European football round-up
Free scoring weekend for top teams
Former leaders Arsenal were embarrassed 6-0 by Chelsea in what was Arsene Wenger’s 1000th match in charge of the Gunners. A handball by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 15th minute — which got Kieran Gibbs sent off instead — made matters worse for Arsenal who suffered their worst defeat since the 8-2 hammering by Machester United last season.
There were more goals coming from the home grounds of Cardiff and Manchester City. Luis Suarez notched a hat-trick in Liverpool’s 6-3 win versus Cardiff while Yaya Toure’s three helped Manchester City blank Fulham 5-0 at home.
West Ham 0 — Manchester United 2
Tottenham 3 — Southampton 2
El Classico delivers another thriller
Lionel Messi’s hat-trick pushed Barcelona to an entertaining 4-3 win over rivals Real Madrid. The star for Madrid was Karim Benzema, who was set up twice by Angel Di Maria crosses. Cristiano Ronaldo later got one from the spot to stretch the lead. With a controversial Sergio Ramos red, this was the cue for Messi to get involved as he netted twice from penalties to pull Barca to a dramatic win.
Elsewhere in Spain, Atletico Madrid regained the lead with a calm 2-0 win at rock-bottom Real Betis. After Braian Rodriguez was sent off, Gabi and Diego Costa moved quickly to notch the win for Atletico.
Athletic Bilbao 1 — Getafe 0
Valencia 2 — Villareal 0
Roma tightens grip on second place
AS Roma sealed an easy 2-0 win away at Chievo Verona to create some space between them and Napoli in third place. Forwards Gervinho and Mattia Destro scored first-half goals. Juventus might be out reach but there is an automatic Champions League place up for grabs and it is being hotly contested.
The champions Juventus kept it close again even against the league’s worst team when they won 1-0 away to Catania. The game was intense with managers sent to the stands but Carlos Tevez calmed his team down with a powerful strike on 59 minutes.
Napoli 0 — Fiorentina 1
Sampdoria 5 — Hellas Verona 0
Dortmund keeps Bayern waiting
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gotze’s late goals against Mainz on Saturday gave Bayern Munich a 2-0 win at Coface Arena. The champagne will remain on ice for at least a few more days as only a defeat to Borussia Dortmund this week would have given Bayern the title.
Borrusia Dortmund maintained their improved form of late with a 3-0 win at Hannover on Saturday. Dortmund kept their stranglehold on second through Mats Hummels (43′), Robert Lewandowski (52′) and Marco Reus’ easy stoppage time goal. The loss puts Hannover in the drop zone.
Bayer Leverkusen 2 — Hoffenheim 3
Nuremberg 2 — Eintracht Frankfurt 5
