Arsenal stun Manchester City, Spanish trio soar

Arsenal FC landed what may prove a telling blow in the Premier League title race with an impressive 2-0 victory at Manchester City FC that left fellow UEFA Champions League contenders Chelsea FC five points out in front. The situation remains tight in Spain, in contrast, where Real Madrid CF, FC Barcelona and Club Atlético de Madrid all won, though Madrid retain a game in hand. Elsewhere, Juventus built a five-point lead in Italy and Paris Saint-Germain returned to winning ways in Ligue 1.

• Paris fell behind at home to Évian Thonon Gaillard FC but rallied to prevail 4-2, David Luiz, Marco Verratti, Javier Pastore and Edinson Cavani hitting the vital goals.
• Chelsea stand five points clear at the Premier League summit after sweeping to a 5-0 success at Swansea City AFC, Oscar and Diego Costa both scoring twice.
Paris v Chelsea: 17 February & 11 March 

• FC Shakhtar Donetsk recorded a goalless draw with CR Flamengo on Sunday ahead of further friendlies against CA Mineiro, SC Internacional and Cruzeiro EC.
• FC Bayern München flew home from their nine-day training camp in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to continue preparations for their return to action against VfL Wolfsburg on 30 January. 
Shakhtar v Bayern: 17 February & 11 March

• FC Schalke 04 have commenced training on home soil after returning from a winter camp in Doha, with their Bundesliga campaign set to resume against Hannover 96 on 31 January.
• Liga pacesetters Real Madrid made light work of Getafe CF as Cristiano Ronaldo helped himself to a double in a 3-0 success, Gareth Bale grabbing the other goal.
Schalke v Real Madrid: 18 February & 10 March

• FC Basel 1893 sealed a 2-1 win against German side Fortuna Düsseldorf in Marbella on Friday and will tackle FC Dynamo Kyiv in their next winter friendly on Tuesday.
• Hector Herrera, Jackson Martínez and Óliver Torres were on target as FC Porto downed FC Penafiel 3-1 in Portugal, where they sit six points behind arch-rivals SL Benfica.
Basel v Porto: 18 February & 10 March

• Manchester City's hopes of retaining their Premier League crown took a dent as they slumped to a 2-0 home loss to fellow last-16 hopefuls Arsenal.
• Barcelona maintained pressure on Madrid as Lionel Messi plundered a hat-trick in a 4-0 defeat of RC Deportivo La Coruña that kept his side a point off the summit, having played one game more.
Manchester City v Barcelona: 24 February & 18 March

• Juventus soared five points clear at the top of Serie A courtesy of a comfortable 4-0 win against Hellas Verona FC, Carlos Tévez mustering a pair of goals.
• Borussia Dortmund returned from La Manga on Sunday, having spent a week in Spain preparing for their 31 January return against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.  
Juventus v Dortmund: 24 February & 18 March

Raúl García was on target for Atlético©AFP/Getty Images

• Leverkusen lost 2-1 after taking the lead against friendly opponents SC Corinthians Paulista, allowing Bundesliga rivals 1. FC Köln to win the Florida Cup.
• Club Atlético de Madrid bounced back from last weekend's loss to Barcelona by dispatching bottom side Granada CF 2-0 and strengthening their hold on third spot in Spain.
Leverkusen v Atlético: 25 February & 17 March

• So often beaten in big away games in recent years, Arsenal clinched an eye-catching 2-0 victory at Manchester City via goals from Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud.
• AS Monaco FC edged Nantes FC 1-0 to keep themselves within nine points of Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyonnais, Bernardo Silva notching the winner.
Arsenal v Monaco: 25 February & 17 March