English Premier League
Daniel Sturridge scored the only goal in the 4th minute of the game as Liverpool beat Manchester United at Anfield.
The former Chelsea man headed in Daniel Agger’s towering header from a corner which was quite poorly defended by the reigning champions. The second half saw United attempting to get back in the match but Steven Gerrard and Lucas played exceptionally well in central midfield. Nani drew a good save from Simon Mignolet with 15 minutes left and Robin Van Persie missed from an acute angle. Raheem Sterling almost made it 2-0 in the dying minutes but David De Gea turned his shot over. Liverpool lead the pack with a 100% record after 3 games.
Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium to win the North London Derby thanks to Olivier Giroud’s solitary goal on 23 minutes. Santi Carzola issued the first warning to Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris with a fine free kick before sending another low free kick wide. Aaron Ramsey and Tomas Rosicky played in Theo Walcott on the right after a swift counter and the winger found Giroud who finished well with a left footed touch which beat Lloris at his near post. Spurs started the 2nd half brightly but simply could not find a way past a resilient Gunner’s defence. Andres Villas-Boas spent over 100 million pounds to bolster his squad but will need to give the new signings some time to adapt.
Manchester City beat Hull City 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium thanks to goals from Alvaro Negredo and Yaya Toure. Hull should have taken the lead on 7 minutes but Sone Aluko shot wide after which Allan McGregor saved Edin Dzeko’s header from a corner. Danny Graham volleyed in Robbie Brady’s cross but the goal was ruled out for offside. McGregor then saved Joleon Lescott’s header from David Silva’s cross. The Tigers kept defending well but City were not to be denied as substitute Negredo headed in Pablo Zabaleta’s cross. Toure made it 2-0 in the 90th minute with a great free kick after Samir Nasri was fouled just outside the box.
Cardiff City drew 0-0 at home against Everton while Hatem Ben Arfa’s goal gave Newcastle United a 1-0 win over Fulham at St. James’ Park. Norwich City beat Southampton 1-0 at home thanks to Nathan Redmond’s goal. Jermaine Pennant came off the bench and scored from a free kick to hand Stoke City a 1-0 win away at West Ham United. Crystal Palace recorded their first win of the campaign after beating Sunderland 3-1 at Selhurst Park. Daniel Gabbidon, Dwight Gayle and Stuart O’Keefe scored for the Eagles while Steven Fletcher scored for the Black Cats. Ben Davies and Pablo Hernandez scored as Swansea City beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 away.
Spanish La Liga
Lionel Messi scored a 1st half hat trick as Barcelona beat Valencia 3-2 at the Mestalla. Helder Postiga reduced the deficit to a single goal with a brace in the 1st half itself. Isco bagged a brace and Cristiano Ronaldo also scored as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Villareal beat Osasuna 3-0 away while Atletico Madrid beat Real Sociedad 2-1 away with Sevilla and Malaga drawing 2-2.
German Bundesliga
Bayern Munich drew 1-1 away at Freiburg in the midweek game. Henrik Mkhitaryan scored a brace as Borussia Dortmund beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 away. Schalke beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 at home thanks to goals from Marco Hoger and Jefferson Farfan. Borussia Monchengladbach thrashed Werder Bremen 4-1 at home while Hamburg hammered Eintracht Braunschweig 4-0 at home. Vedad Ibisevic scored a hat trick as Stuttgart mauled Hoffenheim 6-2 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Italian Serie A
Arturo Vidal scored a brace with Mirko Vucinic and Carlos Tevez also scoring as Juventus beat Lazio 4-1 at the Juventus Stadium with Miroslav Klose scoring a consolation for the visitors. Marek Hamsik scored a brace as Napoli beat Chievo Verona 4-2 away. Mario Balotelli and Robinho got on the score sheet as AC Milan beat Cagliari 3-1 at the San Siro. Inter Milan beat Catania 3-0 away from home while AS Roma beat Hellas Verona 3-0 at home. Mario Gomez and Giuseppe Rossi scored a brace each as Fiorentina beat Genoa 5-2 away.
French Ligue 1
Adrien Rabiot and Zlatan Ibrahimovic both scored in 2nd half injury time to hand Paris Saint-Germain a 2-0 win over Guingamp at the Parc De Princes. Evian Thonon Gaillard beat Lyon 2-1 at home while Nice and Montpellier drew 2-2. Radamel Falcao and Emmanuel Riviere scored as AS Monaco beat Marseille 2-1 away after Lucas Michel Mendes had given the hosts the lead.
Dutch Eredivisie
PSV Eindhoven drew 0-0 at home against Cambuur Leeuwarden while Ajax Amsterdam were held to a 1-1 draw away at Groningen. Twente Enschede and Heerenveen drew 1-1 while AZ Alkmaar drew 1-1 against Vitesse Arnhem with Feyenoord Rotterdam beating Roda 4-0 at home.
Portuguese Liga
Sporting Lisbon hosted Benfica and the game ended in a 1-1 draw. FC Porto won 1-0 away at Pacos de Ferreira while Braga were beaten 1-0 away at Gil Vicente.
Scottish Premiership
Celtic won 1-0 away at Dundee United while Aberdeen drew 0-0 at home against St Johnstone. Motherwell were beaten 1-0 at home by Kilmarnock while Dundee beat Livingston 3-0 at home.
UEFA Super Cup
Champions League winners Bayern Munich beat Europa League victors Chelsea 5-4 on penalties after extra time failed to deliver a result. Fernando Torres opened the scoring for the Blues but Franck Ribery equalised early in the 2nd half. Eden Hazard looked to have won it in the 1st half of extra time but Javi Martinez’s last minute leveller demanded a penalty shootout.
David Alaba took the 1st spot kick and made no mistake. David Luiz did the same for Chelsea. Toni Kroos, Oscar, Philip Lahm, Frank Lampard, Franck Ribery and Ashley Cole also scored from their respective kicks. After Xherdan Shaqiri had scored the 5th for Bayern, Romelu Lukaku missed the decisive kick to hand the Germans a dramatic win.
UEFA Champions League Groups
The Gunners find themselves in this seasons’ group of death with Dortmund and Napoli being fellow favourites to qualify. Marseille too will not make it easier for any of their opponents. Celtic will look to emulate their heroics from last season to beat Barcelona in a bid to qualify from another difficult group.
