Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were both in purple patches over the weekend in Spain, while there was some curious developments in Italy and England too.
Spanish La Liga
Weekend Results, Saturday; Sevilla 1 Valencia 0, Athletic Bilbao 1 Villarreal 1, Real Madrid 6 Rayo Vallecano 2, FC Barcelona 5 Atletico Madrid 0, Mallorca 2 Sociedad 1, Levante 3 Espanyol 1,; Sunday; Granada 1 Osasuna 1, Gijon 0 Racing Santander 0, Zaragoza 0 Malaga 0; Monday; Getafe 1 Real Betis 0
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Betis | 12 |
| 2 | FC Barcelona | 11 |
| 3 | Levante | 11 |
| 4 | FC Sevilla | 11 |
| 5 | Real Madrid | 10 |
It was goals galore for Spain’s big two with Barcelona thrashing Atletico Madrid 5-0, while Real Madrid destroyed newly-promoted Rayo Vallecano 6-2. Lionel Messi grabbed a hat-trick for Barca, while Cristiano Ronaldo did likewise for Real. Meanwhile, Betis’ 100 per cent record ended after a loss at Getafe on Monday, while Levante kept up their surprise start to the season with a 3-1 win over Espanyol.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Getafe | 4 |
| 17 | Granada | 4 |
| 18 | Racing Santander | 3 |
| 19 | Athletic Bilbao | 2 |
| 20 | Sporting Gijon | 1 |
Four points in two games has moved struggling Villarreal away from the drop zone and up to 15th, but the side they drew with on the weekend, Athletic Bilbao are still winless and battling. Getafe’s win over Betis moves them out of the bottom three, while Gijon claimed their first point of the season against Racing.
Topscorers, Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) 8 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 7 goals, Roberto Soldado (Valencia) 5 goals, Radamel Falcao (FC Sevilla) 5 goals
English Premier League
Weekend Results, Saturday; Manchester City 2 Everton 0, Arsenal 3 Bolton 0, Chelsea 4 Swansea 1, Liverpool 2 Wolverhampton 1, Newcastle 3 Blackburn 1, West Bromwich 0 Fulham 0, Wigan 1 Tottenham 2, Stoke City 1 Manchester United 1; Sunday; QPR 1 Aston Villa 1; Monday; Norwich 2 Sunderland 1
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 16 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 16 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 13 |
| 4 | Newcastle | 12 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 10 |
Manchester United dropped their first points of the campaign after a 1-1 draw at Stoke City, where Peter Crouch scored the equaliser. There were wins for the other big guns including Manchester City who had Mario Balotelli come off the bench and the turn the game, while Chelsea got past Swansea despite Fernando Torres’ red card.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Swansea | 5 |
| 17 | Fulham | 4 |
| 18 | Blackburn | 4 |
| 19 | West Bromwich | 4 |
| 20 | Bolton | 3 |
Arsenal moved up to 13th after their comfortable 3-0 win over Bolton who are having plenty of issues this term. Fulham are still winless after a goalless draw at West Bromwich, while Blackburn slip back into the drop zone following their loss at Newcastle.
Topscorers, Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 9 goals, Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) 8 goals, Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) 6 goals
Italian Serie A
Weekend Results, Saturday; Bologna 1 Internazionale 3, AC Milan 1 Cesena 0, Napoli 0 Fiorentina 0; Sunday; Chievo Verona 2 Genoa 1, Atalanta 2 Novara 1, Cagliari 0 Udinese 0, Catania 1 Juventus 1, Lazio 0 Palermo 0, Siena 3 Lecce 0, Parma 0 AS Roma 1
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juventus | 8 |
| 2 | Udinese | 8 |
| 3 | Chievo Verona | 7 |
| 4 | Palermo | 7 |
| 5 | Fiorentina | 7 |
Juventus held onto top spot after a 1-1 draw at Catania, with Milos Krasic scoring the equaliser for the Old Lady who have drawn their past two matches. Of the top eight clubs in Italy, only Chievo Verona were victorious, 2-1 over Genoa, while the big boys AC Milan, AS Roma and Internazionale claimed their first wins of the campaign but still remain in the bottom half.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Internazionale | 4 |
| 17 | Lecce | 3 |
| 18 | Parma | 3 |
| 19 | Bologna | 1 |
| 20 | Cesena | 0 |
Atalanta have overcome their points deduction and now have moved away from the bottom three following their win over Novara. Cesena remain pointless after a 1-0 loss to AC Milan thanks to Clarence Seedorf’s early goal, while there’s some concerns for Lecce, Parma and Bologna.
Topscorers, Rodrigo Palacio (Genoa) 4 goals, Edinson Cavani (Napoli) 3 goals, Sebastian Giovinco (Parma) 3 goals, Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) 3 goals, Sebastian Giovinco (Parma) 3 goals
German Bundesliga
Weekend Results, Friday; VfB Stuttgart 1 Hamburg SV 2; Saturday; Schalke 04 4 SC Freiburg 2, FSV Mainz 1 Borussia Dortmund 2, VfL Wolfsburg 1 Kaiserslautern 0, Moenchengladbach 1 FC Nurnberg 0, Augsburg 0 Hannover 96 0, Bayern Munich 3 Bayer Leverkusen 0; Sunday; FC Koln 2 Hoffenheim 0, Werder Bremen 2 Hertha BSC 1
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 18 |
| 2 | Werder Bremen | 16 |
| 3 | Moenchengladbach | 16 |
| 4 | Hoffenheim | 12 |
| 5 | Schalke 04 | 12 |
Bayern Munich are the team to beat in Germany after they eased past Leverkusen 3-0, with goals from Thomas Muller, Daniel van Buyten and Arjen Robben. Meanwhile, Werder Bremen maintained their bright early season form with a last-gasp 2-1 win over Hertha with Claudio Pizarro scoring the goals again. Moenchengladbach are the surprise packets after claiming another three points.
| Pos | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | FSV Mainz | 7 |
| 15 | Kaiserslautern | 5 |
| 16 | Augsburg | 4 |
| 17 | SC Freiburg | 4 |
| 18 | Hamburg SV | 4 |
Bottom club Hamburg SV claimed their first win of the season on Friday evening, 2-1 at Stuttgart, thanks to Robert Trasch’s fine volleyed winner. Meanwhile, Augsburg remain winless after 0-0 draw with Hannover, while Freiburg’s defeat at Schalke means they’ve lost three in a row. Wolfsburg move away from the drop zone after a 1-0 win over Kaiserslautern.
Topscorers, Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) 8 goals, Papiss Demba Cisse (SC Freiburg) 6 goals, Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen) 5 goals, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04) 5 goals