By NICK IUELE
Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid continued their early-season league struggles, suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Sevilla. Piotr Trochowski’s goal in the second minute was the only goal of the match as Madrid fell further behind arch-rival Barcelona. Madrid has dropped three points from four matches this season, while Barca routed Getafe, 4-1, to stay perfect in league play this season.
In Italy, AC Milan was sent into a panic this weekend after falling to Serie A bottom feeders Atalanta. The Italian giants were shut out against an opponent they should have outclassed, but were left in utter disbelief when Luca Cigarini scored what would be the winning goal in the 64th minute.
English powerhouses Chelsea and Manchester City were both held by underdogs on the road. The Blues had to settle for a scoreless draw against rival Queens Park Rangers in the much anticipated rematch of John Terry and Anton Ferdinand, while Javi Garcia’s goal on his City debut salvaged a point against Stoke City. Swansea City was handed their first loss of the season after being downed by Aston Villa. American internationals Brad Guzan and Eric Lichaj both started and had influential roles in the Villans first win of the season.
Here is a look back at this weekend's results throughout Europe's top leagues:
ENGLAND
Arsenal was on target in their win over Southampton. Lukas Podolski delivered a quality free kick goal in the 31st minute and Gervinho bagged a brace. Theo Walcott also scored in the match and Southampton victimized themselves with two own-goals.
Liverpool needed Luis Suarez’s late goal to avoid a loss to Sunderland. The Reds are still winless so far this term and are only one spot above the relegation zone. Steven Fletcher had the lone goal for the Black Cats.
American international Clint Dempsey made his Tottenham debut, playing the final 12 minutes in Spurs win over Reading.
Premier League Scoreboard:
Norwich City 0, West Ham United 0
Arsenal 6, Southampton 1
Aston Villa 2, Swansea City 0
Fulham 3, West Bromwich Albion 0
Manchester United 4, Wigan 0
Queens Park Ranger 0, Chelsea 0
Stoke City 1, Manchester City 1
Sunderland 1, Liverpool 1
Tottenham Hotspur 3, Reading 1
Monday: Everton v Newcastle
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ITALY
Bologna came back from a two-goal deficit to upset Roma. I Lupi got goals from Alessandro Florenzi and Erik Lamela early, but Alberto Gilardino and Alessandro Diamanti scored back to back goals within a minute of each other late in the game to tie things up. Gilardino then sank the Italian giants with a 90th-minute goal.
Udinese once again suffered a poor result, settling for a draw with lowly Siena. Dusan Bata and Antonio Di Natale scored in the third and fifth minute respectively, but the home side did not give up. Emanuele Calaio beat Daniele Padelli in the 70th minute and Ze Roberto converted a penalty in the 77th minute to secure the point.
Serie A Scoreboard
Palermo 1, Calgliari 1
Atalanta 1, Milan 0
Lazio 3, Chievo Verona 1
Bologna 3, Roma 2
Fiorentina 2, Catania 0
Juventus 3, Genoa 1
Napoli 3, Parma 1
Siena 2, Udinese 2
Sampdoria 3, Pescara 2
Inter Milan 2, Torino 0
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SPAIN
Athletico Madrid topped Rayo Vellacano in a 4-3 goal fest. Madrid scored four unanswered goals, including Falcao’s 56th-minute penalty, to take a commanding lead. Rayo stormed back, however, scoring three goals between the 82nd and 89th minutes, but the comeback fell short.
Malaga continued their early season success with a win over Levante. Joaquin, Javier Saviola and Francisco Portillo had the goals for Malaga. The club is now in the second position in the table, just two points behind front-running Barcelona.
La Liga Scoreboard
Malaga 3, Levante 1
Valencia 2, Celta Vigo 1
Barcelona 4, Getafe 1
Sevilla 1, Real Madrid 0
Espanyol 3, Athletic Bilbao 3
Granada 1, Deportivo La Coruna 1
Osasuna 1, Mallorca 1
Real Sociedad 2, Real Zaragoza 0
Athletico Madrid 4, Rayo Vallecano 3
Monday: Valladolid v Real Betis
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GERMANY
Eintracht Frankfurt made it three for three this season with their win over Hamburg. Stefan Aigner, Olivier Occean and Takashi Inui scored the goals for the winning side. The victory helps Frankfurt maintain a share of the table’s top spot with Bayern Munich, while Hamburg remains winless.
Szabolcs Huszti netted the winner in stoppage time of Hannover’s last-gasp win against Werder Bremen. The goal was Huszti’s second of the match, the first of which came in the sixth minute. Grabbing all three points pushed Hannover up to the third spot in the table.
Bundesliga Scoreboard
SC Freiburg 5, Hoffenheim 3
Eintracht Frankfurt 3, Hamburg SV 2
Bayern Munich 3, Mainz 1
Borussia Dortmund 3, Bayer Leverkusen 0
Nurnberg 3, Borussia Monchengladbach 2
Hannover 96 3, Werder Bremen 2
VtB Stuttgart 0, Fortuna Dusseldorf 0
Schalke 2, SpVgg Greuther Furth 0
FC Augsburg 0. VfL Wolfsburg 0
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FRANCE
Marseille continued their undefeated start to the season with a win over Nancy. Jordan Ayew scored the winner in the 57th minute. The victory sends the club to 5-0, good for the top spot in the table and leaves them two points clear of second place Lyon.
Paris St-Germain defeated Toulouse to earm their second victory of the season. Javier Pastore and Zlatan Ibrahimovic both hit the back of the net for the victors. PSG now sits in fourth place in Ligue 1.
Ligue 1 Scoreboard
Lorient 2, Stade Rennes 1
Lyon 2, AC Ajaccio 0
Marseille 1, Nancy 0
Troyes 1, Lille 1
Evian Thonon Gaillard 3, Bastia 0
Nice 4, Brest 2
Sochaux 1, St Etienne 0
Valenciennes 0, Bordeaux 0
Paris St Germain 2, Toulouse 0
Stade de Reims 3, Montpellier 1
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What did you think of this weekend's results? See Real Madrid climbing back into the La Liga race after this slow start? Think AC Milan is destined for a nightmare season after selling Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva?
Share your thoughts below.
the best striker in Holland is an AMERICAN
We’ve been trash since Benitez left. Our descent began when Xabi left us for RM
Descent? They really weren’t any better last year, or are you including last season as the start of their descent?
Madrid should climb back up to second eventually, but lacks the spirit right now to contend for the top. I figured this was their year, but something is wrong.
I’m shocked by Liverpool’s descent but not by Milan’s.