A summary of Saturday's action in the Serie A, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga
Inter Milan extend lead atop Serie A with comeback win over Monza
Inter Milan were given a real scare by bottom club Monza before coming back to win 3-2 at the San Siro on Saturday, where an own goal allowed the hosts to extend their lead at the top of the Serie A standings.
Inter move to 61 points, four ahead of Napoli who host Fiorentina on Sunday, while Monza remain rooted to the bottom of the table on 14 points, 10 from safety.
Monza had the first strike on goal when Keita Balde let fly from distance, his shot bouncing just wide of the target, but he would later find the net to celebrate his 30th birthday.
Inter preferred a more measured approach early on but began to turn the screw and Monza needed keeper Stefano Turati, and VAR, to keep Inter goalless.
Turati pulled off a fine save from Marko Arnautovic's header and then showed great reflexes to deny a Lautaro Martinez headed effort and although the forward netted the rebound, it was ruled out for handball.
Monza, with just two league wins all season, stunned the home crowd in the 32nd minute when a clever one-two with Dany Mota sent Samuele Birindelli through on goal and he coolly picked his spot.
Inter continued to press forward but Monza scored again after Mota passed to Balde who cut inside and curled a beautiful strike from the edge of the area into the far top corner.
That goal came one minute from the break but Monza were unable to retain their two-goal cushion until the interval.
In added time, Henrikh Mkhitaryan floated the ball into the box and Denzel Dumfries headed across into the six-yard box for Arnautovic to send a diving header past Turati.
Inter swarmed forward after the break and they drew level in the 64th minute when a headed clearance fell to Yann Bisseck who tapped the ball to Hakan Calhanoglu and he drove a powerful shot into the bottom corner.
Monza hung on for a draw and Turati looked like he had pulled off another wonder save but the ball had crossed the line when Giorgos Kyriakopoulos inadvertently chested down in the six-yard box when under pressure from Martinez, putting Inter 3-2 ahead in the 77th minute.
Inter should really have added more goals but Marcus Thuram hit the upright when he just needed to tap in from close range and Turati made a diving save to deny Calhanoglu a second goal.
It was cruel on Monza, who seem doomed to relegation, but despite the best efforts of Turati, Inter showed why they are champions by finding a way to take the three points.
AC Milan fight back from two goals down to beat Lecce
Meanwhile, AC Milan came from two goals down to win 3-2 at lowly Lecce in Serie A, with midfielder Christian Pulisic levelling for the visitors from the penalty spot before netting the winner late in the second half.
Milan had two goals ruled out for offside inside 15 minutes, with Nikola Krstovic scoring for the hosts in between with a stunning shot from a distance for a 1-0 lead at half-time.
The Montenegro striker doubled Lecce's lead before the hour mark but the home side then scored an own goal through defender Antonino Gallo before Pulisic pulled Milan level from the spot and sealed the win from close range shortly afterwards.
Milan, who arrived at Lecce on the back of three consecutive league defeats, moved up to eighth on 44 points after 28 games.
They are eight points off fourth-placed Juventus, who host Atalanta, in third, on Sunday.
Lecce, Serie A's lowest scorers with 20 goals, sit 16th, three points above the relegation zone.
With the pitch still covered by smoke after the fans welcomed the teams with flares, Milan thought they had taken the lead 47 seconds from the opening whistle when Santiago Gimenez struck with his first touch from a Theo Hernandez pass.
The goal was chalked off for off-side but the early scare did not intimidate the home side, who took a shock lead in the seventh minute with a beautiful Krstovic strike inside the right post.
Milan saw another goal ruled out for offside when Matteo Gabbia netted from close range after a Theo Hernandez free kick.
Lecce, who last scored on home soil in late December, could have increased the advantage when Krstovic hit the post after 21 minutes before Santiago Pierotti misfired two minutes later.
Krstovic finally doubled the lead after the restart, scoring with a first touch into the bottom left corner.
The hosts' good fortunes started to decline when they scored an own goal in the 68th minute.
