Bale and Ozil shine in first matches with new clubs

 Bale and Ozil shine in first matches with new clubs

SPAIN
World record signing Gareth Bale scored on his first appearance for Real Madrid but it was a bitter-sweet debut for the $132.59-million man as Real dropped their first points of the season in a 2-2 draw at Villarreal.
Champions Barcelona and King’s Cup holders Atletico Madrid are the only teams with perfect records after four matches with Barca winning 3-2 at home to Sevilla and Atletico beating promoted Almeria 4-2 at the Calderon.
Barca left it late to secure the points against Sevilla after squandering a two-goal lead at the Nou Camp.
Substitute Alexis Sanchez struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time after World Player of the Year Lionel Messi had scored his sixth of the campaign and Daniel Alves had netted a rare header against his former club.
Barca and Atletico lead on 12 points, with Real and promoted Villarreal two points behind.
ENGLAND
Champions Manchester United laboured to a 2-0 win over 10-man Crystal Palace, while Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea lost 1-0 at Everton as they suffered their worst start to a Premier League season during the big-spending era of Roman Abramovich.
With early pacesetters Liverpool not playing until Monday, when they travel to Swansea City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur jumped above them on goal difference with victories over Sunderland and Norwich City respectively.
Arsenal’s new recruit Mesut Ozil gave fans a glimpse of his talents in their 3-1 away win, making his mark after just 11 minutes when he killed a long ball forward with a wonderful touch before squaring for Olivier Giroud to open the scoring.
Manchester United’s transfer deadline-day signing Marouane Fellaini started on the bench at Old Trafford before coming on in the second half but it was goals from the familiar names of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie that secured the three points.
ITALY
Second-half goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon sent Napoli top of Serie A with a 2-0 win over Atalanta with nine points from three games.
Inter Milan and champions Juventus drew 1-1 in the Derby of Italy, a result which put both on seven points.
Mauro Icardi’s first goal for Inter put them ahead in the 73rd minute before Arturo Vidal snatched a superb equalizer.
Fiorentina, also on seven points, lost their 100 percent record in a 1-1 draw with Cagliari after conceding a late equalizer, scored by Mauricio Pinilla.
A stoppage-time Mario Balotelli penalty helped AC Milan come from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Torino, avoiding a second defeat in three games.
GERMANY
Leaders Borussia Dortmund scored four goals in 16 minutes to demolish Hamburg SV 6-2 and maintain their 100 percent record after five games of the Bundesliga season.
New signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Robert Lewandowski netted twice each, Marco Reus capped a virtuoso performance with a goal and Henrikh Mkhitaryan completed the scoring. Zhi-Gin Lam and Heiko Westermann replied for Hamburg.
Champions Bayern Munich, also unbeaten and two points behind in second place, beat Hanover 96 2-0 with goals from Mario Mandzukic and Franck Ribery.
Stefan Kiessling scored twice to give third-placed Bayer Leverkusen a 3-1 win over VfL Wolfsburg, who had Luiz Gustavo sent off for the second time in three games since his move from Bayern.
Kevin-Prince Boateng’s first goal for Schalke 04 following his move from AC Milan earned a them 1-0 win at Mainz 05.
FRANCE
Monaco stayed in command in Ligue 1 after Radamel Falcao’s early penalty earned them a 1-0 win at home to Lorient.
The Russian-backed team from the principality, who won promotion from Ligue 2 last season, have 13 points from five matches and lead second-placed St Etienne by one point.
Champions Paris St Germain, who drew their first two league games, are third on 11 points after Lucas scored his first goal for the capital side in a 2-0 win at Girondins de Bordeaux.
Monaco and PSG, the league’s two big spenders, are the only two unbeaten teams left in Ligue 1 after five rounds of matches.
NETHERLANDS
Champions Ajax Amsterdam ended the unbeaten run of surprise early leaders PEC Zwolle by beating their visitors 2-1 with Thulani Serero opening the scoring on 72 minutes before an own goal from Maikel van der Werff four minutes later.
Giovanni Gravenbeek netted a late consolation for PEC, who remain top of the standings with 13 points from six games.
Second-placed PSV Eindhoven, on 12 points, were held to a 2-2 draw at Twente Enschede while third-placed Heerenveen beat FC Groningen 4-2, helped by two goals from Alfred Finnbogason who took his league tally for the season to eight.
Ajax are level on 11 points with Heerenveen.
GREECE
Panathinaikos’ stuttering start to the season continued as the Greens were held to a 1-1 draw at Platanias, while arch rivals Olympiakos Piraeus maintained their 100 percent start to the defence of their Super League title.
The international break did little to invigorate Yiannis Anastasiou’s struggling Panathinaikos team, who fell behind to a Thomas Nazilidis strike on the stroke of halftime in Crete.
The visitors had to wait until six minutes from time to draw level, with substitute Abdul Ajagun saving the day with a close-range effort to leave Panathinaikos with five points from four matches.
Olympiakos continue to lead the way after recording their fourth successive win with a resounding 4-0 victory over Skoda Xanthi that featured a second hat-trick in a row for Greece striker Kostas Mitroglou.
BELGIUM
Nineteen-year-old Michy Batshuayi scored a 30-minute hat-trick to help leaders Standard Liege to a 4-2 win at Oostende, maintaining their perfect start to the season after seven matches.
The weekend’s eight games produced 31 goals with Club Bruges, second on 17 points, beating Lierse 4-1 Lierse and Anderlecht thrashing Mechelen 5-0, helped by two goals from 18-year-old Serb Aleksandar Mitrovic who was signed from Partizan Belgrade in the latest transfer window.
AUSTRIA
Leaders FC Salzburg thrashed hosts SV Ried 5-0 with Brazilian striker Alan scoring twice before being sent off in the 61st minute.
Alan’s compatriot Ramalho had opened the scoring in the ninth minute and Kevin Krampl scored two more late in the game to leave Salzburg unbeaten with 18 points from eight games.
Wolfsberger gave new coach Dietmar Kuehbauer a winning start, beating Admira Wacker 3-1, and Austria Vienna, who face Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday, lost 3-2 at home to promoted Groedig.
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