Manchester United and Arsenal each won in the English Premier League to keep the London team three points behind while Real Sociedad and Deportivo de La Coruna closed in on Spanish leader Real Madrid on Sunday.
In Italy, Juventus got two goals from Alessandro Del Piero and moved closer to its second straight Serie A title after beating AS Roma 2-1.
Manchester United, which survived a 2-2 draw at Arsenal on Wednesday, beat Blackburn 3-1 while Arsenal topped Middlesbrough 2-0.
Paul Scholes netted twice for United at Old Trafford, while Ruud van Nistelrooy got his 38th goal of the season. Arsenal's Thierry Henry scored one and set the other for Sylvain Wiltord.
Liverpool won the 168th Merseyside derby, beating Everton 2-1 with goals from Michael Owen and Danny Murphy. David Unsworth scored for the hosts.
Third-place Newcastle lost its third straight, falling at Fulham 2-1. Alan Shearer scored for Newcastle, but Sylvain Legwinski equalized and Lee Clark got the winner.
Manchester United is still in front with 74 points while Arsenal, with a game in hand, is second with 71. Newcastle is third with 61 points, followed by Chelsea with 60, Liverpool with 58 and Everton with 56.
Spain
Bitter rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, both of whom have crucial Champions League encounters this week, engaged in a tempestuous war of words as the chase for the Spanish crown became even closer at the weekend.
After a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu, Barcelona coach Radomir Antic hit out at the referee Cesar Muniz claiming his team were denied a series of penalties.
"The referee was prejudiced against us and that affected the result," the Serb said after Luis Enrique had claimed a point for his side equalizing Ronaldo's opener.
"This team raised its game to the highest level possible under the circumstances and we deserved to win."
The game saw 11 yellow cards brandished, five of which were to Barca players, and one red when Real's Spanish international defender Michel Salgado was sent off three minutes from time.
Deportivo La Coruna and Real Sociedad then reduced Real Madrid's lead to just one point after the chasing pair both notched up convincing wins on Sunday.
Real are still on top with 61 points from 30 games but second-placed Deportivo closed the gap with a 3-1 win over Sevilla while Real Sociedad are third with the same points following their 5-0 thrashing of Rayo Vallecano.
Italy
Defending champions Juventus took a step closer to retaining their title after defeating AS Roma 2-1.
Alessandro Del Piero scored twice while Vincenzo Montella halved the deficit just before the break, but the home side held on for a crucial win as they attempt to land a 27th Scudetto.
Juventus coach Marcello Lippi said victory was sweet.
"A win against Roma is very satisfying as they are such a strong, determined team," he said.
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