Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By RYAN TOLMICH

Despite losing some of the club’s biggest stars during the summer window, Atletico Madrid demonstrated once again that they are still a force in Spanish soccer.

The reigning La Liga champions topped Real Madrid Saturday by a 2-1 scoreline, earning Atletico their second victory over their city rivals on the young season.

In addition to the battle of Spanish powerhouses, the Premier League featured a headlining clash of its own, as Arsenal and Manchester City played to a 2-2 draw at the Emirates.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund each earned victories, while reigning Serie A champions Juventus continued their dominance with a 2-0 victory over Udinese.

Here is a closer look at all of Saturday’s action from across Europe’s top leagues:

SPAIN

After previously knocking off Real Madrid in the Spanish SuperCup, Atletico did the job once again Saturday at the Bernabeu with a 2-1 victory behind an Arda Turan winner.

Atletico midfielder Tiago opened the derby’s scoring in the 10th minute, only to see Cristiano Ronaldo equalize just 16 minutes later from the penalty spot. Things remained level until the 76th minute, as Turan smashed home a Juanfran cross to earn his side the victory.

Meanwhile, Barcelona picked up a win of their own, as Neymar netted a late brace to give his side a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao. The Brazilian star scored in the 79th and 84th minutes to earn his side maximum points, with both finishes assisted by Lionel Messi.

Here are the results from Saturday’s La Liga action:

Barcelona 2 – 2 Athletic Bilbao

Malaga o – 0 Levante

Real Madrid 1 – 2 Atletico Madrid

Celta Vigo 2 – 2 Real Sociedad

ENGLAND

In a clash of two of the league’s perennial contenders, Arsenal were forced to settle for a draw with Manchester City due to a late equalizer from Martin Demichelis.

After Sergio Aguero opened the scoring in the 28th minute, Arsenal grabbed the lead with second half finishes from Jack Wishere and Alexis Sanchez in the 63rd and 74th minutes, respectively. However, Demichelis earned his side a share of the points with an 83rd minute header.

Fellow title hopefuls Chelsea continued their early season run by picking up a 4-2 victory over Swansea behind a Diego Costa hat-trick. The former Atletico striker scored goals in the 45th, 56th and 67th minutes before fellow new signing Loic Remy added another in the 81st to continue the Blues’ flawless opening to the Premier League season.

Meanwhile, fellow contenders Liverpool were not as clinical, as the Reds slumped to a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa at Anfield.  With starting striker Daniel Sturridge absent due to injury, Liverpool failed to respond to Villa forward Gabby Agbonlahor’s ninth minute finish, dooming the Reds to a disappointing home defeat.

Here are the results from Saturday’s Premier League action:

Arsenal 2 – 2 Manchester City

Chelsea 4 – 2 Swansea

Crystal Palace 0 – 0 Burnley

Southampton 4 – 0 Newcastle

Stoke City 0 – 1 Leicester City

Sunderland 2 – 2 Tottenham

West Bromwich Albion 0 – 2 Everton

Liverpool 0 – 1 Aston Villa

GERMANY

With Bayer Leverkusen emerging as surprising early season contenders, German powerhouses Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund did their part in keeping pace Saturday with victories of their own.

Bayern benefitted from the goalscoring touches of Mario Goetze and Franck Ribery, as the reigning champions picked up a 2-0 victory over Stuttgart. Goetze’s 27th minute finish was followed by Ribery’s 85th minute insurance goal as Bayern now turn their gaze towards a marquee Champions League clash with Manchester City next week.

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund added a victory of their own by topping Freiburg by a 3-1 scoreline. Shinji Kagawa led the way as the Japan international scored in the 40th minute of his return to the German side. Kagawa’s 40th minute finish was sandwiched by goals from Adrian Ramos and Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng, as BVB cruised to three points.

Here are the results from Saturday’s Bundesliga action:

Bayern Munich 2 – 0 Stuttgart

Borussia Dortmund 3 – 1 Freiburg

Mainz 3 – 1 Hertha Berlin

SC Paiderbon 07 0 – 0 Cologne

Hoffenheim 1 – 1 Wolfsburg

Borussia Monchengladbach 4 – 1 Schalke 04

ITALY

Just two games into the Serie A season, Juventus have picked off right where they left off.

The reigning champions picked up their second win in as many games Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Udinese behind goals from Carlos Tevez and Claudio Marchisio. The Argentine opened the scoring just eight minutes in before Marchisio added a second in the 75th minute to earn Juventus all three points.

Meanwhile, Roma continued their perfect start as well by putting together a 1-0 victory over Empoli. Roma’s victory came as a result of an own goal, as Empoli’s Luigi Sepe sent the ball into the wrong net in first half stoppage time.

Here are the results from Saturday’s Serie A action:

Juventus 2 – 0 Udinese

Empoli 0 – 1 Roma

FRANCE

After drawing two of their first four games, Paris Saint-Germain were once again forced to settle for just one point.

PSG and Stade Rennes played to a 1-1 draw Saturday, as Rennes’ Abdoulaye Doucoure 55th minute finish canceled out Zoumana Camara’s 43rd minute opener. Meanwhile, Saint-Etienne picked up a 1-0 victory over Caen, while Montpellier scored a 1-0 victory of their own over Lorient.

Here are the results from Saturday’s Ligue 1 action:

Stade Rennes 1 – 1 Paris Saint-Germain

Bastia 1 – 1 Lens

Montpellier 1 – 0 Lorient

Nice 1 – 0 Metz

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What did you think of Saturday’s European action? What teams impressed you most?

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