While the Premier League started with a bang, elsewhere in Europe, there were plenty of drama and actions that kept the fans engrossed over the weekend. We take a look at what happened at some of the major leagues in Europe.
In the Premiership, almost all the top clubs have earned full three points, except Arsenal, who lost 3-1to Aston Villa at their own turf. Of the new managers, David Moyes of Manchester United and Jose Mourinho of Chelsea got off to a flyer with convincing victories, while Everton new boss Roberto Martinez had to remain content with a 2-2 draw against Norwich City.
All the three new promoted teams lost their matches, with neither of them creating any positive impression. Crystal Palace tried best in the closing stages of the game against Tottenham, but no goading to take pride of.
The Spanish League was back as well and as usual, eyes were focused on Barcelona and Real Madrid only. Under new manager Gerardo Martino, the Catalans simply eviscerated Levante with a 7-0 victory. Lionel Messi and Pedro each scored a brace, while Dani Alves, Xavi and Alexis Sanchez bagged one each.
Real Madrid under new manager Carlo Ancelotti started their journey on a winning note as well, but unlike their rivals who made it a one sided contest within 20 minutes, the Los Blancos, had to work hard against a resilient Real Betis to earn full three points. Jorge Molina gave the visitors an early lead but it took less than 10 minutes for Madrid to restore parity. In the end, new boy Isco’s header from the center of the box, earned full three points for the men in white.
Elsewhere, in the alternative league, that is, a league outside the top two clubs in Spain, Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad have all registered victories.
Moving to Germany, it was another routine victory for Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich as they strolled past Frankfurt with a 1-0 victory. Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic, who was on target in the opening match against Gladbach scored again with a fine volley in the 13th minute of the game.
Bayer Leverkusen & Borussia Dortmund have won their matches against VfB Stuttgart and Braunschweig respectively, though Schalke 04 are yet to win so far, having lost 4-0 against Wolfsburg.
In France, Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain boss Laurent blanc is already feeling the heat as the mega-rich club has failed to win their second game running and only managed a 1-1 draw against Ajaccio. New signing, Edinson Cavani scored a wonderful goal; from outside the box with his left foot to level the score in the 86th minute, after Benoit Pedretti, the midfielder opened the scoring for the visitors.
Elsewhere, Yoann Gourcuff scored a stunning goal as Lyon earned a comfortable 3-1 victory. Radamel Falcao was on target too, as Monaco completed 4-1 rout over former league champions Montpellier.
And since, Italian league is still taking break for the new football season; we focus on Eredivisie, where Ajax bounced back from their shock defeat to AZ Alkmaar, with a 2-1 win over Dutch giants Feyenoord.
The 23-year-old Iceland striker, Kolbeinn Sigthorsson found the net for the first time this season and he capped a wonderful day with a brace. Ajax’s major rival and title contender PSV Eindhoven move to the top of the table with three wins in a row, after managing 3-0 victory over Go Ahead Eagles.
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