Big clashes in England this weekend made for some truly eye catching scorelines. Chelsea was thumped by city rival Arsenal, while champions Leicester City received a rude awakening at Old Trafford. West Ham continued their torrid run to the season, while City’s Guardiola stayed perfect.
The top clubs in Italy and Germany scored victories, though hard-earned ones. Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa’s debut was not enough to lift Inter Milan to a fourth straight win, but Juventus was able to get back on track a week after losing at the San Siro. Both Madrid clubs struggled to beat their opposition this weekend, while PSG’s woes in the French league became worse.
Here’s a closer look at each league’s results:
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Manchester United was able to right the ship this weekend, beating Leicester City, 4-1, at Old Trafford. Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho left Wayne Rooney on the bench to start the match, a decision that allowed free-flowing football to return to the Theater of Dreams. Manchester United scored four first-half goals, including Paul Pogba’s first of the campaign, to dismantle a sleepy Foxes backline. The win snapped Manchester United’s three-match losing streak in all competitions.
Antonio Conte’s first London Derby did not go as planned, as Arsenal bossed the Blues at the Emirates and took all three points convincingly in a 3-0 victory. Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott scored three minutes apart in the early stages to give Arsene Wegner’s side a 2-0 lead just 15 minutes into the match. Mesut Özil scored five minutes before halftime to put away the match before halftime had even arrived. The victory was Arsenal’s first over Chelsea in the league since October 2011.
Swansea City lost at home to Manchester City for the second time this week, losing 3-1 to Pep Guardiola’s men. The Citizens maintained their perfect record in the league off a Sergio Aguero brace and a beautiful counterattack goal from Raheem Sterling.
A new week brought the same defensive problems for West Ham United, as the Hammers gave up three goals at home in a 3-0 loss to Southampton. The Saints’ first-ever win at the London Stadium came at a bad time for the Irons, who have lost 5 of 6 to begin their league campaign.
SATURDAY
- Manchester United 4-1 Leicester City
- Liverpool 5-1 Hull City
- Bournemouth 1-0 Everton
- Swansea City 1-3 Manchester City
- Stoke City 1-1 West Brom
- Sunderland 2-3 Crystal Palace
- Middlesborough 1-2 Tottenham
- Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea
SUNDAY
- West Ham 0-3 Southampton
SPANISH PRIMERA DIVISION
Newly-promoted Las Palmas proved its strong start to the La Liga campaign was no hoax on Saturday, earning 2-2 tie at home against Real Madrid. Despite Los Blancos taking two different leads in the match, Las Palmas showed their resiliency both times in tying the match twice. Los Amarillos proved that they can match up with the big boys even without their own star, Kevin Prince-Boateng, who was suspended for the match.
Barcelona was able to maintain its place at the top end of the table with a 5-0 road win at Sporting Gijon. Despite the absence of injured Lionel Messi, the Catalonian club beat a 10-man Sporting side with three goals in the final nine minutes. Despite being up 2-0 at halftime, Lora’s red card allowed for Neymar’s late brace and Arda Turan’s goal to give the visitors a comfortable victory. It marked Barcelona’s second-straight five-goal game.
Atletico Madrid had to work hard to achieve its 1-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish capital. Striker Antoine Griezmann headed home a Kevin Gameiro cross with twenty minutes to go to give the home side the all-important lead. Atleti went up a man just before halftime when Faycal Fajr was given a second yellow, leaving Deportivo with 10 men. Deportivo was able to hang on for the first 25 minutes of the second half, but Griezmann’s goal assured Atleti would be just two points behind Real Madrid in the table
FRIDAY
- Real Betis 1-0 Málaga
SATURDAY
- Eibar 2-0 Real Sociedad
- Sporting 0-5 Barcelona
- Ath. Bilbao 3-1 Sevilla
- Las Palmas 2-2 Real Madrid
SUNDAY
- Leganes 1-2 Valencia
- Atletico Madrid 1-0 Deportivo
- Villarreal 3-1 Osasuna
- Espanyol 0-2 Celta Vigo
MONDAY
- Alavés vs. Granada (2:45 pm)
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
League leaders Bayern Munich struggled away from the Allianz Arena at Hamburg on Saturday. Joshua Kimmich scored with one minute remaining to give the Bavarians all three points. The Ribery to Kimmich connection maintained Bayern’s 100% record under Carlo Ancelotti to begin the Bundesliga campaign, despite Hamburg goalkeeper Rene Adler putting on a spectacular show against Bayern’s big guns.
