Tiemoue Bakayoko scored a great goal in a crucial few days in the race for Champions League qualification in Italy. The midfielder had already played his part in a chaotic 5-2 victory over fellow challengers Lazio, before opening the scoring with a powerful effort from 20 yards as they beat 10-man Torino 2-0, putting them into joint-third in the table, alongside AC Milan and Juventus.

That followed a tough week for Fikayo Tomori and Milan, which saw them suffer back-to-back defeats, 2-1 at home to Sassuolo and 3-0 away at Lazio. With things so close near the top of Serie A, that resulted in the Rossoneri dropping from second to fifth in the table, outside of the Champions League places due to their head-to-head records with Napoli and Juventus, ahead of facing the latter next week.

Things are almost as close at the other end of the Serie A table, where Davide Zappacosta provided assists in consecutive games for Genoa. First his pass set up their second equaliser in a 2-2 draw with fellow relegation battlers Benevento, before providing the cross for the Grifone’s opener in a 2-0 win over Spezia. Those results leave them in 13th place, but still only five points clear of the drop zone.

Kenedy had a big impact off the bench as Granada beat Eibar 4-1. Six minutes after being introduced he set up Roberto Soldado to score their third goal, before finding the net himself to complete the scoring four minutes later. The Brazilian then played the first half of Granada’s narrow 2-1 defeat to Sevilla, which bizarrely saw the players return to the pitch to play an additional minute after the final whistle as the referee had mistakenly called full-time too early. Those results leave Granada seven points from a European spot in La Liga, but with a game in hand.

Back in England, Ross Barkley was fouled in the box as Aston Villa opened the scoring from the penalty spot in their 2-2 draw at home with West Bromwich Albion, having come off the bench earlier in the week as they were beaten 2-1 by Manchester City, when both sides were reduced to 10 men.

Conor Gallagher returned to the West Bromwich Albion starting line-up for that West Midlands derby, as Villa’s injury-time equaliser left the Baggies nine points from safety in the Premier League with five games left.

There were mixed feelings for Marc Guehi and Swansea City in the Championship, as their slim chances of automatic promotion came to an end when they were beaten 1-0 at home by Queens Park Rangers, but they then guaranteed themselves a spot in the play-offs on Sunday, despite conceding an injury-time equaliser in a 2-2 draw away at Reading.

Jamal Blackman came on as an early substitute after Rotherham United’s starting goalkeeper was controversially caught by an elbow as Barnsley opened the scoring in the second minute of their Championship fixture on Saturday. Blackman impressed with several good saves to prevent any further goals, but it remained 1-0, leaving Rotherham four points from safety, albeit with two games in hand.

Luke McCormick suffered the pain of relegation from League One with Bristol Rovers. They were beaten 2-0 by MK Dons after missing a penalty awarded for a foul on McCormick, and the midfielder was back in the side as their relegation was confirmed by a 1-0 loss to Portsmouth on Saturday.

In League Two, Jamie Cumming helped Stevenage Borough recover from defeat to second-placed Cheltenham Town by keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over league leaders Cambridge United.

In a big week in Ligue 1, Trevoh Chalobah helped Lorient to a potentially crucial 4-1 win over Bordeaux, moving them to within one point of their opponents and four clear of the relegation zone in the final safe spot.

Victor Moses featured throughout as Spartak Moscow claimed a vital derby win, 1-0 against 10-man CSKA Moscow. That result leaves their title chances mathematically intact, although realistically unlikely, needing to catch eight points on Zenit Saint Petersburg in the final three games, but more importantly they are now just two points behind Lokomotiv Moscow in the second Champions League qualification spot.

There was also a derby win for Baba Rahman, as PAOK defeated Aris 1-0, before a 0-0 draw with Panathinaikos kept them in the Greek European qualification places.

An important week for Trabzonspor in Turkey saw Lewis Baker help them draw 1-1 with Galatasaray before beating Fatih Karagumruk 2-0, giving them a seven-point safety margin inside the European places and nine behind a Champions League spot with five games to play.

Lower down the Super Lig table, Danny Drinkwater come off the bench in back-to-back defeats for Kasimpasa, 1-0 to Istanbul Basaksehir and 3-2 to Fenerbahce.

Marco van Ginkel was a late substitute in PSV Eindhoven’s 1-0 win over Groningen, which keeps them in control in the race for Champions League qualification, three points ahead of their closest rival in second place in the Eredivisie table.

Vitesse Arnhem and Armando Broja are a further four points behind in the automatic Europa Conference League spot, following their 0-0 draw away at Feyenoord.

Juan Castillo was powerless to prevent ADO Den Haag from losing 3-0 at home to Fortuna Sittard, despite dominating possession and creating several good chances. The result leaves them bottom of the table and eight points from safety with four games remaining, meaning their relegation could be confirmed later this week.

Danilo Pantic came off the bench in Cukaricki’s 2-1 defeat at Vozdovac in Serbia, although their season is effectively over with qualification for the Europa Conference League already assured.