European Football

[taz]

FT: Wolfsburg 2-1 Schalke

Schalke missed out on the opportunity to join Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga after losing to Wolfsburg at the VW Arena. Felix Magath will be satisfied to get this victory over his former employers. Schalke took the lad after 13 minutes when Raul nudged Jefferson Farfan's cross past Marwin Hitz. Schalke were in control of the game but 10 minutes before half time, Wolfsburg equalised through Mario Mandzukic's diving header from a couple of yards. Wolfsburg then went close a couple of minutes later when Christian Trasch's shot was tipped away by Ralf Fahrmann. On the stroke of half time, Jefferson Farfan was in a great position to score but chose to square it instead where there were no team mates around. The 2nd half was end to end with Klaas Jan Huntelaar havign his header smartly tipped away by Marwin Hitz before Mario Mandzukic scored the winner for Wolfsburg with 8 minutes to go when he deflected Marcel Schafer's freekick past Ralf Fahrmann.

Matchday 5 Results

Friday 9 September

Augsburg 1-4 Bayer Leverkusen

Saturday 10 September

Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Hertha Berlin
Bayern Munich 7-0 Freiburg
Mainz 0-4 Hoffenheim
Stuttgart 3-0 Hannover
Borussia Monchengladbach 1-0 Kaiserslautern
Werder Bremen 2-0 Hamburg

Sunday 11 September

Cologne 1-2 Nuremberg
Wolfsburg 2-1 Schalke

[taz]

FT: Palermo 4-3 Inter

Palermo scored twice late in the game to stun Inter at the Renzo Barbera. Palermo nearly got off to the perfect start but Abel Hernandez's powerful header was well saved by Julio Cesar. Minutes later, Fabrizio Miccoli's 30 yard drive was also kept out by Julio Cesar. With 25 minutes gone, Diego Forlan picked out Esteban Cambiasso but he sent his shot wide. Inter broke the deadlock on 33 minutes when Palermo failed to clear a corner allowing Diego Milito to slot the ball home from close range.Inter had the chance to double the lead on the stroke of half time but Forlan fired wide from a promising position. Palermo equalised 2 minutes into the 2nd half when Edgar Barreto picked out Miccoli and he fired the ball past Julio Cesar. Shortly after Inter were awarded a penalty when Walter Samuel was brought down following a corner. Milito converted the penalty to put Inter 2-1 up. Palermo equalised 2 minutes after when Fabrizio Miccoli found Abel Hernandez to sidefoot the ball past Julio Cesar to make it 2-2. With the match looking to be heading for a draw, Miccoli then curled a delightful freekick past Julio Cesar with 4 minutes to go to give Palermo a 3-2 lead. A couple of minutes later, Mauricio Pinilla then fired home a bullet over Julio Cesar to give Palmero a 2 goal advantage. In stppage time, Wesley Sneijder dinked a sublime ball over the defence for Diego Forlan to latch onto and fire past Alexandros Tzorvas. Inter went looking for the equaliser but it was not to be. Thrilling game.

Matchday 2 Results

Friday 9 September

Milan 2-2 Lazio

Saturday 10 September

Cesena 1-3 Napoli

Sunday 11 September

Juventus 4-1 Parma
Catania 0-0 Siena
Chievo 2-2 Novara
Fiorentina 2-0 Bologna
Genoa 2-2 Atalanta
Lecce 0-2 Udinese
Roma 1-2 Cagliari
Palermo 4-3 Inter

[taz]

FT: Paris St Germain 1-0 Brest

Paris St Germain recorded their third consecutive victory after a slender win over Brest. This result moves PSG upto 4th. After a poor start to the game, the first notable came 20 minutes in. A quick counter for Brest saw Nolan Roux pick out Romain Poyet on the edge of the box and he is low drive was saved well by Salvatore Sirigu. Then 5 minutes, Javier Pastore was able to go past two players before his shot aimed for top corner was well saved by Steeve Elana. Brest then wasted a couple of chances. Romain Poyet's cross was only parried by Sirigu but Benoit Lesoimier sent the follow up well over the bar. Then, Nolan Roux crossed for Eden Ben Basat who somehow managed to miss the target in a promising position. On the stroke of half time, Mathieu Bodmer fired wide after some good individual play from Pastore. PSG then took control of the game in the 2nd half with Kevin Gameiro and Siaka Tiene bringing out good saves from Elana. The winner came on 67 minutes when Jeremy Menez was able to get away from two players to tee up Javier Pastore who clinically finished.

