kezman striking a brace. In Greece, Olympiakos leapfrogged Panathinaikos at the summit of the table and, in Portugal, Porto extended their advantage at the top to an incredible 16 points.