Madrid climbs above Barcelona; Chelsea wins again

BARCELONA, Spain — Cristiano Ronaldo scored again to help Real Madrid take the lead in the Spanish league after Barcelona surprisingly lost at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Other top European teams avoided any upsets, with Bayern Munich and Chelsea both needing late penalties to earn 2-1 home victories.

Juventus took advantage of Roma’s loss to open up a three-point lead in Serie A, while Paris Saint-Germain pulled within a point of leader Marseille in the French league.

Here is a look Saturday’s games in the main European leagues.

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SPAIN

Luis Suarez’s home debut with Barcelona was spoiled by Celta Vigo as Joaquin Larrivey scored in the second half to deal the hosts a 1-0 loss.

Larrivey headed home the winner in the 55th-minute, while Neymar and Lionel Messi were both denied twice by the goal frame. Celta goalie Sergio Alvarez also made two reflex saves to deny Messi the goal he needs to equal the all-time Spanish league scoring record.

It was Celta’s first away win against Barcelona since 1942, and it came against former coach Luis Enrique.

Madrid had no such troubles as Ronaldo helped put his team provisionally atop the standings, two points ahead of Barcelona, by scoring for a 12 straight game in a 4-0 win at Granada.

Ronaldo slotted in Karim Benzema’s pass put the visitors in control from the second minute. James Rodriguez played his best match for Madrid with goals, while Karim Benzema scored after an assist from Ronaldo.

Atletico Madrid climbed into second place, one point behind Madrid, after Antoine Griezmann scored his first two league goals this season to fuel a 4-2 victory at home over Cordoba.

Sevilla is two points behind Madrid and can take the lead with a win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

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ENGLAND

Eden Hazard converted a second-half penalty as Chelsea beat Queens Park Rangers 2-1 to remain four points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Arsenal and Southampton also won, but Liverpool’s inconsistent start to the season continued with an away loss to Newcastle.

Oscar put Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side ahead after 32 minutes with a delicate finish across the goal, but Charlie Austin put QPR level with a clever back-heeled flick.

Hazard was then fouled by Eduardo Vargas, and the Belgium international won the game from the penalty spot.

Southampton won 1-0 at Hull to remain in second place from Victor Wanyama’s goal in the third minute.

Arsenal beat last-place Burnley 3-0 after two goals by Alexis Sanchez, while Liverpool slumped to a 1-0 loss at Newcastle.

Substitute Ayoze Perez scored the decisive goal in the 74th for Newcastle’s fourth straight win in all competitions.

Also, Everton drew 0-0 with Swansea, West Ham drew 2-2 at Stoke, and West Bromwich Albion won 1-0 at Leicester.

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GERMANY

Arjen Robben’s late penalty gave Bayern Munich a hard-fought 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund to leave the visitors in the Bundesliga’s relegation zone.

Robben converted from the spot in the 85th minute, completing Bayern’s comeback 13 minutes after Robert Lewandowski scored the equalizer against his former side.

Marco Reus gave Dortmund a 31st-minute lead with a header from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s deep cross.

Dortmund, the 2011 and 2012 champion, has made its worst start to a season after losing seven of the opening 10 games.

Earlier, Rafael van der Vaart’s first-half penalty earned Hamburger SV a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen to move out of the relegation zone.

Hamburg moved two points above Dortmund, which is level on seven points with Werder Bremen, which won 2-1 at Mainz in Viktor Skripnik’s first league game as coach.

Wolfsburg moved provisionally second with a 4-0 win at Stuttgart, and Hannover beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 thanks to Alexander Madlung’s own goal in the 88th minute.

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ITALY

Andrea Pirlo scored his first goal of the season as defending champion Juventus beat Empoli 2-0 to move three points clear of Roma atop the Serie A standings.

The 35-year-old Pirlo broke the deadlock with a trademark free kick on the hour mark and Alvaro Morata added the second.

It was Pirlo’s 26th free-kick goal in Serie A, putting him one behind Sinisa Mihajlovic’s record.

Earlier, Gonzalo Higuain scored again to help Napoli beat Roma 2-0 at the Stadio San Paolo.

