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
A summary of sports events and sports persons who made news on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Inter Milan's lead at the top of Serie A was cut when they lost 2-1 at home to Lazio on Sunday while AS Roma beat Genoa 2-0 to record their first win in eight games and ease the pressure on under-fire coach Rudi Garcia.
Manchester United have signed Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero on a three-year deal, the club said on Sunday.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
Juventus reached the halfway point of the Serie A season with a commanding five-point lead over Roma after thrashing Verona for the second time in four days on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Defender Miguel Britos was sent off for head-butting an opponent as Napoli lost 3-1 at champions Juventus on Saturday, all but ending their hopes of Champions League football next season.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Inter Milan's Ivan Perisic scored with almost the last kick of the game to snatch a 2-2 draw against AC Milan in Serie A under new coach Stefano Pioli after their neighbours twice led through Suso in Sunday's derby. Perisic turned the ball in at the far post to spare the blushes of his captain Mauro Icardi who had missed two simple chances which could have changed the course of the game. Antonio Candreva also scored a spectacular goal for Inter who made an encouraging start after Pioli was appointed last week with Frank de Boer having been fired after 85 days.
Giuseppe Rossi continued his remarkable comeback with a 15-minute hat-trick as Fiorentina recovered from two goals down to defeat previously unbeaten title-holders Juventus 4-2 in Serie A on Sunday.
Juventus striker Carlos Tevez scored a magnificent first-half goal, and later missed a penalty, as the runaway Serie A leaders won 1-0 at home to mid-table Genoa on Sunday.
Johan Cruyff, the legendary Dutch soccer striker and coach, died aged 68, according to a message posted on his website.
A bizarre own goal briefly gave Serie A leaders Juventus the jitters, triggering memories of last week's dramatic collapse at Verona, before they recovered to beat lowly Chievo 3-1 on Sunday.
Photos from matches played in the French Ligue 1 and Serie A matches played on Saturday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Lionel Messi fittingly sealed Barcelona's 26th La Liga title on Saturday by coming off the bench to score the goal in a 1-0 win over Levante in front of a jubilant Nou Camp crowd, who celebrated a remarkable eighth league crown in 11 years.
Inter Milan earned a 2-0 victory over Livorno thanks to a howler from visiting goalkeeper Francesco Bardi, who is on loan from the San Siro club, and a late Yuto Nagatomo strike in Serie A on Saturday.
Carlos Tevez has been included in the squad for the first time in three years for next month's friendlies in England against Croatia and Portugal.
Paulo Dybala came off the bench to give unbeaten Serie A leaders Juventus a 1-0 win away to a brave Bologna side who had the better of the match and hit the post in stoppage time on Sunday.
AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri has hit back at claims from the mayor of Verona that Mario Balotelli is a troublemaker, saying the problem of racism lies with supporters not the Italy attacker.
Lionel Messi dragged Barcelona back from two goals down by scoring twice to snatch a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia in a thrilling encounter.
A summary of the results of the major European football league matches on the weekend.
Juventus will end 2013 five points clear at the top of Serie A after a 4-1 victory at Atalanta stretched their winning league run to nine games on Sunday.
A summary of the results of the football matches played across Europe on Sunday
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen is a rare talent comparable to the late Ayrton Senna, according to Red Bull's Formula One consultant Helmut Marko.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
AC Milan clung on to beat Parma 5-4 away in Serie A on Sunday despite an dreadful defensive display which included Mattia De Sciglio scoring an extraordinary own goal from near the halfway line late in the match.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
AC Milan surged into third place in Serie A with a 3-1 win at Chievo Verona on Sunday but their great city rivals Inter Milan were left in turmoil as their captain Mauro Icardi again came under fire from his own fans in the 2-1 defeat by Cagliari.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez double act struck again on Sunday with both players scoring to give Juventus a 2-0 win at AC Milan which strengthened their grip on Serie A.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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