Following a moving tribute by both teams and supporters to the 96 people who lost their lives at Hillsborough at an FA Cup semi final in 1989, Liverpool took the lead but were pegged back and beaten late on by a Robin van Persie penalty as United won 2-1. Elsewhere, champions Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal, and Tottenham fought back from behind to beat QPR 2-1. Newcastle beat Norwich 1-0, Chelsea won by the same score against Stoke, and Everton continued their good start with a 3-0 win away to Swansea. West Brom’s 1-0 win over Reading puts them fourth.
In Italy there was more woe for the Milan giants. Neither has won at the San Siro this term after Inter were shocked 2-0 by Siena. Milan went down 2-1 at Udinese, their third defeat in four. Leaders Juventus maintained their 100% record and 43 game unbeaten run with a 2-0 win over Chievo, whilst Napoli are second after a 0-0 draw with Catania. Sampdoria drew 1-1 with Torino, Lazio went down 1-0 to Genoa and Fiorentina were held 1-1 by Parma.
In Germany Bayern Munich enjoyed a great weekend as they beat Schalke 2-0 away from home, while Borussia Dortmund, the champions, lost 3-2 away to Hamburg, to bring an end to their 31 match unbeaten run. Eintracht Frankfurt are still with an 100% record after winning 2-1 against Nuremberg.
Barcelona are still top of the pile in Spain after maintaining their 100% record with a 2-0 win over Granada thanks to two very late goals. Real Mallorca are up to second after beating Valencia 2-0, while Malaga drew 0-0 with Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid’s game with Rayo Vallecano was postponed to Monday due to lighting problems.
Marseille are another side with a perfect record after picking up their sixth win in a row in France, beating Evian 1-0. They are now four points clear of Lyon, who drew 1-1 at Lille, and fierce rivals Paris St Germain, who won 4-0 at Bastia. Champions Montpellier drew again, 1-1 against St Etienne.
Twente also have a 100% start in the Netherlands as they beat Heerenveen 1-0 to record a sixth successive win. They are four clear of Vitesse Arnhem, who drew 1-1 against Heracles, and champions Ajax drew with Ado Den Haag to remain third. PSV beat Feyenoord 3-0.
Portuguese champions Porto crushed Beira Mar 4-0 and are top of the league ahead of Benfica, held 2-2 by Academica. Turkish champions Galatasaray won 3-0 against Belediyespor and are four points clear of second placed Kasimpasa, who lost 1-0 at Sivasspor. Fenerbahce play Trabzonspor in the big Istanbul clash on Monday, while Besiktas lost 3-2 against Gaziantepspor.
CSKA Moscow are top of the Russian league after a 3-2 win at Nizhny Novgorod, and lead Lokomotiv Moscow, who won 3-0 at former leaders Terek Grozny. Champions Zenit St Petersburg are fourth after coming from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Krylya Sovetov. Spartak Moscow beat Rostov 3-1 and Rubin Kazan won 1-0 against Kuban.
Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk won 3-0 against Zarja Lugansk and have won nine from nine, and Dnipro in second beat Chornormorets 1-0. Dynamo Kiev are level on points with them after beating Karparty Lviv 3-1. In Greece Olympiakos won 4-1 against Panthrakikos, and Panathinaikos play Atromitos on Monday.
Across the Atlantic in Brazil, former leaders Atletico Mineiro were held to a 0-0 draw by Gremio, a result which leaves them four behind Fluminense, who beat Nautico 2-1. Vasco de Gama are fourth after being held 0-0 by Ponte Preta, whilst São Paulo celebrated Paulo Henrique Ganso’s arrival with a 1-0 win over Cruzeiro. Santos were stunned 3-1 at home by Portuguesa, Flamengo won 2-1 at Goianense, Palmeiras got back to winning ways 3-1 at Figueirense and Corinthians were held 2-2 by Botafogo.
In Argentina River Plate could suffer another relegation after a 1-0 home defeat by Racing Club. Due to the complicated points averaging system in Argentina they are now one place off the bottom of the cumulated Argentine league. Independiente remain in trouble after they drew with Old Boys 1-1. Lanus beat Boca Juniors 2-0, meaning Newell’s Old Boys went top after beating Colon 2-1.
