Following is a round-up of weekend action in the main European leagues.
ENGLAND
Chelsea's Stamford Bridge fortress was finally breached when mid-table Charlton Athletic held the leaders to a 1-1 draw in Sunday's London derby.
Marcus Bent's debut equaliser for Charlton to cancel out Eidur Gudjohnsen's early effort, meant the champions dropped their first home points of the season.
Manchester United closed the gap to a distant 14 points when Rio Ferdinand's dramatic late winner gave them a 1-0 victory over third-placed Liverpool at Old Trafford.
Chelsea have 62 points from 23 games, United have 48 and Liverpool have 44, although they have played two games less.
Tottenham Hotspur remain fourth (41 points) despite being held 0-0 at home by Aston Villa while their north London rivals Arsenal are fifth after losing 1-0 at Everton.
SPAIN
Barcelona were not at their best against lowly Alaves but still won 2-0 despite Ronaldinho's missed penalty.
The Catalans are 10 points clear and have won their last 18 matches in all competitions. Sweden striker Henrik Larsson and Argentine teenager Lionel Messi were on target at the Nou Camp.
Valencia moved into second place after a 2-0 win at struggling Real Betis, striker David Villa taking his total for the season to 13 with a classy double.
Osasuna slipped to third after a 2-1 defeat at Villarreal, Juan Roman Riquelme scoring the home side's goals with two controversial penalties.
Champions Barca lead the standings with 49 points from 20 games, 10 ahead of Valencia and Osasuna.
Real Madrid are three points further back with 36 after claiming their second league win in a row with a 3-1 comeback victory over Cadiz at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
ITALY
There was no change at the top in Serie A with the leading four teams all winning.
Defender Fabio Cannavaro scored twice for Juventus who came from behind to beat Empoli 2-1 and maintain an eight-point cushion over their title rivals with 56 points from 21 matches.
Inter Milan are second on 48 points after beating Palermo 3-0. AC Milan consolidated third place with 46 points thanks to a 3-0 victory at Siena, Brazilian Kaka scoring twice.
The division's top scorer Luca Toni also got a brace to lead Fiorentina to a 2-0 win over visiting Messina, giving them 43 points in fourth place.
FRANCE
AJ Auxerre came from behind to hold runaway leaders Olympique Lyon to a 1-1 draw at the Stade Gerland on Sunday.
Midfielder Mahamadou Diarra opened the scoring a minute before the break but substitute Peguy Luyindula equalised for the Burgundy side in injury time to deny Lyon a 17th win.
The champions, who are chasing a record fifth successive title, had their lead cut by two points to 12 over Girondins Bordeaux who ground out a 2-1 home win over Racing Strasbourg.
Auxerre stay third with 39 points ahead of Lille on 37 after their goalless draw at Toulouse.
NETHERLANDS
Feyenoord's title ambitions suffered a setback after they were held to a frustrating 0-0 home draw by Roda JC Kerkrade.
After 20 matches PSV Eindhoven, 2-0 winners against visitors RKC Waalwijk on Friday, are top with 48 points, three above Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar, who were held 1-1 at home by Groningen.
Ajax Amsterdam moved up to fourth with 34 points after goals in the last two minutes by Hedwiges Maduro and Urby Emanuelson turned the tide at Twente Enschede to book a 3-2 win.