AS Roma’s perfect start in Serie A was finally ended by Torino on a weekend when Arsenal surged five points ahead in England and Paris Saint-Germain extended their lead in France.
Italy
Roma’s record breaking start to the season finally ended as the Giallorossi were held 1-1 by Torino, dropping their first points of the season in the process.
“We’re still first and you cannot win every game,” said Daniele De Rossi. “It’s a shame we conceded during a moment of slight relaxation. That can happen, especially after this great start to the season.”
Despite Roma’s brilliant start to the season they are only 3 points ahead of Napoli and Juventus, who beat Catania and Parma respectively. It was another bad week for AC Milan who lost for the fifth time this season, falling 2-0 at home to Fiorentina.
England
Arsenal moved five points clear at the Premier League summit after defeating nearest challengers Liverpool 2-0 thanks to goals in either half from Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey.
“It was important to respond to convince people that we can win these big games,” enthused Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. “To win it in a convincing way is even more important.”
Elsewhere, second-placed Chelsea were surprisingly beaten 2-0 at Newcastle United, while Tottenham Hotspur and Everton 0-0. Those results allowed the two Manchester clubs to close the gap on the chasers as City thrashed Norwich 7-0 and United beat Fulham 3-1.
France
PSG consolidated their position atop the Ligue 1 standings on Friday as Edinson Cavani scored twice in a 4-0 rout of FC Lorient.
“It’s always a pleasure to play and when you win, it’s even better. We made the match so much easier by scoring early and the rest just followed,” said defender Lucas Digne.
The left-back’s old club Lille are two points back in second as they beat Monaco 2-0, a result that dropped Claudio Ranieri’s side into third place.
Spain
Alexis Sánchez scored 22 minutes from time as Barcelona overcame city rivals Espanyol 1-0 to extend their unbeaten start to the season.
“We are nearly perfect when it comes to results,” said coach Gerardo Martino. “We are capable of playing better, we can always play better.”
But Atlético Madrid will not let Barca go as they beat Athletic Club 2-0 to stay just a point behind the leaders. Six points off the top are Real Madrid who beat city rivals Rayo Vallecano 3-2 with Gareth Bale assisting on two of Real Madrid’s goals.
Germany
A bit of history for Bayern Munich this weekend as they equalled Hamburg’s 36-match unbeaten Bundesliga run from 1982 to 1983 by edging beating Hoffenheim 2-1. The result also lifted Josep Guardiola’s side back to the top after being momentarily displaced by Borussia Dortmund, who demolished VfB Stuttgart 6-1 on Friday.
“It certainly wasn’t our best performance, but we won,” said Guardiola. “Not everything was perfect, and we’ll need to correct the way we’re playing.
As for third-placed Bayer Leverkusen, they lost 1-0 at bottom team Eintracht Braunschweig, while there were wins for Borussia Mönchengladbach and Schalke 04.