Mexican superstar Javier Hernandez scored a hat-trick for Bayer Leverkusen at Mainz, as Bayer were able to get the narrow 3-2 victory on the road. Mainz was able to take the lead twice in the match, but both leads were answered by the visitors. Chicharito was able to snatch his third of the match in second-half stoppage time to allow Leverkusen to snatch all three points at Mainz.
Another stoppage-time winner came from Werder Bremen, which shocked Wolfsburg at home. The struggling Bremen side went down in the 69th minute on an own goal, but the atmosphere created by the Werder Bremen supporters changed the dynamic of the match. Lennard Thy began the comeback with a stunning strike, and Gebre Selassie headed in a corner kick in the 91st minute to give Bremen a sensational victory at home.
FRIDAY
- Dortmund 3-1 SC Freiburg
SATURDAY
- Mainz 05 2-3 Bayer
- Eintracht 3-3 Herta BSC
- FC Augsburg 1-0 Darmstadt 98
- Hamburger SV 0-1 Bayern Munich
- Mönchengladbach 2-0 Ingolstadt
- Werder Bremen 2-1 Wolfsburg
SUNDAY
- Hoffenheim 2-1 Schalke 04
- FC Köln 1-1 RB Leipzig
ITALIAN SERIE A
The Gabigol era at Inter Milan got off to a slow start, as Inter Milan was forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at the San Siro, a result that ended Inter’s run of three straight victories in the league. The Nerazzurri went down a goal early, and the hosts were unable to sustain many attacks throughout the match. Ivan Perisic tied the match at one before halftime, as his volley gave the San Siro crowd hope for a fourth straight win. Gabriel Barbosa’s eighteen minute Inter debut resulted in little offensive prowess, and Milan had to settle for a draw.
Joe Hart was able to record his first win in a Torino shirt on Sunday, as the hosts were able to defeat Roma 3-1. Falque’s 55th minute penalty doubled Tornio’s lead, but a Totti penalty for Roma give some hope for the away side. Falque was able to give Torino the two goal cushion in the 65th minute, securing Joe Hart’s first victory since his loan move from Manchester City. The Englishman’s victory came against a former City teammate, Edin Dezko.
Both Juventus and Napoli were able to continue their run at the top of the table on Saturday. The Old Lady’s fifth victory of the season came off a Goldaniga own goal in the 49th minute.
SATURDAY
- Palermo 0-1 Juventus
- Napoli 2-0 Chievo
SUNDAY
- Torino 3-1 Roma
- Sassuolo 1-0 Udinese
- Lazio 2-0 Empoli
- Inter Milan 1-1 Bologna
- Genoa 1-1 Pescara
- Fiorentina 0-0 AC Milan
MONDAY
- Crotone vs. Atalanta (1 pm)
- Cagliari vs. Sampdoria (3 pm)
FRENCH LIGUE 1
A 10-men PSG suffered yet another defeat in the French top flight, as this time Unai Emery’s men fell away from home to Toulouse. Serge Aurier was sent off for his second yellow in the 46th minute, and Toulouse was able to score off a penalty kick just two minutes later. PSG’s fate was sealed 11 minutes from full time when Durmaz insured all three points for the home side. PSG’s defeat has continued to swirl rumors that Angel Di Maria and Hatem Ben Arfa have grown unhappy in the French capitol and may look for a move elsewhere in January.
Monaco was able to shrug off lost week’s thumping defeat to Nice with a victory at home against Angers. Despite going down early, Monaco were able to complete a comeback at the Stade Louis II. Monaco sit in second place behind OGC Nice, which continued its incredible form to start the season by racking up another victory this weekend. Nice defeated Nancy, 1-0, away from home, and the Mario Balotelli-led squad has moved ahead of Monaco once again to sit in first place in France.
FRIDAY
- Toulouse 2-0 PSG
SATURDAY
- Lorient 1-0 Lyon
- Dijon FCO 3-0 Rennes
- Bastia 1-0 Guingamp
- Montpellier 0-1 Metz
- Bordeaux 0-0 Caen
- Monaco 2-1 Angers
SUNDAY
- ASSE 3-1 Lille
- Nancy 0-1 OGC Nice
- Marseille 2-1 Nantes