Predictably, Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated proceedings, netting twice apiece. Ronaldo came close to scoring his third hat trick in as many games. The result meant Barcelona lost their 100% record, but remain eight points clear of Real.
Elsewhere in La Liga Atletico Madrid maintained their superb start to the season with a 2-1 win over Malaga that keeps them second in the league. Valencia lost the derby 1-0 with Levante, Mallorca lost 2-1 to Granada, Athletic Bilbao beat Osasuna 1-0, Real Betis beat Real Sociedad 2-0 and Celta Vigo beat Sevilla by the same score.
On a Sunday of derbies across the continent, Inter Milan and AC Milan clashed at the San Siro. Inter won 1-0 to pile the pressure on Massimo Allegri, even with only 10 men on the field for most of the second half. That meant Inter remain four points behind the top two, Juventus and Napoli. Juve won 2-1 against Siena whilst Napoli beat Udinese by the same score. Lazio beat Pescara 3-0, Fiorentina beat Bologna 1-0, Roma defeated Atalanta 2-0, Genoa and Palermo drew 1-1, Chievo beat Sampdoria 2-1, Parma lost 2-0 to Catania and Cagliari beat Torino 1-0.
In France, Paris St Germain and Marseille met in ‘Le Classique’, and also played out a 2-2 draw. Andre Pierre Gignac scored for Marseille at home to their arch rivals, before two brilliant Zlatan Ibrahimovic strikes turned the game on its head. Gignac netted an equaliser, all within half an hour of the start, as Marseille remain three points clear of the Parisians at the top of the table. Elsewhere in France Lille finally got back to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Ajaccio, whilst Montpellier suffered another blow as the champions went down 3-2 to Evian. Lyon are still third after a 1-1 draw with Lorient.
Chelsea remain four points clear at the top of the Premier League after crushing Norwich City 4-1. Manchester United are second following a 3-0 win over Newcastle away, while Manchester City beat Sunderland at home by the same score. Tottenham won their fourth game in a row with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa but are still only fifth, behind surprise packages West Brom and Everton. West Brom beat QPR 3-2, while Everton were held 2-2 by Wigan. Arsenal won 3-1 at West Ham, and Liverpool were held to a goalless draw by Stoke.
In Germany Bayern Munich still have an 100% record after they beat Hoffenheim 2-0, and are already nine points clear of Borussia Dortmund, held 1-1 by Hannover. Schalke are third after beating Wolfsburg 3-0, and promoted Eintracht Frankfurt saw their unbeaten start end as Borussia Moenchengladbach beat them 2-0.
Porto won the big Portuguese clash at home to Sport Lisbon 2-0, meaning they are level still with Benfica, who won 2-1 against Beira Mar. In the Netherlands Twente beat AZ Alkmaar 3-0, to remain three points clear of PSV Eindhoven, 4-0 winners over NAC. Ajax, the champions, drew 1-1 at home to Utrecht. Heerenveen drew 3-3 at Vitesse.
In Russia, Zenit St Petersburg got back to winning ways with a 2-0 win away to Krasnodar, while the Moscow derby saw CSKA overcome Spartak by the same score. Rubin lost ground after Amkar beat them 1-0, and Anzhi Makhachkala are still top after beating Dinamo Moscow 2-0. Kuban Krasnodar stunned Lokomotiv Moscow 1-0, while Terek Grozny, the season’s surprise package, were the only home team to win this weekend as they overcame Rostov 2-1.
In Turkey the Istanbul derby finished 3-0 to Fenerbahce against Besiktas, to keep up the pressure on champions Galatasaray, held 1-1 at home by Eskisehirspor.
In Argentina River Plate crushed Godoy Cruz 5-0 to claim their first home league win in the top flight for 18 months. Boca Juniors lost 3-1 at Belgrano, while Newell’s Old Boys remain top after beating Velez Sarsfield 1-0, ahead of Racing Club.
Fluminense kept up their six point advantage in the Brazilian league with a 1-0 win over Rio de Janeiro rivals Botafogo 1-0, but Atletico Mineiro are keeping up the pressure after thrashing Figueirense 6-0. Santos and Internacional drew 1-1, while Sao Paulo beat Palmeiras 3-0 in their local derby. Corinthians were beaten 2-1 by Nautico, Vasco de Gama beat Atletico Goianense 1-0, Gremio overcame Cruzeiro 2-1 and Flamengo were held 0-0 by Bahia.
