Arsenal and Chelsea had to settle for a point as they played out a goalless draw at the Emirates.
The result consolidated Liverpool’s position at the top of the table, until Boxing Day at least with Arsenal dropping to second and Chelsea staying fourth behind Manchester City while Everton completed the top five. Despite their defensive approach and minority share of possession, it was Chelsea who were more threatening going forward. Ramires headed over a cross from Willian while Fernando Torres and Willian both had shots easily held by Wojciech Szczesny. Frank Lampard had arguably the best chance of the game to break the deadlock but his shot hit the underside of the crossbar after Eden Hazard had picked him out with a lovely aerial ball. He took it first time but his volley had the power but not the accuracy. Jon Obi Mikel was lucky to have remained on the pitch after a dangerous tackle on Mikel Arteta. Arsenal who were rather quiet in the first period had a couple of chances in the second. Aaron Ramsey found Olivier Giroud with a delightful chip but the Frenchman sliced his shot wide with Petr Cech rushing in. Giroud then had his close range effort from Kieran Gibbs’ low cross blocked by the Czech keeper. The Gunners could have had the last laugh had Cesar Azpilicueta failed to clear Thomas Vermaelen’s header off the line from a corner.
Spanish La Liga
Barcelona retainer their place at the top of the table after beating Getafe 5-2 away from home. Getafe took a two goal lead inside 15 minutes but Pedro’s hat trick in the space of 9 minutes and a brace from Cesc Fabregas allowed the Catalans a comprehensive win. Atletico Madrid secured second spot with a narrow 3-2 win at home against Levante thanks to a hat trick from Diego Costa. Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-2 away thanks to goals from Angel Di Maria, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese.
German Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund lost 2-1 at home to Hertha Berlin while Werder Bremen beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 at home and Borussia Monchengladbach drew 2-2 at home against Wolfsburg.
Italian Serie A
Carlos Tevez, Paul Pogba, Fernando Llorente and Arturo Vidal scored for Juventus as the Italian champions beat Atalanta 4-1 away. Mehdi Benatia scored a brace with Mattia Destro and Gervinho also scoring as Roma beat Catania 4-0 at home. Hellas Verona beat Lazio 4-1 at home while Fiorentina won 1-0 away at Sassuolo and Napoli drew 1-1 away at Cagliari. Rodrigo Palacio scored the only goal as Inter Milan beat AC Milan 1-0.
French Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Lille while AS Monaco lost 2-1 at home against Valenciennes. Marseille drew 2-2 at home against Bordeaux while Lorient held Lyon to a 2-2 draw at home.
Dutch Eredivisie
AZ Alkmaar 1-5 Heerenveen
Heracles Almelo 2-2 Vitesse Arnhem
Feyenoord Rotterdam 3-0 PEC Zwolle
Roda JC Kerkrade 1-2 Ajax Amsterdam
PSV Eindhoven 2-0 ADO Den Haag
Portuguese Liga
FC Porto 4-0 Olhanense
Vitoria Setubal 0-2 Benfica
Sporting Lisbon 0-0 CD Nacional de Madeira
Scottish Premiership
Celtic 2-0 Heart of Midlothian
Dundee United 1-0 Ross County
Motherwell 3-0 St Mirren
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3-4 Aberdeen
