Photo by ISIPhotos.com

 

By RYAN TOLMICH

Just months after departing London for New York City, Frank Lampard came back to score an important goal against his former side.

Lampard scored a late equalizing goal to earn Manchester City a 1-1 draw with league-leaders Chelsea Sunday at the Etihad. Meanwhile, Man City’s crosstown rivals, Manchester United, shockingly squandered a two-goal lead to Premier League newcomers Leicester City as the Red Devils fell by a 5-3 scoreline.

In Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona both took the chance to assert their dominance by recording 8-2 and 5-0 victories, respectively, while Atletico Madrid settled for a draw with Celta Vigo.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain both settled for draws, while Borussia Dortmund, Everton and Liverpool each slumped to losses in a weekend filled with upsets across the continent.

Here is a closer look at all the weekend’s action from the top leagues in Europe:

ENGLAND

In a matchup of two of the league’s title contenders, 10-man Manchester City escaped the Etihad with a late draw as former Chelsea star Frank Lampard came back to punish his former side.

The two Premier League powerhouses played to a 1-1 draw Sunday as Lampard’s 85th minute winner canceled out Andre Schurrle’s opener, which came 14 minutes prior. The German’s 71st minute finish, which came via a beautifully played cross from Eden Hazard, seemed to break the Man City spirit, which had been severely dented by a Pablo Zabaleta sending off just five minutes before. However, Lampard, who played 13 seasons for Chelsea before moving to NYCFC this summer, smashed home a James Milner pass just five minutes from time to earn his side an important point.

Meanwhile, Manchester United’s defensive struggles revealed themselves yet again as the Red Devils squandered a two-goal lead to fall to newcomers Leicester City, 5-3, at the King Power Stadium. United sprinted out to a 3-1 lead over the Foxes via goals from stars Robin van Persie, Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria. However, the hosts battled back, with former Inter Milan star Estaban Cambiasso netting the equalizing goal before Jamie Vardy scored the gamewinner.

Meanwhile, Louis van Gaal’s side were far from the only Premier League favorite to fall on the weekend, as Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton were knocked off by West Ham, West Brom and Crystal Palace, respectively.

Here are the results from this weekend’s Premier League action:

Queens Park Rangers 2 – 2 Stoke City

Aston Villa 0 – 3 Arsenal

Burnley 0 – 0 Sunderland

Newcastle 2 – 2 Hull City

Swansea City 0 – 1 Southampton

West Ham 3 – 1 Liverpool

Leicester City 5 – 3 Manchester United

Tottenham Hotspur 0 – 1 West Brom

Everton 2 – 3 Crystal Palace

Manchester CIty 1 – 1 Chelsea

SPAIN

La Liga royalty Real Madrid and Barcelona displayed their control over the league once again as each side cruised to a dominant victory this weekend.

Reigning Champions League winners Real Madrid put forth a goal-filled performance worthy of their big money attacking signings, as Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick in a 8-2 victory over Deportivo. In addition to the Portuguese star, James Rodriguez scored his first La Liga goal, while Gareth Bale and Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez each scored braces.

Barcelona demonstrated their attacking capabilities as well with a 5-0 victory over Levante with five different goal-scorers. Lionel Messi, Neymar, Ivan Rakitic, Pedro and Sandro Ramirez each scored for Barca, who remain as La Liga’s only unblemished team.

Atletico Madrid were not as clinical as their rivals, however, as the reigning La Liga champions settled for a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo, who remain unbeaten on the young season. Atletico received goalscoring contributions from defenders Mirando and Diego Godin, but a stunning Pablo Hernandez finish and a Nolito penalty kick earned Celta Vigo a split of the points.

