Gonzalo Higuain burst into life by scoring a hat-trick in the final half hour, his first league goals of the season, to help Rafael Benitez's erratic Napoli thrash Verona 6-2 in Serie A on Sunday.
Juventus defeated second-placed Lazio 2-0 at home on Saturday to take another huge step towards their fourth straight Serie A title and boost their confidence for Wednesday's crunch Champions League clash in Monaco.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Later on Monday, Lukaku's brace helped Inter to a win over Napoli, taking them atop the standings on goal difference from Juventus.
A goal from Brazilian Maicosuel gave Udinese a surprise 1-0 Italian Cup win over Inter Milan on Thursday while AS Roma also reached the quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Sampdoria.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Major world record deals are here.
The 28-year-old Argentine has scored seven goals from direct free-kicks in this year's La Liga, the latest in Sunday's 5-0 triumph over Espanyol.
Paris St Germain extended their Ligue 1 lead to 13 points with a 4-3 home victory against Girondins de Bordeaux on Sunday but the French champions were again exposed at the back and had Neymar sent off. A Marquinhos double, Edinson Cavani's 200th PSG goal and a goal by Kylian Mbappe put the capital side on 65 points from 26 games but they lost captain Thiago Silva to a muscle injury and Neymar picked up a straight red card for a late challenge in stoppage time.
Irrepressible AS Roma captain Francesco Totti scored twice to haul the Serie A title challengers back from two goals behind against arch-rivals Lazio and earn them a 2-2 draw in a pulsating derby on Sunday.
China can challenge for World Cup glory by 2026 , says Eriksson.
AS Roma's lingering hopes of catching Serie A leaders Juventus were virtually extinguished after two stunning Pepe Reina saves kept them at bay and Jose Callejon's late goal handed third-placed Napoli a 1-0 home win on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Romelu Lukakuare still five points off the Champions League places after Antonio Candreva's equaliser rescued a solitary point in a 2-2 draw at Torino in a thrilling Serie A clash on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring as Juventus beat visiting Bologna 2-1 on Saturday to move four points clear at the top of the Serie A table. Ronaldo struck from close range after 19 minutes, but Danilo levelled for the visitors soon afterwards.
Three own goals were scored as Napoli's spectacularly inconsistent season continued with a 4-2 defeat at Empoli on Thursday.
Napoli suffered their first defeat of the season on Sunday when they lost 1-0 at lowly Atalanta while Serie A leaders Juventus surged on with a 3-0 win at Empoli, helped by a Gonzalo Higuain brace.
"Over the past weeks, Johan Cruyff has been undergoing medical examinations at a hospital in Barcelona. During these examinations, lung cancer has been uncovered. The examinations are still ongoing," the statement said.
International Ski Federation (FIS) president Gian-Franco Kasper has warned FIFA against holding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at the same time as the Winter Olympic Games.
Genoa blew away Serie A leaders Juventus on Sunday, scoring three times in an astonishing first half hour on the way to a pulsating 3-1 win.
Ronaldo's replacement Dybala scored in the 77th minute with a goal the Portuguese would have been proud of. After a quick exchange of passes, the Argentine twisted past Alessio Romagnoli and beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a right foot shot.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Inter Milan gave Roberto Mancini his first Serie A victory since returning as coach a month ago when they won 2-0 in soggy conditions at Chievo on Monday.
A summary of results from matches played in the Italian Serie A and Ligue 1
Juventus moved nine points clear at the top of Serie A after defeating Palermo 4-0 at home on Sunday and Francesco Totti bagged a dramatic late equaliser as AS Roma drew 3-3 at Atalanta.
Gonzalo Higuain scored his 30th league goal of the season but was later sent off and had to be restrained by his team mates as Napoli lost 3-1 at Udinese on Sunday, severely denting their Serie A title hopes.
Napoli's Manolo Gabbiadini netted a precious second-half equaliser to earn a 1-1 away draw at Lazio in the first leg of their Italian Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Debutant Stephan El Shaarawy scored with a crafty backheeled volley to give AS Roma a 3-1 win over Frosinone in Serie A on Saturday, their first under coach Luciano Spalletti.
AC Milan's winning streak ended as they were held 0-0 at home by Atalanta in Serie A on Saturday while Bologna beat struggling Hellas Verona 2-0 away to move out of the relegation zone.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of Saturday night's matches in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Edin Dzeko scored twice to set up a 3-1 win for AS Roma away to Napoli in the battle for second place in Serie A on Saturday and Paulo Dybala also notched up a brace for leaders Juventus in their 2-1 win over Udinese.
Atletico Madrid suffered a first defeat in 13 games in all competitions as they lost 1-0 at home to Villarreal on Tuesday after a late strike from substitute Roberto Soriano.
Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson once said he would not sell Real Madrid "a virus" let alone Cristiano Ronaldo but, as even he found out, when the Spanish giants come knocking they usually get what they want.
Andrea Pirlo and Miralem Pjanic provided the moments of magic to inspire leading Serie A duo Juventus and AS Roma to battling victories on Sunday with the gap between the sides remaining at three points.
Here is the round-up of all the football action across Europe on the weekend
Real Madrid produced a gutsy performance to earn a 1-0 win at Sevilla, on Sunday, which took them level on points at the top of La Liga
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
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