Leipzig, Leverkusen off pace as Milan thumped

Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen both lost ground in the race for the Bundesliga title in shock losses as AC Milan saw its Serie A lead trimmed in a pummeling by Atalanta.

Second-place Leipzig lost 3-2 at relegation-threatened Mainz and third-place Leverkusen was beaten 1-0 at home by Wolfsburg.

Another Bundesliga match was notable for the sacking of Hertha Berlin coach Bruno Labbadia and general manager Michael Preetz yesterday after a poor run of form left the big-spending club near the Bundesliga relegation zone.

Labbadia spent nine months in charge and becomes the fourth permanent Hertha coach to leave the post in the last two years after Saturday's 4-1 defeat to Werder Bremen. Preetz departs after nearly 12 years as general manager.

In Italy, the Rossoneri were handed a humbling 3-0 defeat at home by Atalanta and saw their lead over city rival Inter Milan trimmed to two points.

The only consolation was that Milan still secured the "Winter title'' - which seven times out of 10 leads to the actual Italian league championship.

Cristian Romero, Josip Ilicic and Duvan Zapata scored for Atalanta - the surprise Champions League quarterfinalist last season.

In the only English Premier League match on Saturday, Aston Villa returned to winning ways and climbed into the top 10 with a 2-0 victory against Newcastle.

Club-record signing Ollie Watkins scored for the first time in 10 matches to set Villa on its way to all three points with a 13th-minute strike, before Bertrand Traore doubled the lead shortly before halftime.

Most of the English matches involved FA Cup ties, with last season's winner Arsenal eliminated in the fourth round thanks to Gabriel's own-goal in a 1-0 loss to Southampton, while Manchester City survived a scare to beat fourth-tier Cheltenham 3-1.

In an otherwise close game, Gabriel's decision to try to block a shot from Kyle Walker-Peters proved decisive for Arsenal losing its hold on the cup.

It was the first goal Arsenal had conceded since December 26 after five consecutive shutouts.

Cheltenham came close to one of the biggest shocks in the 150-year history of the FA Cup before Pep Guardiola's City team scored three late goals.

A long throw-in from Cheltenham captain Ben Tozer caused a mix-up in the City defense and Alfie May seized on a deflection to stab the ball into the net.

In the 81st minute City finally pulled level as Phil Foden met Joao Cancelo's cross at the far post and knocked the ball in. Gabriel Jesus scored City's second three minutes later to avoid extra time, though his goal may have been deemed offside if the video review system had been in operation.

Ferran Torres added a third in stoppage time to ensure City moves on to play Swansea in the fifth round.

In France, Monaco beat Marseille 3-1 for a fifth win in six games, while the struggling visitors slipped to a fourth straight defeat despite taking an early lead.

After defender Guillermo Maripan equalized for Monaco, midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni headed in the second goal and forward Stevan Jovetic thumped in a superb angled free kick in the last minute to complete what ended up as a comfortable win. Fourth-place Monaco moved one point behind third-place Lyon.