Here are the results from this weekend’s La Liga action:

Elche 0 – 2 Eibar

Deportivo 2 – 8 Real Madrid

Athletic Bilbao 0 – 1 Granada

Atletico Madrid 2 – 2 Celta Vigo

Espanyol 2 – 2 Malaga

Real Sociedad 1 – 2 Almeria

Villareal 4 – 2 Real Vallecano

Cordoba 1 – 3 Sevilla

Levante 0 – 5 Barcelona

GERMANY

If you look atop the early-season Bundesliga table, you won’t see perennial contenders Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund sitting at the top spot. You’d see recently promoted Paderborn, in the club’s first Bundesliga campaign of their current incarnation, who topped Bundesliga mainstay Hannover, 2-1, Saturday.

Paderborn’s eight points and plus-five goal differential see the new Bundesliga side sit above reigning champions Bayern Munich, who settled for a 0-0 draw with Hamburg over the weekend.

Meanwhile, fellow contenders Borussia Dortmund slumped to their second defeat in four games in a loss to Mainz. Fresh off a dominating Champions League victory over Arsenal, BVB struggled Saturday, giving up a goal to Shinji Okazaki before suffering through a Matthias Ginter own-goal.

Here are the results from this weekend’s Bundesliga action:

Freiberg  2 – 2 Hertha Berlin

Augsburg 4 – 2 Werder Bremen

Hamburg 0 – 0 Bayern Munich

Paderborn 2 – 0 Hannover

Schalke 2 – 2 Eintracht Frankfurt

Stuttgart 0 – 2 Hoffenheim

Mainz 2 – 0 Borussia Dortmund

Wolfsburg 4 – 1 Bayer Leverkusen

FC Cologne 0 – 0 Borussia Monchengladbach

ITALY

After seeing AC Milan pick up maximum points through their first two contests, Juventus sent their Serie A rivals a reminder that they are truly the team to beat.

The reigning Serie A champions picked up their third win in as many games via a 1-0 victory over AC Milan Saturday behind a Carlos Tevez goal. Tevez, whose goal came in the 71st minute, dummied a through ball from midfielder Paul Pogba before finishing past goalkeeper Christian Abiatti for the game’s lone finish.

In addition to Juventus, Roma continued their flawless start to the season with a 2-0 victory over Cagliari. Behind goals from Mattia Destro and Alessandro Florenzi, who ran into the stands to hug his grandmother following his finish, Roma continue their winning streak that has seen the club maintain three straight clean sheets to start the season.

Here are the results from this weekend’s Serie A action:

Cesena 2 – 2 Empoli

AC Milan 0 – 1 Juventus

Chievo Verona 2 – 3 Parma

AS Roma 2 – 0 Cagliari

Genoa 1 – 0 Lazio

Sassuolo 0 – 0 Sampdoria

Atalanta 0 – 0 Fiorentina

Udinese 1 – 0 Napoli

Palermo 1 – 1 Inter Milan

Torino 0 – 1 Hellas Verona

FRANCE

For the fourth time in their opening six games, Paris Saint-Germain were forced to settle for a draw.

The reigning Ligue 1 champions saw their lead evaporate in the 84th minute as Lyon’s Samuel Umtiti’s late goal earned his side a 1-1 draw. Lyon, who would have grabbed a late victory if not for a Corentin Tolisso moments after Umtiti’s equalizer, canceled out a 20th minute Edinson Cavani header to earn a precious point.

Marseille, Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne cemented their spots atop the table with victories, as the trio now possess 13 points through their first six games.

Here are the results from this weekend’s Ligue 1 action:

Bordeaux 2 – 1 Evian

Marseille 3 – 0 Stade Rennes

Lorient 0 – 1 Stade de Reims

Metz 3 – 1 Bastia

Nantes 2 – 1 Nice

Toulouse 3 – 3 Caen

Lille 0 -0 Montpellier

Monaco 1 – 0 Guingamp

Lens 0 – 1 Saint-Etienne

Paris Saint-Germain 1 – 1 Lyon

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What did you think of this weekend’s European action? Which results stood out to you?

Share your thoughts below.