Real Madrid left reeling while Man United bounce back

European powerhouse Real Madrid suffered Spanish humiliation at the weekend while their Champions League victims Manchester United recovered to maul Newcastle United and go top of the English premier league.

United, beaten 3-1 by Real in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday, stormed to a 6-2 drubbing of Newcastle, while the Spanish league leaders were crushed 4-2 by a sparkling Real Sociedad.

AC Milan moved up to second in Italy after beating Inter in the Milan derby. Juventus drew 2-2 at Bologna to stand six points clear.

Bayern Munich slumped to their first home defeat in the Bundesliga for two years, but remained 11 points clear at the top, while the battle for supremacy in France remained tight as Monaco kept up the chase on leaders Olympique Lyon.

Manchester United staked their claim to an eighth premier league title after going three points clear of Arsenal, following an outstanding display of attacking football at Newcastle's St. James' Park stadium.

Alex Ferguson's side came back from a goal down to win with a hat-trick from England midfielder Paul Scholes and goals from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs.

Arch-rivals Arsenal, whom they meet in potentially the biggest domestic match of the season at Highbury on Wednesday, kept their double-double dream alive after beating first division Sheffield United 1-0 to reach their third consecutive FA Cup final, where they will meet Southampton.

Gordon Strachan's Saints return to an FA Cup final for the first time since beating Manchester United in 1976.

Sunderland were the first team to be relegated from the England's top flight after they lost 2-0 at Birmingham City.

MADRID CRASH

Real Madrid were brought swiftly back down to earth after their virtuoso performance in the Champions League, as their Basque hosts Real Sociedad romped to a 4-2 victory on Sunday.

The result breathed new life into the Spanish title race as Real's lead was narrowed to just three points after the weekend's matches.

Deportivo Coruna, in second place, kept up their title chase with a 4-2 win away at Barcelona, while Sociedad are level on points in third place after Sunday's victory.

Filippo Inzaghi kept AC Milan's slender title hopes alive after scoring the only goal in their 1-0 derby win over 10-man Inter in Serie A.

Milan are now level with Inter in second place, with both teams trailing Juventus.

Lazio, Parma and Chievo all struggled in their bid for the fourth Champions League spot, with Lazio held to a goalless draw at Modena, and Parma and Chievo both losing 2-1.

Bayern Munich stayed firmly on course for their 18th Bundesliga title despite suffering their first home defeat for two years, when they were beaten 1-0 by Werder Bremen.

Bayern remain 11 points ahead of Stuttgart, who crushed struggling Bayer Leverkusen 3-0. Defending champions Borussia Dortmund, in third, were held to a 1-1 draw at Hamburg SV.

The tight title battle continued in France as Monaco kept up the chase on Lyon, who lead by just two points. Lyon had gone five points clear on Friday with a 1-0 win at Girondins Bordeaux, but Monaco made their intentions clear the following day with an emphatic 4-2 win at AC Ajaccio.

Ajax Amsterdam, who were held to a goalless draw by AC Milan in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday, regained second spot in the Dutch first division with a 3-0 victory at NAC Breda on Sunday.

PSV Eindhoven, eight points clear at the top, stayed on track for the title with a 3-2 win at Roda JC Kerkrade.