By JOHN BOSCHINI
Manchester United just will not go away as they overcame a 3-0 deficit to draw away to Chelsea and keep pressure on Manchester City.
It was shaping up to be a long afternoon at Stamford Bridge as a 1-0 halftime lead for Chelsea from Jonathan Evans' own goal was quickly extended. Fernando Torres found Juan Mata in the box in the 46th minute and the Spaniard blasted home Chelsea's second and David Luiz's header made it 3-0 just three minutes later.
However, United didn't go quietly and were soon back into the game. Howard Webb awarded two penalties which left Chelsea furious but Wayne Rooney expertly converted both spot kicks and the margin was just one goal. It was largely one-way traffic from then on aside from a chance Torres should have slotted home. The equalizer, seemingly inevitable at that point, came with less than 10 minutes to go when Javier Hernandez headed past Petr Cech. David De Gea came up with one of the saves of the season in the dying minutes by robbing Mata on a curling free kick.
Inter Milan's renaissance came to an embrassing end this weekend as they were thrashed 4-0 by AS Roma. Fabio Borini's brace was bookended by goals from Juan and Bojan Krkic as Roma registered over two-thirds of time of possession. Inter Milan are nine points behind the leaders and five points off the Champions League. The return of Wesley Sneijder has not helped revitalize Inter as they've failed to win the last four games with him in the lineup.
Here is a look back at the rest of the action in Europe from over the weekend.
Arsenal still face a difficult climb into the top four but a 7-1 obliteration of 10-men Blackburn on Saturday will be a welcome morale boost. Robin van Persie netted a hat trick while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hit a brace. Mikel Arteta and returning hero Thierry Henry got the other goals. Manchester City moved two points clear of United at the top with a 3-0 win over Fulham.
SATURDAY
Arsenal 7, Blackburn Rovers 1
Norwich 2, Bolton Wanderers 0
Queens Park Rangers 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 2
Stoke City 0, Sunderland 1
West Bromwich Albion 1, Swansea City 2
Wigan 1, Everton 1
Manchester City 3, Fulham 0
SUNDAY
Newcastle United 2, Aston Villa 1
Chelsea 3, Manchester Untied 3
MONDAY
Liverpool vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 3 p.m.
SPAIN
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid squeaked out one-goal victories as the gap between the two teams remained static at seven points. Valencia, Levante, Espanyol, Athletic Bilbao and Athletico Madrid all drew as the races for third and fourth place didn't change. Villareal are on their way to safety after a win over Sevilla.
SATURDAY
Athletic Bilbao 3, Espanyol 3
Levante 1, Racing Santander 1
Mallorca 1, Real Betis 0
Getafe 0, Real Madrid 1
Barcelona 2, Real Sociedad 1
SUNDAY
Sporting Gijon 1, Osasuna 1
Sevilla FC 1, Villareal 2
Real Zaragoza 1, Rayo Vallecano 2
Atletico Madrid 0, Valencia 0
GERMANY
Borussia Dortmund took advantage of lackluster draws from Bayern Munich and Schalke to move into sole possession of first place. Sebastian Kehl and Lucas Barrios slotted home the goals for visiting Dortmund. Borussia Monchengladbach failed to move into second place thanks to a scoreless draw with Wolfsburg.
FRIDAY
Nurnberg 0, Borussia Dortmund 2
SATURDAY
Bayer Leverkusen 2, VfB Stuttgart 2
Hertha Berlin 0, Hannover 1
Schalke 1, Mainz 1
TSG Hoffenheim 2, FC Ausburg 2
VfL Wolfsburg 0, Borussia Monchengladbach 0
Hamburg 1, Bayern Munich 1
SUNDAY
SC Freiburg 2, Werder Bremen 2
Kaiserslautern 0, FC Cologne 1
ITALY
Juventus are still the only unbeaten team in a top European league but the multitude of draws is making it difficult for the leaders to pull away. A scoreless draw with Siena marked Juve's ninth draw of the season. AC Milan failed to capitalize and remain one point back after a draw with Napoli.
SUNDAY
Genoa 3, Lazio 2
AC Milan 0, Napoli 0
AS Roma 4, Inter Milan 0
Chievo Verona 1, Parma 2
Fiorentina 3, Udinese 2
Juventus 0, Siena 0
Lecce 0, Bologna 0
Novara 0, Cagliari 0
Palermo 2, Atalanta 1
FRANCE
Paris St. Germain and Montpellier continued their stroll through the rest of Ligue 1 with comfortable wins over the weekend. PSG is on a seven-game unbeaten run while Montpellier is on a three-game winning streak. Marseille conceded a two goal lead to draw with Lyon.
SATURDAY
AC Ajaccio 1, Nice 1
AS Nancy Lorraine 0, Stade Rennes 0
Dijon FCO 1, Valenciennes 2
Montpellier 1, Brest 0
Paris St. Germain 3, Evian Thonon Gaillard 1
Bordeaux 2, Toulouse 0
SUNDAY
Caen vs. AJ Auxerre, postponed
Sochaux vs. Lille, postponed
Marseille 2, Lyon 2
NETHERLANDS
A bout of postponements temporarily skewed the title race in the Eredivisie. PSV Eindhoven only managed a draw against SC Heracles Almelo, leaving the door open for FC Twente only three points behind with a game in hand. Ajax lost, 2-0, to relegation-threatened FC Utrecht and tumbled to sixth place.
FRIDAY
Heerenveen 4, Roda JC Kerkrade 3
SATURDAY
ADO Den Haag vs. AZ Alkmaar, postponed
Excelsior 3, VVV Venlo 1
Vitesse Arnhem 1, NAC Breda 0
SUNDAY
Ajax 0, FC Utrecht 2
De Graafschap vs. FC Twente, postponed
NEC Nijmegen 0, Feyenoord Rotterdam 2
SC Heracles Almelo 1, PSV Eindhoven 1
FC Groningen 0, RKC Waalwijk 3
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What do you think of this weekend's games? Was Chelsea vs. Manchester United one of the games of the season? Surprised by Roma's victory? Think Juventus string some wins together?
Share your thoughts below.
