PREMIER LEAGUE (HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HEADLINES)
Reds reach 49 ahead of Qatar fixture crush. Pukki puts an end to Jamie and the Foxes’ run. De Bruyne batters gutless Gunners as Arteta weighs up bench switch. Chelsea’s league blues continue. Spurs within three of top four after Traore yellow card bonanza. Ferguson not Kean on his young Italian striker. Fleck fires United seventh. Wilf wallops wonderstrike for Palace point. Bruce bettered at Burnley. Manuel remains as Southampton stumble.

LA LIGA WEEK 17 HIGHLIGHTS
With El Clasico looming on Thursday, both Barca and Real dropped points at the Anoeta and Mestalla. Madrid looked to be leaving Valencia with nothing before a stoppage time equaliser from Benzema salvaged a point. Sevilla failed to take advantage and fell further behind after a home loss to Villarreal. The same could not be said for Getafe and Atletico, who claimed home wins over Valladolid and Osasuna, with Getafe now occupying the final Champions League berth. At the bottom, Espanyol and Leganes both garnered a point, as did Celta and Mallorca, who shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw at Balaidos. Elsewhere, Levante snatched all three points at the death at Los Carmenes, while Athletic and Eibar’s Basque derby finished goalless.
  
SERIE A WEEK 16 HIGHLIGHTS
This week it was the league with its foot in its mouth, displaying a breathtaking lack of judgement by issuing tone-deaf “anti-racist” monkey posters. On the pitch, Inter slipped up at the Artemio Franchi as Vlahovic fired in a last-gasp equaliser for struggling Fiorentina. This allowed Juve to move level on points after a routine win over their fellow Bianconeri. It was Cagliari and not their opponents who were on the receiving end of late goals as Lazio won in Sardinia, despite being behind three minutes into injury time. This allowed their city rivals into the top four as Roma saw off bottom side SPAL. Atalanta’s indifferent form continued in a defeat in Bologna, while a change of boss did nothing for Napoli as Gattuso got off to a losing start at home to Parma, who move ahead of them in the table. Samp moved out of the bottom three thanks to victory in the Derby della Laterna that puts Genoa down to 19th. Brescia moved above them with a comfortable win over Lecce. Elsewhere, Hellas staged a remarkable three-goal comeback against Il Toro, while Milan vs Sassuolo ended in a bore draw.

BUNDESLIGA WEEK 15 HIGHLIGHTS
The Red Bulls’ charge continued with another three goals at Fortuna that take them top of the standings. At this stage, they’re beginning to look likely champions. The Foals slipped to second after a sweet volley from Maximilian Arnold secured three points for the Wolves. Dortmund are back at the races with Sancho and Reus on fire again, both netting in a 4-0 romp in Mainz. The Royal Blues were able to keep pace in fourth as yet another Benito Raman effort downed the Eagles. Bayern took out the frustration of two consecutive league defeats with Werder the hapless victims of a Coutinho triple. Klinsmann got his first win at Hertha over visiting Freiburg, while their city rivals Union picked up a point at Paderborn in the battle of the promoted sides. Koln moved off the bottom as Bayer capitulated in the Rhine Derby, shipping two goals and collecting two red cards in the last half hour. Elsewhere, the Augsburg revival remained on course at Hoffenheim with a 4-2 away win.

LIGUE 1 WEEK 18 HIGHLIGHTS
PSG’s front three showed once again that they are far too large fish for the Ligue 1 pond, as St-Etienne were ruthlessly flicked aside at the Geoffroy-Guichard. Marseille’s improbable/impossible chase was checked at Metz, but behind them Lille have put together a run of four straight wins, this week secured thanks to a ludicrous penalty call against Montpellier. Rennes won again at the Groupama to make it four from four themselves. Nantes and Reims won at bottom two Nimes and Toulouse, with the president of les Violets offering season ticket refunds for the second half of the season to fans due to their woeful form. Dark clouds continue to gather at Bordeaux as well, with Strasbourg running out 1-0 winners amid fan protests against the owners. Elsewhere, the Unicorns finally picked up a point in a 1-1 draw against Dijon with the remaining fixtures finishing goalless.