Asian delight

EPL: Park Ji-Sung’s stoppage time winner against Wolves was the perfect gift to mark the 24th anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson as United Manager.

In a game where the Red Devils weren’t at their best and in desperate need of inspiration, Park rose to the challenge with a brace and lifted United to a 2-1 win. Everton and Blackpool shared the spoils in an exciting 2-2 draw at Bloomfield Road. Blackburn got back to winning ways as Jason Roberts scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Wigan.

Aston Villa paid the price for poor finishing as Fulham scored a stoppage time leveler to earn a point. Birmingham battled back from two goals down to eek out a draw with West Ham. Tottenham were brought back to earth after their Champions League heroics as they were beaten 4-2 by Bolton thanks to a Kevin Davies brace.

Asamoah Gyan marked his first Premier League start with a brace as Sunderland rebounded from their 5-1 humiliation last week to beat Stoke 2-0. Andy Carroll stunned the Emirates as his header gave Newcastle a 1-0 win over Arsenal. The loss destroyed the Gunners hopes of going level with United and cut Chelsea’s lead atop the league to two points.

The biggest game of the round ended in a 2-0 win for Liverpool against Premier League leaders Chelsea at Anfield. Fernando Torres scored twice in the first half to knock back the Blues and extend Liverpool’s unbeaten run to five matches in all competitions. Italian international Mario Balotelli announced his arrival on English soil with a brace and a red card to lift City to a 2-0 win over West Brom.

Too good

La Liga: Real Madrid continues to show they are miles ahead of their city rivals as they powered pass Atletico Madrid 2-0. Real had not lost home or away to Atletico since 1999 and Atletico once again failed to put a dent into that statistic.

Mesut Ozil and former Chelsea centre back Carvalho got the goals for Real. Espanyol continued their fine home form with a 1-0 win over Malaga who will now be managed by former Real Madrid coach, Manuel Pellegrini. Javier Marquez smashed in a stunning 30-yard drive in the opening minute which proved decisive enough for the game.

Real Sociedad notched up their third win on the trot with a 1-0 victory over Racing Santander. Spanish champions Barcelona motored on with a 3-1 away win over Getafe. Lionel Messi continued his fine form as he scored and set up another for David Villa. Villarreal fought back from a goal down to defeat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 with inform strikers Giuseppe Rossi and Nilmar getting on the score sheet.

Zaragoza grabbed their fist win of the campaign with a dramatic 3-2 win over Mallorca. Deportivo edged Levante 2-1 while Nocho Novo’s strike earned Sporting Gijon a point against Almeria in a match that ended 1-1. Osasuna made light work of promoted Hercules running out 3-0 winners.

Eto’o again

Serie A: Samuel Eto’o again performed a rescue act as his penalty saved Inter’s blushes in a 1-1 draw with Brescia. Brescia had earlier taken the lead through Andrea Caracciolo but Inter replied and could have won it, but not for some poor finishing only walked away with a point. Bologna left it late to take all three points against Lecce as they scored in the 84th and 85th minute.

Marko Borriello and Mirko Vucinic each converted second-half penalties as Roma won the Eternal City derby over Serie A leaders Lazio. The win moved Roma to seventh with 15 points and seven behind the leaders. AC Milan closed the gap atop the Serie A tables to two points as they clinch a vital 3-2 victory over Bari. Juventus continued their steady progress with a 3-1 win over 10-man Cesena while Sampdoria left their scoring boots as their game with Catania ended 0-0.

Napoli shrugged off their European disappointment with a 2-0 win over Parma thanks to an Edison Cavani brace. Fiorentina moved into the top half of the table with a hard fought 1-0 win over Chievo. Udinese played to a 1-1 draw with Cagliari while Palermo edged Genoa 1-0.

Bayern loose further ground

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich played out to a thrilling 3-3 draw away to Borussia Monchengladbach dropping further off the Bundesliga pace. Philip Lahm made the most of a deflected pass to notch the equaliser for the defending champions. Mainz was defeated 1-0 thanks to a Papiss Cisse penalty for Freiburg.

Steve McClaren continues to enjoy a lukewarm debut season in charge of Wolfsburg as they were beaten 3-1 by Frankfurt. Hamburg edged Hoffenheim 2-1 while Nurnberg defeated Cologne 3-1. Stuttgart hit Werder Bremen for six to move out of the relegation zone in style.

German striker Cacau hit a brace and missed a penalty in Stuttgart’s big win. Borussia Dortmund extended their lead to four points atop the Bundesliga table with a 4-0 win over Hannover. Bayern Leverkusen moved into third place with a 3-1 win over Kaiserslautern.