Top

European roundup: Ronaldo, Bayern in record-breaking weekend

Ronaldo finally became the highest scorer in Real Madrid's history

London: Cristiano Ronaldo finally became the highest scorer in Real Madrid's history while Bayern Munich set a record for the greatest number of successive wins at the start of a season in the Bundesliga this weekend.

Manchester City did not break any records but made it 11 goals in two home matches to stay top of the Premier League while Juergen Klopp's first match as Liverpool boss ended in a 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur

Spain:

Cristiano Ronaldo set a Real Madrid scoring record in their 3-0 stroll against Levante and Neymar hit four as champions Barcelona struggled to an ultimately flattering 5-2 success against Rayo Vallecano.

Celta Vigo's 2-1 victory at Villarreal left Real, Celta and Barca level on 18 points from eight matches at the top as all three climbed above Villarreal, who slipped to fifth on 16 points.

Real barely had to shift into top gear at the Bernabeu, where Ronaldo surpassed Raul with his 324th goal for the club in his seventh season.

Germany:

Bayern Munich have made the most successful start in the 52-year history of the Bundesliga, chalking up their ninth straight league win since the start of the season with a 1-0 victory at Werder Bremen where Thomas Mueller scored.

Rampant Bayern, who have won 12 matches in succession in all competitions including the Champions League and German Cup, have 27 points, seven clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who beat Mainz 05 2-0 for their first win in four league games.

Schalke 04 needed a stoppage-time goal from Max Meyer to edge past Hertha Berlin 2-1 and stay four points clear in third place, a point behind Ruhr valley rivals Dortmund.

England:

Manchester City stayed top of the Premier League when they thumped promoted Bournemouth 5-1, taking their tally from the last two home games to 11 after their 6-1 win over Newcastle United two weeks ago.

Newcastle recovered from that mauling by beating promoted Norwich City 6-2 for their first win of the season with four goals from Dutchman Giorginio Wijnaldum helping them off the bottom.

Arsenal stayed second with a 3-0 victory at Watford while Manchester United are behind them on goal difference after winning by the same score at Everton on a glum afternoon after the death of the hosts' ex-manager Howard Kendall at 69.

But there were no goals for Juergen Klopp to celebrate in his first match as Liverpool manager which ended in a 0-0 draw at Spurs.

Italy:

Fiorentina stayed top of Serie A despite losing 2-1 at Napoli, only the second time they have failed to win in eight league games this season.

Lorenzo Insigne and Gonzalo Higuain scored in the second half for the hosts while Nikola Kalinic replied for Paulo Sousa's side who have 18 points from eight games, one ahead of AS Roma and Inter Milan.

Roma beat Empoli 3-1, with Daniele De Rossi among the scorers on his 500th appearance for the club, and Inter drew 0-0 with Juventus at San Siro. Napoli are joint fourth with 15 alongside Sassuolo and Lazio while Juve, champions for the past four seasons are stuck in 14th with nine points.

France:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as Paris St Germain beat SC Bastia 2-0 to maintain their five-point lead at the top of Ligue 1. PSG were unconvincing until the second half when their record scorer struck to settle the match,

The unbeaten titleholders, who meet Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, have 26 points, having won eight times and drawn twice this term.

Second-placed Angers continued their superb and unexpected run by winning 2-1 at Toulouse. The promoted side are level on points with Caen in third, who beat Reims 1-0 away thanks to a late goal from Julien Feret.

Netherlands:

A first-half hat-trick from 35-year-old veteran Dirk Kuyt gave Feyenoord a 5-2 win at Heerenveen to keep pace with Dutch league leaders Ajax Amsterdam. Michiel Kramer and Simon Gustafson scored the other goals in a first-half rout which saw Feyenoord 5-0 ahead at the break before Henk Veerman pulled two goals back for the hosts. Feyenoord joined Ajax, who won 2-0 at Heracles, on 22 points as they recorded a seventh victory in nine games to remain second on goal difference.

Scotland:

Celtic replaced Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership when they won 1-0 at Motherwell to move on to 26 points, two more than Aberdeen who lost 2-0 at Ross County.

Celtic's Turkish Under-19 international Nadir Ciftic scored the only goal which meant new Motherwell boss Mark McGhee did not enjoy his first match back at Fir Park after being appointed manager for the second time last week.

There was also no joy for new Dundee United coach Mixu Paatelainen, whose first match in charge at Tannadice ended with a 1-0 win for Hearts who moved back up to third while United stayed bottom without a win in nine games.

Greece:

Leaders Olympiakos Piraeus chalked up their seventh straight league win when they beat AEK Athens 4-0 in the first Athens derby of the season.

The result extended Olympiakos’ 100 percent start to the season and lead at the top to six points over Panathinaikos, who host PAS Giannina on Monday.

Visitors AEK, back in the top flight after a two-year absence following bankruptcy, made Olympiakos fight hard for the victory but the league leader's superior stamina and quality showed with three goals in the last 20 minutes.

AEK were replaced in third spot by Panionios, who defeated AEL Kallonis 2-0.

Belgium:

Oostende lost top spot after a 1-0 defeat at Club Bruges in which each team had a man sent off saw champions Ghent become leaders on goal difference.

Oostende remain on 23 points but the defeat means they have a worse goal difference than unbeaten Ghent who won 2-1 at Mouscron-Peruwelz on Friday.

( Source : reuters )
Next Story