SPORTS> Soccer
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SPORTS> Soccer
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Chelsea and United draw, Bayern thrashed
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-22 17:10 LONDON -The big Premier League clash between Chelsea and Manchester United failed to reproduce the drama of their Champions League final after a 1-1 draw on Sunday. Bayern Munich were embarrassed 5-2 at home to Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga while fellow former European champions Barcelona and AC Milan recorded their first league wins of the season.
ENGLAND Salomon Kalou came off the bench to head a deserved 80th-minute equaliser for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after Park Ji-sung's 18th-minute opener for ailing champions United. Chelsea, on 11 points, are level in second place with Liverpool, who were held to a 0-0 Anfield draw by Stoke City. They are a point behind Arsenal, who produced another great display of slick-passing to come from behind and beat Bolton Wanderers 3-1 away. The weekend's big winners on and off the pitch were Manchester City who announced that the paperwork on their Arab takeover will be signed on Tuesday and then their players went out and thrashed Portsmouth 6-0.
ITALY AC Milan beat Lazio 4-1 at home to chalk up their first league win of the season after two defeats. Gianluca Zambrotta and Kaka netted two cracking goals to help the hosts on their way and ease the pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti. Champions Inter Milan were equally as clinical in their 3-1 win at Torino with Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring one and again looking on top form. Injury-hit Juventus won 1-0 at bottom side Cagliari thanks to Amauri's strike and Alberto Gilardino scored again in Fiorentina's 1-0 victory over Bologna. AS Roma notched up their first win of the campaign when they overcame Reggina 3-0. SPAIN Barcelona thumped promoted Sporting Gijon 6-1 away for Pep Guardiola's first win of the Primera Liga season on Sunday, but they only moved up to ninth in the standings. Valencia are top with seven points from three games after beating ten-man Osasuna 1-0 at home, the same as Almeria and Villarreal who both won on Sunday. Early pace-setters Espanyol slipped to fourth also with seven points, following their 1-1 draw at home to Getafe on Saturday. Atletico Madrid are fifth with six after sweeping aside Recreativo Huelva 4-0 at the Calderon on Saturday, and champions Real Madrid are just behind them after a 2-0 away win at Racing Santander. GERMANY Werder Bremen handed Bayern Munich a stinging 5-2 defeat in front of their own fans, while Hamburg lost the league leadership after a debacle of their own at VfL Wolfsburg. Schalke 04 were the weekend's main beneficiaries, as their 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt proved enough to give them top spot with 11 points from five matches, a point in front of 1899 Hoffenheim, VfB Stuttgart and Hamburg. Hoffenheim enjoyed a 4-1 win at home to Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart won their derby against Karlsruhe 3-1, while Hamburg were beaten 3-0 by northern rivals Wolfsburg. FRANCE A penalty by Brazilian midfielder Ederson just before the break gave Olympique Lyon a 1-0 win at Le Havre on Saturday and sent the champions four points clear at the top of Ligue 1. Second-placed Olympique Marseille fell further behind their rivals after managing only a 0-0 home draw with Monaco on Sunday. Lyon, chasing an eighth consecutive title, top the table on 16 points from six games, followed by Marseille on 12 points and Toulouse on 11. Arch rivals Feyenoord and Ajax Amsterdam shared the points in a 2-2 draw, while Maarten Martens late goal earned AZ Alkmaar their first win of the season, beating champions PSV Eindhoven 1-0. After three matches, Groningen and Heerenveen top the table with seven points after Groningen struck late to salvage a point at Heracles Almelo and Heerenveen beat NEC Nijmegen 2-1. Steve McClaren's Twente Enschede recorded their first win of the season after two draws, beating bottom side Volendam 2-1. |
