Suarez scores again in Barcelona victory, Man United wins
MILAN (AP) - Luis Suarez was again on target as Barcelona kept up the pressure on Spanish league leader Real Madrid on Saturday, while Wayne Rooney's brace got Manchester United back to winning ways at home to Sunderland in the Premier League.
The race for the French league title remained wide open as Ligue 1 leader Lyon lost at Lille and can be leapfrogged by defending champion Paris Saint-Germain, while in Germany Borussia Dortmund continued its revival with a derby win over Schalke.
Here's a look at the action from the top European leagues:
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SPAIN
Barcelona's 3-1 win at Granada from goals by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi was overshadowed by little-known Alberto Bueno netting four goals in 16 minutes in Rayo Vallecano's victory.
Bueno struck four times from the 23rd to the 38th minutes to lead Rayo's stunning 4-2 comeback win over Levante and send its fans at Vallecas Stadium into raptures in a remarkable first half.
Suarez scored his third goal of the week before setting up Messi as Barcelona moved provisionally a point behind Real Madrid, which hosts Villarreal on Sunday. He also played a part in Barcelona's first goal when Ivan Rakitic finished off his rebound in the 25th.
Suarez, who scored twice in a 2-1 victory at Manchester City on Tuesday, arguably had his best game since joining Barcelona.
"He has been playing at a very high level," Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said of Suarez. "Now, with the goals he is scoring, his hard work is being more widely recognized, but for us he has been doing a very special and interesting job."
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ENGLAND
Manchester United rode its luck as England captain Wayne Rooney scored twice in a 2-0 win against struggling 10-man Sunderland, but his success was overshadowed by another refereeing controversy in the Premier League.
One week on from the fury at Chelsea's home clash with Burnley, referee Roger East was at the center of an alleged case of mistaken identity at Old Trafford.
Rooney scored from a penalty after 66 minutes when Radamel Falcao was fouled by John O'Shea and referee East sent off Wes Brown, instead of O'Shea, leaving the visitors to struggle on with 10 men. Ironically, both defenders are former United players.
Rooney scored his second six minutes from time to ensure victory and lift United back to third in the Premier League behind leader Chelsea and second-placed defending champion Manchester City, both of whom did not play Saturday.
Saturday's win confirmed United's challenge for a return to the Champions League on a day when Southampton, the only other top team in action, was beaten 1-0 by improving West Bromwich Albion.
West Ham United's fading bid for a place in Europe was hit in the day's early fixture when it lost 3-1 at home to Crystal Palace while Swansea won 1-0 at Burnley, Newcastle beat struggling Aston Villa, under the new management of Tim Sherwood, 1-0 and Stoke overcame Hull also by one goal.
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FRANCE
Lyon's title hopes took a big hit in a 2-1 loss to Lille that opened the door for defending champion Paris Saint-Germain to move to the top.
Leader Lyon made the perfect start thanks to a third-minute goal through midfielder Corentin Tolisso. Alexandre Lacazette, the league's 21-goal top-scorer, went close with a free kick as Lyon dominated.
But Lille, which has struggled to score, hit back in the second half through midfielders Idrissa Gueye and Rony Lopes, who is on loan from Manchester City, to hand Lyon its first defeat in 12 league games.
PSG was two points behind and can take first place if it wins at Monaco on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Saint-Etienne's miserable year continued as it was held to 1-1 at relegation-threatened Toulouse to extend its winless streak to seven league matches, although it moved provisionally level on points with fourth-place Monaco.
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GERMANY
Borussia Dortmund beat Schalke 3-0 in the Ruhr Derby on Saturday for its fourth consecutive Bundesliga victory.
After missing half a dozen chances in the first half, Dortmund's attack came alive late, with goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marco Reus in the last 12 minutes of the biggest derby in German football.
The home victory continued Dortmund's climb from the bottom of the table, and Jurgen Klopp's team is now six points away from danger.
Elsewhere, bottom-place Stuttgart earned a 1-1 draw in Hannover, with both teams finishing the match with 10 men.
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ITALY
AC Milan was held to a goalless draw at relegation-threatened Chievo Verona in Serie A as it once again failed to win consecutive matches.
Filippo Inzaghi's team doesn't have two successive victories since October, and remained ninth ahead of the rest of the weekend fixtures.
Chievo earned a valuable point in its battle to survive the drop, and moved provisionally five points clear of the bottom three.
The best chance of the match fell to Milan's Keisuke Honda, who hit the crossbar at the start of the second half.