SPAIN
Real Madrid’s early-season woes deepened when they were beaten 2-1 at home by champions Atletico Madrid on Saturday, while Barcelona remained the only side with a perfect record thanks to a 2-0 win over visiting Athletic Bilbao.
Tiago headed Atletico in front in the 10th minute at the Bernabeu and Cristiano Ronaldo levelled for the home side with a 26th-minute penalty before substitute Arda Turan finished off a fine move with a sweeping finish 14 minutes from time.
Barca forward Neymar also produced a fine performance off the bench, netting both goals late in the second half at the Nou Camp from a pair of brilliant Lionel Messi assists.
Barca have a perfect nine points from three matches, with Atletico in joint second on seven and Real trailing on three following a second straight defeat.
ENGLAND
With Manchester City drawing 2-2 at Arsenal and Liverpool suffering a shock 1-0 home defeat by Aston Villa, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea were the big winners in the fourth round of Premier League games.
They came from 1-0 down to end Swansea City’s 100 percent record with a 4-2 win for a fourth successive victory. Diego Costa scored a hat-trick, taking his tally to seven goals in those matches.
Villa’s unexpected win at Liverpool enabled them to jump into second place, two points behind the leaders.
Manchester United served notice that they could be contenders despite a bad start, thrashing Queens Park Rangers 4-0 for a first victory under manager Louis van Gaal with new record signing Angel di Maria grabbing the opener.
GERMANY
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery marked his Bundesliga season debut with a goal as the champions, preparing to face Manchester City in the Champions League next week, beat VfB Stuttgart 2-0.
Mario Goetze was also on target for the hosts, who added Holger Badstuber to their growing injury list, after he tore a thigh muscle tendon and will need surgery.
Borussia Dortmund celebrated the return of midfielder Shinji Kagawa, with the Japan international scoring one goal and helping set up another in their 3-1 home victory over Freiburg.
The transfer of Kagawa, who won consecutive league titles with Dortmund in 2011 and 2012 and then spent two hapless seasons at Manchester United, comes at the right time with Arsenal awaiting in their Champions League group opener.
ITALY
AC Milan, titleholders Juventus and AS Roma are the only teams with six points from two games after all winning.
Juventus enjoyed a straightforward 2-0 win at home to Udinese with Carlos Tevez scoring early and Claudio Marchisio adding the second late in the game.
Mauro Icardi scored a hat-trick and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo netted twice as Inter Milan steam-rollered hapless Sassuolo 7-0 at San Siro.
AC Milan won an extraordinary match 5-4 at Parma despite Fernando Torres missing his debut with a sprained ankle.
FRANCE
Paris St Germain’s preparations for the Champions League did not go according to plan as the French champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Stade Rennais on Saturday.
The result left them in fourth place on nine points after five matches, two points behind leaders Lille who beat Nantes 2-0 at home on Sunday.
Lille took over from Girondins de Bordeaux who lost 2-1 at En Avant Guingamp.
Monaco’s woeful start to the season continued on Friday when they lost 2-1 at Olympique Lyonnais before they welcome Bayer Leverkusen in their Champions League opener on Tuesday.
PSG start their campaign on Wednesday at Ajax Amsterdam.
NETHERLANDS
PEC Zwolle’s Joost Broerse scored a spectacular long range free kick in a 3-1 home triumph over PSV Eindhoven as they joined their opponents at the top of the Dutch league standings by ending their 100 percent record on Saturday.
Ajax Amsterdam’s Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik, on loan from Bayer Leverkusen for the season, made his first impact when he scored twice as the champions bounced back from two successive defeats to beat bottom placed Heracles 2-1 at home.
GREECE
Panathinaikos’ stuttering start to the season continued onSunday as the Greens slumped to a surprise 1-0 defeat by minnows AEL Kalloni.
PORTUGAL
Former Portuguese champions Boavista won their first game since being re-admitted to Primeira Liga following the Golden Whistle investigation when they beat Academica Coimbra 1-0 on Sunday.
Benfica’s new signing Talisca, 20, scored a hat-trick as the titleholders won 5-0 at Vitoria Setubal and Porto were held 1-1 at Vitoria Guimaraes. (Reuters)
