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European Weekend Rewind: Chelsea tops Arsenal, Barcelona keeps rolling, & more

  ChelseaArsenal (Getty)

Chelsea continued their strong run to start the season on Saturday by knocking off London arch-rival Arsenal to stay in first place in the English Premier League.

Goals from Fernando Torres and Juan Mata helped the Blues hand the Gunners their first loss of the season. Mata provided the winner when he sent a long free kick at goal that deflected off Laurent Koscielny before going in for the decisive tally. 

In Spain, Barcelona needed a goal in stoppage time by David Villa to down Sevilla 3-2 and maintain a perfect record in league play. Sevilla was leading 2-0 most of the way until a pair of goals from Cesc Fabregas in the 53rd and 89th minutes tied the match. 

In Italy, Juventus beat Roma 4-1 in a matchup of historic Italian clubs. Andrea Pirlo opened the scoring with an 11th minute free-kick goal and the Serie A title holders never looked back. Juventus has yet to lose a match this season and look borderline unbeatable at the moment.

In Germany, Hamburg continued their ascent up the table with a 1-0 win over Steve Cherundolo and third-place Hannover. Artjoms Rudnevs bagged the winner in the 20th minute and that was all Hamburg would need in one of their best efforts of the young season. The winners moved up to 10th in the table with their second straight win.

Here are the rest of the weekend's results from the top leagues in Europe:

ENGLAND

Liverpool finally got their first win of the season with a 5-2 lashing of Norwich City. Luis Suarez hit a hat trick in the breakout victory, while Steven Gerrard’s goal accounted for the Reds’ fifth of the match.

Title holders Manchester City held off a feisty Fulham club for a 2-1 win. Mladen Petric opened the scoring with a 10th minute penalty, but Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzecko scored in the 43rd and 87th minute respectively to bail City out of trouble. The Citizens are currently tied with rival Manchester United at third in the table.

Arsenal didn’t make it easy, but Chelsea remained on top of the table with a 2-1 win at the Emirates. Juan Mata’s 53rd minute free-kick goal decided the match for the Blues.

English Premier League Scoreboard

Chelsea 2, Arsenal 1

Everton 3, Southampton 1

Manchester City 2, Fulham 1

Liverpool 5, Norwich City 2

Reading 2, Newcastle 2

Stoke City 2, Swansea City 0

Sunderland 1, Wigan Athletic 0

Tottenham Hotspur 3, Manchester United 2

Aston Villa 1, West Bromwich Albion 1

——-

ITALY

Napoli kept pace with Juventus after beating Sampdoria 1-0. Edison Cavani put the visitors up for good with a converted penalty kick in the 67th minute. Napoli is currently tied on points with Juve for the first position in the table.

Inter Milan jumped back into the top three with a 2-1 win over Fiorentina on Sunday. Transfer window addition Antonio Cassano scored what proved to be the winner in the 34th minute. The victory puts Inter within four points of the leaders.

Serie A Scoreboard

Parma 1, AC Milan 1

Juventus 4, AS Roma 1

Udinese 0, Genoa 0

Torino 5, Atalanta 1

Bologna 4, Catania 0

US Pescara 2, Cagliari 1

Lazio 2, Siena 1

Palermo 4, Chievo Verona 1

Napoli 1, Sampdoria 0

Inter Milan 2, Fiorentina 1

———

SPAIN

Real Madrid continued their quest to regain proper form with a 5-1 rout of Deportivo La Coruna. Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a hat trick, including two penalty kicks, in the win. It appears that Madrid is back to their old goal-happy selves and the climb back up the table has begun.

Malaga shutout Real Betis 4-0 in a statement win for the Champions League club. Joaquin, Javier Saviola and Isco had the goals for Malaga. The winners are now third in the table, four points behind leaders Barcelona.

La Liga Scoreboard

Valencia 2, Real Zaragoza 0

Malaga 4, Real Betis 0

Real Sociedad 2, Athletic Bilbao 0

Barcelona 3, Sevilla FC 2

Granada 2, Celta Vigo 1

Valladolid 6, Ray Vallecano 1

Osasuna 4, Levante 0

Real Madrid 5, Deportivo La Coruna 1

Atletico Madrid 1, Espanyol 0

————-

GERMANY

Eintracht Frankfurt needed a double from Alexander Meier to down Freiburg 2-1. The win helps Frankfurt keep pace with Bayern Munich, remaining two points back of the table-toppers. Frankfurt and Munich are the only remaining undefeated sides in the Bundesliga.

Borussia Dortmund found their way back to the top three with a 5-0 dismantling of Borussia Monchengladbach. Marco Reus hit a brace in the victory. Dortmund now trails leaders Bayern Munich by seven points.

Bundesliga Scoreboard

Bayer Leverkusen 2, SpVgg Greuther Furth 0

Hamburg SV 1, Hannover 96 0

VfB Stuttgart 2, Nurnberg 0

TSG Hoffenheim 0, FC Augsburg 0

Bayern Munich 2, Werder Bremen 0

Borussia Dortmund 5, Borussia Monchengladbach 0

Eintracht Frankfurt 2, SC Freiburg 1

Mainz 2, VfL Wolfsburg 0

———–

FRANCE

Marseille lost their 100% record in a 4-1 loss to Valenciennes. Anthony Le Tallac was at the double for the underdogs. Marseille is still in first place, but their point lead has been cut to three.

Paris-St Germain pulled closer to Marseille with a 2-0 win over Sochaux. Kevin Gamerio scored a brace for PSG in the first half. PSG moved up to second in the table, three points out of first.

Ligue 1 Scoreboard

Valenciennes 4, Marseille 1

St. Etienne 0, Stade de Reims 0

Bordeaux 2, Lyon 0

Paris St-Germain 2, Sochaux 0

AC Ajaccio 1, Brest 0

Montpellier 2, AS Nancy Lorraine 0

Evian Thonon Gaillard 1, Lorient 1

Nice 2, Bastia 2

Toulouse 2, Troyes 0

Stade Rennes 2, Lille 0 

Comments

  1. Diving or not (he dove – bad, bad Arsenal boy) Fifa regulations are clear that a straight red is warranted for striking or attempting to strike. Either way the player gets ejected.

    James

    Reply
  2. You’re telling me a Barca player dove? I don’t believe you. I won’t even watch the video since I’m sure its doctored and propaganda!

    Reply
  3. I lost all respect for Cesc Fabregas in that game when acted as if was the victim of a head-butt and the other player get a red card (see video below). Plus, there was a blatant hand ball by Barcelona right in front of the referee that helped set up the winning goal. Barcelona vs Madrid this weekend in Camp Nou. Should be another epic.

    “Cesc Fabregas’ shocking simulation to get Gary Medel sent off”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Tq1H-EytJuU

    Reply

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