Halftime substitute Rafael Leao squared a lovely pass to Joao Felix from the left and the Portuguese forward struck from close range first time, before the ball ricocheted off Gallo and sailed into the net.
Milan were then awarded a penalty for a foul on Pulisic, which the United States international converted confidently in the 73rd minute to equalise.
Clearly fired up, he put Milan in front from point-blank range from another great cross by Leao nine minutes from full-time.
Lecce have won only one home game against Milan in Serie A, in April 2006.
PSG increase lead at the top of Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
Leaders Paris St Germain continued their domination of Ligue 1 with a 4-1 win away to Stade Rennais on Saturday, with substitute Ousmane Dembele scoring twice in added time as the visitors earned their sixth successive league victory.
PSG, unbeaten in the league this season, move to 65 points, 16 ahead of Olympique de Marseille who play Lens later on Saturday, while Rennes remain 11th in the standings on 29 points.
Luis Enrique made eight changes to the side which lost 1-0 to Liverpool midweek in their Champions League last 16 first leg tie, but the visitors completely dominated proceedings in the opening stages.
Despite all their possession, PSG failed to create any decent openings until Rennes keeper Brice Samba denied Goncalo Ramos but shortly afterwards Bradley Barcola put them ahead in the 27th minute.
After a quick free kick taken on the halfway line, Desire Doue rolled the ball forward into the path of Barcola who beat the offside trap and coolly slipped his shot past Samba.
The goal forced Rennes out of their shell, with Ludovic Blas putting a shot just wide of the post from a narrow angle and five minutes from the break Mohamed Meite rocked the crossbar with a header.
PSG were immediately on the front foot after the interval and doubled their lead five minutes into the second half when Barcola crossed from the left and Ramos was there to guide the ball to the net from close range.
Rennes pulled one back just three minutes later from a corner, with Jeremy Jacquet flicking the ball on towards the back post where Lilian Brassier headed in and Rennes suddenly looked the better side.
Luis Enrique responded, sending on four of his big guns from the bench, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele, Vitinha and Nuno Mendes charged with securing the win
Despite the changes, Rennes continued to have the upper hand, and Blas had an excellent chance to equalise after a one-two with Meite but fired his shot straight at the keeper.
Rennes hard work was all in vain, as first Dembele tapped in a pass from Achraf Hakimi and the forward then netted his 20th league goal of the season with a strike from the edge of the area to put a gloss on the scoreline.
Leverkusen suffer shock home loss to Werder Bremen
Bayer Leverkusen suffered a shock 2-0 home loss to Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday to miss their chance to close in on leaders Bayern Munich.
The reigning champions, who lost 3-0 to Bayern Munich in their Champions League Round of 16 first leg on Wednesday, are on 53 points, with Bayern staying top on 61 despite their stunning 3-2 loss at home to VfL Bochum.
"For us it was a bad game. Really bad day," Xabi Alonso, told a press conference.
"After the loss in Munich we wanted to be a bit fresher but it did not work. We will forget this game now and start believing again.
"We did not have control, we played without logic. We did not attack the last third well. It was too hectic and the chances were not clear chances," Alonso said
Visitors Werder, who had lost their previous five matches, took a surprise seventh-minute lead with Romano Schmid slotting in at the far post after a Leverkusen defensive error.
Aleix Garcia came agonisingly close to an equaliser for the hosts but his first-half stoppage time free kick bounced off the crossbar.
To make matters worse for Xabi Alonso's team, who host Bayern in the return leg on Tuesday, attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz suffered an ankle injury in the 54th minute and the Germany international had to be substituted.
Alonso said Wirtz had been taken to hospital for a scan and there was no information yet on the extent of his injury or if he would be fit for Tuesday's game against Bayern.
"It is too early to say," Alonso said. "We have to see what the feeling is, what the result of the scan is and then we will have the information."
Despite some late pressure but only a handful of chances, Leverkusen could not find the equaliser and it was Werder, in 12th place on 33 points, who scored again, in stoppage time with Justin Njinmah.
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