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Saturday European Rewind: Chelsea downs Arsenal, Juve wins in Ronaldo’s debut, and more

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Chelsea began its 2018-19 EPL campaign on a high a week ago and Maurizio Sarri’s men continued that trend on Saturday at home.

The Blues defeated London rivals Arsenal 3-2 at Stamford Bridge to make it a perfect two-for-two to begin the season. Chelsea led 2-0 after the first 20 minutes as both Pedro and Alvaro Morata netted goals. Arsenal dug deep and answered back before halftime as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi scored four minutes apart to level the match at 2-2. Eden Hazard did not start the match but came off the bench in the second-half and made a difference. The Belgian played in Marcos Alonso who scored the winner past Petr Cech in the 81st minute. Cech made eight saves in the defeat, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a pair of good chances. Arsenal will seek their first win of the season vs. West Ham next weekend while Chelsea travel to Newcastle next.

Elsewhere, Juventus got off to a winning start in Serie A play while Barcelona welcomed Alaves to the Camp Nou. Lazio and Napoli also faced off in a top showdown at the Olimpico. PSG got the best from their stars as they remained perfect in Ligue 1 play. Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth grabbed the results of the day in the English Premier League.

Here’s a closer look at all of Friday and Saturday’s European action:

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

AFC Bournemouth made it a perfect two-from-two to begin their domestic season as they defeated West Ham 2-1 in London. Marko Arnautovic’s 33rd-minute penalty gave the Hammers a first-half lead but that would be the only positives for Manuel Pellegrini’s side. Callum Wilson leveled the score for Bournemouth in the 60th-minute before Steve Cook headed in the eventual winner from a set piece. Both sides had five shots apiece on goal, but its a second straight defeat for West Ham who currently sit bottom of the EPL table. Bournemouth are in second after back-to-back wins.

Here’s all of Saturday’s EPL results:

Cardiff City 0 – Newcastle United 0

Everton 2 – Southampton 1

Leicester City 2 – Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

Tottenham Hotspur 3 – Fulham 1

West Ham United 1 – AFC Bournemouth 2

Chelsea 3 – Arsenal 2

SPANISH LA LIGA

Barcelona began their La Liga defense with a 3-0 success at the Camp Nou against Alaves. Lionel Messi led the way with a brace including a superb free-kick while Philippe Coutinho also scored. Messi’s 64th-minute free kick opened the scoring for Ernesto Valverde’s side before Coutinho doubled their lead in the 83rd. Messi doubled his tally in stoppage time, as he slid Luis Suarez’s assist past Fernando Pacheco. Alaves failed to record a shot on goal, and will next host Real Betis on Saturday. Barcelona travels to newly-promoted Valladolid next Saturday as well.

Real Sociedad began their season in winning fashion on Saturday, fighting back for a 2-1 road win at Villarreal. Gerard Moreno opened his account with Villarreal, slotting in his first for the club in the 16th minute. Willian Jose leveled the score in the 40th minute for Sociedad as the sides went into halftime, tied at 1-1. Juanmi played the hero for Sociedad in the 71st minute, beating Sergio Asenjo from long range. Villarreal held the edge in possession and shots on goal but ultimately suffered an opening day loss at home.

Here’s all of Friday and Saturday’s La Liga results:

Girona 0 – Valladolid 0

Real Betis 0 – Levante 3

Celta Vigo 1 – Espanyol 1

Villarreal 1 – Real Sociedad 2

Barcelona 3 – Alaves 0

ITALIAN SERIE A

The Old Lady needed a 93rd-minute winning goal from Federico Bernardeschi to claim an opening 3-2 win at Chievo Verona. Sami Khedira opened things in the third-minute before Mariusz Stepinski headed Chievo level in the 38th-minute. Emanuele Giaccherini’s penalty kick in the 56th-minute put the hosts in a shocking second-half lead before the defending Serie A champs dug deep. An own-goal by Mattia Bani leveled the score at 2-2 for Juve before Bernardeschi scored the winner from close-range. Cristiano Ronaldo started at forward for Juve, and led the team with four shots on goal in his 90+ minutes of work.

Napoli kicked off their domestic campaign on Saturday, fighting back for a 2-1 road win at Lazio. Ciro Immobile’s 25th-minute opener gave the hosts a 1-0 advantage at the Olimpico, as the Italian slotted in Francesco Acerbi’s assist. Arkadiusz Milik leveled things for Napoli in first-half stoppage time, scoring from close range. Lorenzo Insigne’s strike in the 59th-minute proved to be the gamewinner as the Italian rifled a right-footed shot into the top-right corner. Lazio only had one shot on goal offensively, while Napoli had three.

Chievo Verona 2 – Juventus 3

Lazio 1 – Napoli 2

FRENCH LIGUE 1

PSG used a trio of second-half goals to down Guingamp 3-1 at the Stade Municipal de Roudourou. Nolan Roux’s 20th-minute finish gave the hosts a first-half lead, while Tim Weah got his first start for the defending Ligue 1 champs. However, Weah was replaced at halftime by Neymar, who leveled the match in the 53rd-minute from the penalty spot. Kylian Mbappe slotted in the winning goal in the 82nd-minute before rifling in Neymar’s assist in stoppage time for his second of the afternoon. PSG have started off the Ligue 1 season with back-to-back wins while Guingamp has lost their first two.

Patrick Vieira picked up his first point as Nice manager as his side drew 1-1 on the road at Caen. Yacine Bammou’s penalty kick goal in the 52nd minute gave the hosts a 1-0 lead after a scoreless first-half. Ignatius Ganago’s header in the 82nd minute gave Nice a share of the points, despite out-possessing and attacking their opponents. Caen travels to Nantes next weekend, while Nice hosts Dijon.

Here’s all of Friday and Saturday’s Ligue 1 results:

Stade Reims 1 – Lyon 0

Guingamp 1 – PSG 3

Amiens 1 – Montpellier 2

Caen 1 – Nice 1

Dijon 2 – Nantes 0

AS Monaco 0 – Lille 0

Rennes 1 – Angers 0

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