Five things we learned from Europe’s top leagues this weekend

Borussia Dortmund were down and out of the title race before Christmas, or so everyone thought. Their great run of form, mixed with Bayern’s slip-ups gave Dortmund the chance to close the gap to two points when the top sides met at the Signal Iduna Park on Saturday. Instead of going out and attacking Bayern and playing to win for 90 minutes, there were some exciting counter-attacks for 75 minutes before both sides played not to lose. Dortmund CEO Watzke had given up on the title back in November but with the chance to go within two points of the so called “unstoppable Bavarians”, Dortmund lacked faith in themselves and have either given up on the title, or have more belief in other teams’ ability to trip up Bayern.

Ousmane Dembélé: if you haven’t heard the name, you will soon. He is Ligue 1’s rising star and he notched a hat-trick against Nantes on Sunday. Those goals brought his season tally to nine (as well as three assists) in only 13 starts for Rennes this season. The 18-year-old demonstrated his characteristic pace, directness and Ronaldo-like ambidexterity with a who’s who of European clubs in attendance. Unfortunately, France’s depth in attacking positions means that Dembélé is unlikely to feature at the Euros this summer but after being linked with Arsenal and Barcelona on Monday morning it would be no surprise to see him at one of Europe’s top clubs in the near future.

Claudio Ranieri's introduction of Andy King and Jeffrey Schlupp at half-time put pay to Watford's first-half domination; a decision that, like many others this season, has kept Leicester City at the peak of the Premier League table. The Foxes have been far from what you'd call 'lucky' in this campaign, it's confirmation that mental fortitude, teamwork, confidence in their manager's tactics and a 'one-step-at-a-time' attitude are equally, if not more, important than any superstar signings.

It was the third time they meet each other in Reggio Emilia and the third time that Milan have been defeated by Sassuolo at Mapei Stadium. But it's not superstition behind the latest crash of Sinisa Mihajlovic's team. “I’m really unhappy” said the Serbian coach after the match and he has a lot of reasons to be so: an insufficient defence and a sterile attack are to blame for one of their worst games of the season. With this defeat Milan have probably said goodbye to chance of claiming third place and qualifying for the Champions League.

After losing almost any chance of winning the league, the fans wanted to see a brave and enraged Real Madrid. But instead, they saw Celta dominating against a soulless Madrid. They were team following the ball and looking lost, the opposite of the frightening attacking side we all know they can be. That led the fans to boo Cristiano Ronaldo, who decided to take the lead in the second half. However, it was not only that he scored four goals, it was how he commanded the team. Real Madrid found itself and amused the fans that probably could not believe that the same eleven players from the first half were giving such a show in the second one.