Chelsea lift League Cup, Paris foiled by Monaco

Chelsea FC were the big weekend winners from among the 16 sides still hunting UEFA Champions League glory as they lifted the English League Cup trophy at Wembley – and also benefited from a loss for Premier League rivals Manchester City FC. Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain spurned another chance to go top in France, FC Barcelona closed on Liga leaders Real Madrid CF and FC Bayern München marked a birthday with a win.

• Cristiano Ronaldo put Real Madrid CF in front from the penalty spot, but Carlo Ancelotti's men were later pegged back to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal CF that leaves them two points clear in Spain.
• Fifth in Germany,  FC Schalke 04 slipped to a harrowing 3-0 loss to resurgent Borussia Dortmund in Saturday's Ruhr derby.
Real Madrid v Schalke: 10 March (First leg: Schalke 0-2 Madrid)

• FC Porto kept themselves within four points of Portuguese pacesetters SL Benfica by sweeping aside third-placed Sporting Clube de Portugal 3-0 thanks to a Cristian Tello hat-trick.
• Swiss Super League leaders FC Basel 1893 consolidated top spot courtesy of a 1-0 triumph against FC Vaduz, Fabian Frei scoring the only goal.
Porto v Basel: 10 March (First leg: Basel 1-1 Porto)

• Chelsea FC clinched their first silverware since José Mourinho returned to the helm by downing Tottenham Hotspur FC 2-0 in the League Cup final, John Terry's opener and a Kyle Walker own goal making the difference.
• Missing the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimović, Paris Saint-Germain missed another chance to take over at the top of Ligue 1, playing out a goalless draw away to fellow last-16 side AS Monaco FC.
Chelsea v Paris: 11 March (First leg: Paris 1-1 Chelsea)

• Bundesliga leaders FC Bayern München celebrated the occasion of their 115th anniversary by posting a 4-1 win against 1. FC Köln on Friday night. 
• After nearly three months without domestic action due to a winter break, FC Shakhtar Donetsk resumed their league campaign with a 3-0 defeat of FC Vorskla Poltava.
Bayern v Shakhtar: 11 March (First leg: Shakhtar 0-0 Bayern)

Barcelona overcame Granada©AFP/Getty Images

• Manchester City FC's title hopes took a blow with a 2-1 defeat at Liverpool FC, leaving them five points off the top having played one game more than frontrunners Chelsea. 
• Luis Suárez scored one and created two as FC Barcelona closed the gap on Madrid courtesy of a 3-1 success against Granada CF.
Barcelona v Manchester City: 18 March (First leg: City 1-2 Barcelona)

• Nine points out in front, Serie A top dogs Juventus take on rivals AS Roma on Monday evening.
• Dortmund, who were still bottom of the Bundesliga at the start of February, overcame Schalke 3-0 to record their fourth straight league win and climb to tenth.
Dortmund v Juventus: 18 March (First leg: Juventus 2-1 Dortmund)

• Simon Rolfes was on target as Bayer 04 Leverkusen hauled themselves up to fourth in Germany courtesy of a 1-0 success at home to lowly SC Freiburg.
• Frustration reigned for Club Atlético de Madrid as their Liga defence was hindered by a goalless stalemate away against Sevilla FC.
Atlético v Leverkusen: 17 March (First leg: Leverkusen 1-0 Atlético)

• Arsenal FC made it three league wins in a row with a 2-0 home success against Everton FC, Olivier Giroud and Tomáš Rosický finding the net for the third-placed Gunners.
• AS Monaco FC's famous defensive rigour was to the fore again on Sunday evening as the fourth-placed team in Ligue 1 drew 0-0 at home to Paris.
Monaco v Arsenal:17 March (First leg: Arsenal 1-3 Monaco)