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LONDON - Arsenal dealt Manchester Citys Premier League title defence a blow on Sunday, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi lit up Spain with multi-goal scoring performances.Citys 2-0 home loss to Arsenal left it flagging five points behind leader Chelsea. It also ended second-place Citys 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions.Ronaldo scored twice to help Real Madrid win 3-0 at Getafe, before Messi bettered that with his 30th career hat trick for Barcelona as the Catalan club eased to a 4-0 victory at Deportivo La Coruna.Heres a look at the top leagues around Europe:___ENGLANDArsenal finally ended its streak of poor away performances against top teams as Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud scored in each half at City.Cazorla converted a penalty in the 24th minute and then sent in a free kick that Giroud headed in for the second in the 66th.City dominated possession but Arsenal for once showed the kind of defensive fortitude that so often has been missing in big away games in recent years. Arsenal lost 6-3 at City last season.Arsenal climbed above Tottenham into fifth place, one point behind Manchester United.West Ham also gave its European ambitions a boost as a superb second-half display saw the Hammers beat struggling Hull 3-0. West Ham climbed above Liverpool into seventh.___SPAINReal stayed one point ahead of Barcelona as the Spanish league reached its halfway mark.Ronaldo took his league-leading tally to 28 goals. Messi trails his rival with 19.Defending champion Atletico Madrid did its part to stay in the title race and set up a promising second half of the season by beating bottom side Granada 2-0, remaining in third place, four points behind Real.Real still has a game in hand to be played next month against Sevilla, which remained in fourth by beating Malaga 2-0.After its exit from the Copa del Rey this week, Carlo Ancelottis team was under pressure to have a strong showing with only one win in four matches to start 2015 after finishing last year on a Spanish record 22-game win streak.Karim Benzema used a skilful change of foot to open a passing angle and set up Ronaldo to net in the 63rd. James Rodriguez then crossed for Gareth Bale and Ronaldo to add goals in the 67th and 79th.Messi tormented Deportivo from kickoff, and Ivan Rakitic met his run with a lobbed pass over the defence that the Argentina forward headed home in the 10th. Messi chipped in his second in the 33rd before firing in his third in the 62nd.___ITALYCarlos Tevez scored twice to help Juventus beat Hellas Verona 4-0 and move five points clear at the top of Serie A.Paul Pogba and Tevez put the defending champion 2-0 up inside seven minutes. Verona goalkeeper Rafael kept the tide at bay until shortly after the hour mark when Roberto Pereyra and Tevez completed the scoring.Napoli beat Lazio 1-0 to leapfrog the Rome side into third spot in Serie A, while Sampdoria remained firmly in the race for the final Champions League spot with a 2-0 win at Parma.AC Milan had another disappointing result, losing 1-0 at home to relegation-threatened Atalanta.Fiorentinas Khouma Babacar scored a last-gasp goal that snatched a 2-1 win at Chievo Verona.Genoa came back three times to rescue a 3-3 draw against Sassuolo. Udinese drew 2-2 at home to Cagliari, and Torino won 3-2 at bottom club Cesena.___FRANCEMario Lemina and Andre-Pierre Gignac scored late as Marseille beat Guingamp 2-1 for its first win in a month while Paris Saint-Germain again struggled in a scrappy 4-2 defeat of bottom side Evian in the French league.After starting the new year with back to back losses and being knocked off the top of the standings by Lyon, Marseille was made to work by a well-organized Guingamp before Lemina headed home from close range six minutes from time to put the hosts in front.Gignac extended Marseilles lead from Dimitri Payets free kick five minutes later with another header. Claudio Beauvue pulled one back from the penalty spot after Rod Fanni was sent off in added time.Marseille moved within one point of Lyon while PSGs win lifted the defending champions to third in the standings — four points behind the leaders — after fourth-place Saint-Etienne was held to a goalless draw at Rennes. . - A pitch clock will be used this season during minor league games at Triple-A and Double-A, but it has been ruled out for the major leagues this year. . In this weeks Leaf Report podcast, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel debate whether Toronto can continue their shootout dominance and discuss what Dave Nonis game plan should be heading into the trade deadline. . "Last year didnt go the way we wanted it to, but we need to look at what went well and what didnt go so well. Hopefully this year we will be better," Brendan Gallagher said after practice. This year, the Canadiens have a little more depth to work with by adding players like Daniel Briere, Dale Weise, Mike Weaver, Douglas Murray and arguably, the biggest addition to this playoff roster, Thomas Vanek, who the Canadiens were able to land at the trade deadline. . Nick Young scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which lost five of its last seven before trouncing the Pelicans, who beat them handily last week in New Orleans. Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who led by 20 points in the first half before coasting to their 12th win in their last 13 regular-season meetings with New Orleans. . - After sewage backups, toilet overflows and foul smells surfaced the past two years, nothing at the Oakland Coliseum surprises the home team anymore.BALTIMORE -- The Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles were rained out Wednesday for the second straight day, A single-admission doubleheader was scheduled for Thursday starting at 4:05 p.m. Both teams originally had scheduled to be off Thursday. Pittsburgh and Baltimore havent played since Sunday. The Pirates played 20 games in 20 days through Sunday. The first game Thursday is to match Orioles right-hander Bud Norris (1-2, 4.44 ERA) against Pittsburghs Charlie Morton (0-3, 4.35). Baltimore ace Chris Tillman (3-1, 3.38) is slated to go up against Brandon Cumpton (0-1, 2.57) iin the nightcap.dddddddddddd The rainouts are delaying the season debut of third baseman Manny Machado, who injured a left knee ligament on Sept. 23 and had surgery Oct. 14. He will come off the 15-day disabled list when the Orioles next play. Baltimore will have to make a roster move to free a spot for first baseman Steve Pearce, signed to a major league contract Tuesday. Pearce was designated for assignment on April 22 and released five days later. The Orioles brought him back after first baseman Chris Davis was put on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. ' ' '
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