Bayern all but secure Bundesliga title, Barcelona heroes in surprise defeat and Monaco remain in title charge

FA Cup weekend gave many Premier League sides a much-needed rest, but the European leagues carried on as normal, with some intriguing results at both ends of the Italian, German, Spanish and French top-tiers.

Bayern all-but secured a fifth successive Bundesliga title as they picked up another three points, with Frankfurt the latest victims in a 3-0 involving a Lewandowski brace. RB Leipzig meanwhile ended any hopes of a surprise title as they lost at home to Wolfsburg, while Dortmund similarly dented hopes of a second-place finish as they lost at Hertha Berlin. The goal scoring charts are essentially all that is left to play for, with Aubameyang top on 22, closely followed by Lewandowski and Modeste on 21 and 18 respectively.

Monaco once again made their title intentions clear with another win, where 18-year-old Kylian Mbappe Lottin once again found the back of the net. Nice slipped up with a home draw to Caen in which Balotelli was once again on the score sheet; however PSG took second spot with their win at Lorient. Lyon meanwhile made fourth place theirs by thumping Toulouse 4-0, in a game where Memphis Depay scored two and assisted another, with his second coming from the half-way line. Marseille kept up a top four fight in a match where on-loan Newcastle attacker Florian Thauvin bagged a brace, and former Newcastle man Remy Cabella grabbing the other, with Dimitri Payet adding another two assists.

Deportivo unquestionably produced the biggest shock of the weekend, beating Champions League heroes Barcelona 2-1. Suarez scored for the visitors, while on-loan Stoke forward Joselu netted the home side’s first. Real Madrid meanwhile required yet another Sergio Ramos match winner, as Ronaldo scored his side’s first as they came from behind to beat Real Betis 2-1. Antoine Griezmann once again pulled his side out of a rut with an 84th minute match winning goal at 18th place Granada, keeping them under the close eye of Sevilla in third, who dropped points in a 1-1 home draw with Leganes.

Juventus required a 97th minute Dybala penalty to overcome AC Milan 2-1, while Roma did their best to keep up with a 3-0 win at Palermo. Dzeko bagged himself another, while Mertens also kept up his impressive goal scoring season by helping Napoli beat Crotone by the same score line. Inter however stole the headlines in the game of the weekend, with Mauro Icardi netting an incredible nine minute hat-trick, while his team-mate Ever Banega also found the net three times. The game finished 7- 1 to the home side, beating Atalanta just two places behind them in sixth.