Weekend round-up: Bayern punish depleted Dortmund

FC Bayern München continued to ensure their domestic campaign does not mirror their UEFA Champions League one as they ended 1. Bundesliga title-holders BV Borussia Dortmund's unbeaten record on Saturday to move five points clear in Germany.

Nine-man Dortmund
Bayern went behind to Jan Koller's strike on seven minutes, but Dortmund's joy soon ended when Torsten Frings was dismissed just before the break. Roque Santa Cruz equalised after the hour mark, and Claudio Pizarro put Bayern ahead on 65 minutes with Dortmund goalkeeper Jens Lehmann then sent off for disputing the goal and Koller taking his place between the posts. VfB Stuttgart moved third as Ioan Ganea scored a hat-trick to beat VfL Bochum 1848 3-2.

Arsenal narrow gap
Liverpool FC's run without an English Premiership loss ended at Middlesbrough FC, Gareth Southgate scoring the only goal. Arsenal FC reduced Liverpool's lead to one point by beating fellow Champions League contenders Newcastle United FC 1-0, while Manchester City FC overcame Manchester United FC 3-1 to win the last league derby at Maine Road ahead of City's move to a new stadium at the end of the season.

Defeat for Inter
Internazionale FC remain top of Italy's Serie A but are also no longer unbeaten after Udinese Calcio secured a 2-1 win after coming from behind at the San Siro with goals from Martin Jørgensen and Roberto Muzzi. Unbeaten Juventus FC are now second after a 2-1 victory against AC Milan on Sunday, who held on to third as S.S. Lazio were held 0-0 by Parma AC.

Record for Skonto
FC Skonto became the first team in European football to win their domestic title 12 years running following a thrilling finish to the Latvian season. While Skonto, champions every year since independence, were beating FHK Liepajas Metalurgs 3-1, FK Ventspils, who needed victory to force a play-off for the title, were held 1-1 at FC Dinaburg.

Real stay clear
Spanish Primera División leaders Real Sociedad could only manage a 1-1 Saturday draw at home to RC Deportivo La Coruña, but retained their three-point lead as second-placed Valencia CF were themselves held by Real Betis Balompié. RCD Mallorca, who began their season with three straight defeats, won a club-record sixth league match in a row to move into third on Sunday, beating Deportivo Alavés 3-1.

Nice on top
OGC Nice are back on top of France's Ligue 1, thanks to a 1-0 victory over AS Monaco FC on Friday night. Olympique Lyonnais had secured a 2-1 victory against Le Havre AC the previous evening to briefly take the lead, and Paris Saint-Germain FC were held 1-1 by FC Sochaux-Montbéliard on Saturday to miss their chance to overhaul Nice.

Göteborg survive
Two-times UEFA Cup winners IFK Göteborg ensured a 27th consecutive season in Sweden's top flight after winning their promotion/relegation play-off second leg against local rivals Västra Frölunda IF 2-0 to stay up with a 3-1 aggregate victory. Göteborg, Swedish champions five times in the 1990s, had avoided automatic relegation by a single point, and Jonas Henriksson's two goals in the final minutes of the first half ensured they retained their status.

Spartak run ends
FC Spartak Moskva's six-year reign as Russian champions ended as a 2-1 defeat at PFC CSKA Moskva condemned them to third place. CSKA are level on points with FC Lokomtiv Moskva - chasing their first-ever title - with the final round of matches played next Sunday.