Luis Suarez and Neymar kept Barcelona on course to retain its Spanish league title with goals in another win on Saturday, as the European titleholders warmed up to visit Arsenal in the Champions League.
While Barcelona extended its club-record unbeaten run to 32 straight matches, Arsenal was held by Hull to a scoreless draw in the FA Cup, forcing a replay.
Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain also both won to stay in control of the German and French title races.
Here is a look at the action from around Europe on Saturday:
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SPAIN
Suarez and Neymar scored again to lead Barcelona to a 2-1 victory at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
Suarez struck six minutes into the match, and Neymar re-established the visitors\’ advantage before halftime by finishing off a rebound of a shot by Lionel Messi after Las Palmas striker Willian Jose had made it 1-1.
Barcelona increased the gap to nine points before second-place Atletico Madrid hosts fourth-place Villarreal on Sunday.
But to win their eighth Liga match in a row, Barcelona needed Las Palmas to miss two clear chances when a late push by the club in danger of falling back into the second division came up empty.
"In order to win titles, you have to pull out games like these," Suarez said.
Elsewhere, Celta Vigo edged Eibar 3-2 to leapfrog the Basque club into sixth place.
Espanyol ended an eight-round winless streak by beating Deportivo La Coruna 1-0, and Sporting Gijon drew 1-1 at Real Betis.
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ENGLAND
Arsenal\’s bid for a third straight FA Cup title was checked by a frustrating 0-0 draw against Hull in the fifth round, forcing the teams into yet another meeting in the competition.
Fielding a weakened team ahead of a Champions League last-16 match against Barcelona on Tuesday, Arsenal created a slew of chances against second-tier Hull but was denied by a mixture of poor finishing and good goalkeeping from Eldin Jakupovic.
It is the third straight year that Arsenal and Hull have met in the FA Cup. Arsenal won in the final in 2014 and also in the third round last season on its way to winning the trophy for a record 12th time.
West Bromwich Albion exited in disgrace, though, losing 3-1 at second-tier Reading before its captain, Chris Brunt, was struck near his eye by a coin thrown by one of his team\’s own supporters after the game.
Premier League teams Everton and Watford also advanced to the quarterfinals. Everton beat Bournemouth 2-0, while Watford downed second-tier Leeds 1-0.
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GERMANY
Thomas Mueller scored twice for Bayern Munich in a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Darmstadt that stretched the side\’s overnight lead in the Bundesliga to 11 points over Borussia Dortmund.
Mueller canceled out Sandro Wagner\’s opener three minutes after the break and then won the game with a spectacular overhead kick in the 71st.
Substitute Franck Ribery, who returned from injury, crossed for Robert Lewandowski to complete the scoring with his league-leading 22nd goal of the season.
Bayern next travels to Turin for the first leg of its Champions League showdown with Juventus on Tuesday.
Also Saturday, Hertha Berlin drew 1-1 with Wolfsburg to provisionally reclaim third place, while Bremen lost 2-0 in Ingolstadt, Borussia Moenchengladbach defeated Cologne 1-0, and Hoffenheim beat Mainz 3-2.
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FRANCE
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice and set up two more as runaway leader PSG crushed Reims 4-1 to remain 24 points clear of second-place Monaco.
Ibrahimovic netted his 22nd and 23rd league goals and assisted right back Gregory van der Wiel and strike partner Edinson Cavani.
Monaco beat last-place Troyes 3-1, with striker Guido Carrillo scoring twice.
In other games, it was: Lorient 4, Guingamp 3; Angers 2, Montpellier 3; and Toulouse 1, Ajaccio 1.
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ITALY
Inspired by Jose Mourinho in the stands, Inter Milan got back to winning ways in style, beating Sampdoria 3-1 to move to within one point of third place in Serie A.
Danilo D\’Ambrosio, Joao Miranda, and Mauro Icardi scored to send Inter to only its fourth win of the year.
Former Inter coach Mourinho was at San Siro to watch his old team for the first time since leading the Nerazzurri to the treble in 2010. He was roundly cheered by the fans, while there was also a halftime choreography dedicated to him.
Hellas Verona also beat Chievo Verona 3-1.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
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