Weekend round-up: Leaders continue to impress

Arsenal FC and AC Milan underlined their championship credentials this weekend in England and Italy, while Real Madrid CF closed in ominously on Spanish leaders Real Sociedad.

Equally impressive
Having seen Manchester United FC close the gap at the top of the Premiership to two points with a 3-1 victory at struggling West Bromwich Albion FC, Arsenal responded with a 4-0 drubbing of Birmingham City FC. Milan were equally impressive, retaining top spot in Serie A by ending Bologna FC's 100 per cent home record with a 2-0 victory.

Century of goals
French striker Thierry Henry claimed Arsenal's first and last goals to chalk up his 100th strike for the London club, with midfield player Robert Pires and defender Lauren scoring in between to defeat a Birmingham side which included FIFA World Cup winner Christophe Dugarry for the first time.

Poor pitch
Manchester United recorded only their third away win of the season at West Brom, Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooij, England midfield player Paul Scholes and Norwegian forward Ole Gunnar Solskjær the men on target. Chelsea remained third, eight points behind Arsenal, thanks to a 4-1 defeat of Charlton Athletic FC on a dreadful Stamford Bridge pitch.

Cresp injured
Meanwhile, second-half strikes from Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko and Brazilian Serginho gave Milan victory at the Renato Dall'Ara stadium, where Bologna had won their previous seven games. Milan lead the standings on goal difference from city rivals Internazionale FC who also reached 36 points with a 2-0 victory over Modena FC through goals from Alvaro Recoba and Hernán Crespo, who was later carried off on a stretcher.

In-form Juventus
S.S. Lazio are three points further back after a goalless draw at Brescia Calcio, while fourth-placed Juventus FC cruised to a 5-0 win against lowly Reggina FC with David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero among the scorers. AC Chievo Verona stayed in touch with a 1-0 victory at struggling AS Roma.

Real fightback
In Spain, leaders Real Sociedad fought back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw at third-placed Valencia CF, Darko Kovacevic and Nihat Kahveci scoring late goals after the champions had taken control through a Fábio Aurélio header and an Agustín Aranzábal own goal.

Ronaldo on target
Madrid closed to within a point of the summit thanks to Brazilian striker Ronaldo's seventh goal of the season in a 1-0 defeat of RC Celta de Vigo. Real lead the Primera División with 37 points, Madrid have 36 and Valencia are a further seven points adrift in third.

Hopefuls fail
RC Deportivo La Coruña missed the chance to move above Valencia when they were beaten 3-1 at Club Atlético de Madrid on Sunday, while Real Betis Balompié were another club to miss out on third position as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Deportivo Alavés

Changing leadership
OGC Nice returned to the top in France after recording their first Ligue 1 win in four matches by defeating Lille OSC 2-0. Goals from Abdelmalek Cherrad and Kaba Diawara saw Nice usurp Olympique Lyonnais at the summit after a first-half Péguy Luyindula header helped Paul le Guen's side to pole position at the expense of Olympique de Marseille on Friday.

Irish champions
Finally, Bohemian FC became European football's first domestic champions of 2003 on Sunday when they secured the FAI League title with a 1-0 win against second-placed Shelbourne FC. Midfield player Bobby Ryan's 90th-minute goal gave Bohemians a victory which puts them seven points clear of their Dublin rivals with just two games remaining.