Weekend Developments From Europe's Top Leagues 17/9

Barcelona won again and Real Madrid lost again, while around Europe there were big results for Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.

Spanish La Liga

Weekend Results, Saturday; Sevilla 1 Real Madrid 0, Getafe 1 Barcelona 4, Valencia 2 Celta Vigo 1, Malaga 3 Levante 1, Sunday; Atletico Madrid 4 Rayo Vallecano 3, Real Sociedad 2 Real Zaragoza 0, Osasuna 1 Mallorca 1, Granada 1 Deportivo Coruna 1, Espanyol 3 Athletic Bilbao 3, Monday; Valladolid v Real Betis

Lionel Messi scored another brace as Barcelona maintained their 100 per cent record as they easily brushed aside Getafe 4-1, while Malaga also continued their bright start to the campaign as they knocked off Levante 3-1 with Javier Saviola on the scoresheet. Sevilla’s surprise 1-0 victory over the struggling Real Madrid pushed them up to fourth, while Radomel Falcao scored in Atletico Madrid’s win over Rayo Vallecano where they almost blew a four-goal lead.

Bottom pair Espanyol and Osasuna both got off the mark on the weekend with draws, while Valencia moved well away from the drop zone with a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo. Newly promoted Celta Vigo and Real Zaragoza both slipped to their third defeats this season too.

English Premier League

Weekend Results, Saturday; Norwich City 0 West Ham 0, Arsenal 6 Southampton 1, Aston Villa 2 Swansea City 0, Fulham 3 West Bromwich 0, Manchester United 4 Wigan 0, QPR 0 Chelsea 0, Stoke City 1 Manchester City 1, Sunderland 1 Liverpool 1, Sunday; Reading 1 Tottenham 3, Monday; Everton v Newcastle

Manchester United moved ominously up to second with a crushing 4-0 triumph over Wigan with new signing Alexander Buttner impressing and getting on the scoresheet. Chelsea and Manchester City could only manage draws while Arsenal found their goalscoring form with a 6-1 hammering over Southampton.

Liverpool once again failed to win managing only a 1-1 draw away to Sunderland, while QPR’s 0-0 home draw with Chelsea was a welcome boost for them. Reading were smashed 3-1 by Tottenham in Sunday’s game, while Southampton’s poor run of fixtures continued to haunt them as they were pulled apart by the Gunners.

German Bundesliga

Weekend Results, Friday; Augsburg 0 Wolfsburg 0, Saturday; Greuther Furth 0 Schalke 2, Stuttgart 0 Fortuna Dusseldorf 0, Hannover 3 Werder Bremen 2, Moenchengladbach 2 Nurnberg 3, Borussia Dortmund 3 Leverkusen 0, Bayern Munich 3 FSV Mainz 1, Sunday; Eintracht Frankfurt 3 Hamburg SV 2, SC Freiburg 5 Hoffenheim 3

Bayern Munich made it three wins from three games with a fine 3-1 home triumph over Mainz with Mario Mandzukic netting yet again, while champions Borussia Dortmund begun to find some good form with a crushing 3-0 triumph over Bayer Leverkusen. Eintracht Frankfurt continued their perfect start with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Hamburg.

Stuttgart’s ordinary start to the campaign continued as they could only manage a goalless home draw with newly promoted Fortuna Dusseldorf. Hoffenheim and Hamburg SV both lost on Sunday, meaning they are both pointless after three matches.

Italian Serie A

Weekend Results, Saturday; AC Milan 0 Atalanta 1, Palermo 1 Cagliari 1, Sunday; Pescara 2 Sampdoria 3, Siena 2 Udinese 2, Napoli 3 Parma 1, Genoa 1 Juventus 3, Fiorentina 2 Catania 0, AS Roma 2 Bologna 3, Chievo Verona 1 Lazio 3, Torino 0 Inter Milan 2

Juventus came from a goal down to win 3-1 on the road against Genoa to remain top of the table, while Napoli continued to build with a 3-1 victory over Parma and Hernanes hit a double as Lazio triumphed at Chievo Verona. Newly promoted Sampdoria are up to fourth with a 3-2 win over Pescara and AC Milan went down 1-0 at home to Atalanta to slump to 10th.

Palermo sacked coach Giuseppe Sannino and again replaced him with Gian Piero Gasperini after a 1-1 home draw with fellow battlers Cagliari. Udinese’s early season woes continued as they blew a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with bottom club Siena.