Higuain, who hadn’t scored in the opening seven rounds, netted his fifth goal in six days and then set up Jose Callejon for the second goal late on.

Also, Paolo De Ceglie scored both goals give last-place Parma a surprise 2-0 win against Inter Milan.

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FRANCE

Edinson Cavani and Jean-Christophe Bahebeck helped defending champion Paris Saint-Germain rally for a 2-1 win over Lorient in the French league.

Bahebeck came on as a substitute to net the winner when he beat Lorient goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte to a long ball to score into an empty net in the 68th minute.

Lorient midfielder Raphael Guerreiro had opened the scoring by firing home a low strike in the 42nd, but Cavani converted a rebound to level in the 61st.

In the race for a Champions League spot, Lyon stayed one point behind PSG by defeating Nice 3-1.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Mata helps United to 2-0 win over Cardiff

MANCHESTER, England  — With record signing Juan Mata slotting seamlessly into the team and fit-again Robin van Persie back to scoring again, a return to the good times could be just around the corner for Manchester United.

The English champions looked more like the United of old in a 2-0 win over Cardiff on Tuesday that revived their hopes of making up the ground to the top four — and put a smile back on the face of manager David Moyes.

Three days after sealing his high-profile move from Chelsea, Mata made his debut for United and showed glimpses of his class and vision in the 84 minutes he played to underline why the club splashed out 37.1 million pounds ($61.2 million) for the Spain playmaker.

Yet he was upstaged by the returning Van Persie, who marked his first game after seven weeks out with a thigh injury by heading United in front after six minutes.

Ashley Young added the second in the 59th minute and a substitute appearance from Wayne Rooney, who has also been struggling with injury, capped a satisfying night for Moyes. And there haven’t been many of them lately.

“To see Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney back on the touchline would have been enough to give everyone an uplift but then to have Juan Mata as well,” Moyes said. “The results with them will get much better.”

It all conspired to ruin the return to Old Trafford of Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who played 11 years at United from 1996-2007 and has a place in the club’s folklore after scoring the winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final.

Solskjaer was given a great reception from United fans, and responded by waving to all sides of Old Trafford, but his last-place team did little more than compete gamely. It was a bittersweet night for the Norwegian.

“With Rooney, van Persie, Mata (all playing), it was good timing coming to Old Trafford, wasn’t it?” Solskjaer said with a smile.

The atmosphere at Old Trafford has been subdued for much of Moyes’ turbulent first season in charge, but there was a real buzz inside the stadium as fans greeted first Mata then the returning Van Persie and finally Solskjaer with huge roars before kickoff.

Mata — wearing the No. 8 shirt and a pair of baggy shorts that almost covered his knees — hadn’t played a single minute since storming off the pitch after being substituted by Chelsea against Southampton on Jan. 1. Yet he was thrown straight in by Moyes.

The player many United fans are seeing as the cure to the team’s problems showed some neat touches and a willingness to play the ball over the top. Early on, his every touch was cheered by home supporters and he will be pleased to get almost a full match under his belt as he strives to regain full fitness.

“It was a very special day for me,” Mata said. “My debut, and a victory. It was perfect.”

Well, almost perfect. He didn’t score — the closest he came was when he forced a decent save from goalkeeper David Marshall in the 62nd. But by that time, United was 2-0 up and cruising.

Cardiff’s sluggish start had been punished by Van Persie, who nodded in from close range after Antonio Valencia’s header had crashed against the bar and Van Persie’s rebound effort was palmed back out to him by goalkeeper David Marshall.

The Dutchman’s presence up front seemed to galvanize United as much as the appearance of Mata. He lasted 63 minutes before being replaced by Rooney.

Four minutes earlier, Young had sealed the three points by picking up a pass from Mata, cutting in from the left wing and curling a low shot into the corner from outside the area.

“Don’t think because we have won tonight I have got a smile and am happy,” Moyes said. “I’m happy because we have got the three points but for where I want to go and the vision I have got for how I want my team to go, I have got a long way to go.”

United remained six points behind fourth-place Liverpool.

source: sports.inquirer.net