Matchday 5 Results

Saturday 10 September

Ajaccio 3-1 Valenciennes
Bordeaux 0-0 Evian
Caen 0-1 Toulouse
Dijon 1-2 Lyon
St Etienne 1-3 Lille
Sochaux 1-1 Lorient
Marseille 0-1 Rennes

Sunday 11 September

Montpellier 1-0 Nice
Nancy 0-0 Auxerre
Paris St Germain 1-0 Brest

[taz]

FT: Espanyol 2-1 Athletic Bilbao

Espanyol scored an impressive home win over Athletic Bilbao. Espanyol have rebounded from an opening day defeat while Athletic Bilbao now have 1 point from 6. After a quiet first 15 minutes, Igor Gabilondo's 20 yard strike took a wicked deflection which had Cristian Alvarez scrambling back and he managed to make a smart save. Espanyol opened the scoring on 25 minutes when Alvaro Vasquez crossed for Sergio Garcia to head the ball home from point blank range. Athletic Bilbao then started to create opportunites with Fernando Llorente breaking through and chipping the ball towards the far corner of the net but Cristian Alvarez was able to claw the ball away. Igor Gabilondo and Ander Herrera also tested Alvarez. 5 minutes into the second half, Ander Iturraspe's volley brought out a good save from Alvarez. Couple of minutes later, Markel Susaeta tested Alvarez from a freekick. Fernando Llorente equalised just past the hour mark when he nodded home Susaeta's cornr despite the best efforts of Sergio Garcia to nod the ball away. Espanyol retook the lead 15 minutes from time when Sergio Garcia touched Joan Verdu's chipped pass towards goal which Gorka Iraizoz blocked but Garcia then chipped the loose ball over Iraizoz and overhead kicked the ball into the net from close range. Fernando Llorente was still a danger but Espanyol were able to close the game out.

[taz]

FT: Malaga 4-0 Granada

Big spending Malaga crushed Granada at La Romareda to get their La Liga season up and running. Malaga now line in 8th place with Granada propping up the table. It only took 4 minutes for Malaga to take the lead. Duda's cross was took down by Santi Cazorla and he drove the ball past Roberto Fernandez. Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cazorla went close to extending the lead before Joaquin made it 2-0 when he turned in Jesus Gamez's cross on 25 minutes. Van Nistelrooy and Joaquin went close to scoring before half time. 3 minutes into the 2nd half, Cazorla made it 3-0 with a superb 25 yard freekick. Joaquin made it 4-0 when he turned in Cazorla's cross with 15 minutes to go. Granda did go forward in the final minutes with Yohan Mollo, Ikechukwu Uche and Franco Jara testing Willy Caballero.

Matchday 3 Results

Saturday 10 September

Real Sociedad 2-2 Barcelona
Villarreal 2-2 Sevilla
Real Madrid 4-2 Getafe
Valencia 1-0 Atletico Madrid

Sunday 11 September

Betis 1-0 Mallorca
Racing 0-0 Levante
Osasuna 2-1 Sporting Gijon
Rayo Vallecano 0-0 Zaragoza
Espanyol 2-1 Athletic Bilbao

Monday 12 September

Malaga 4-0 Granada

[taz]

FT: Freiburg 1-2 Stuttgart

Stuttgart moved upto 3rd with an impressive away victory at Freiburg. Stuttgart deservedly took the lead just past the hour mark. Zdravko Kuzmanovic's corner was half cleared with Martin Harnik striking the ball from the edge of the box into the far corner. Stuttgart made it 2 with 15 minutes to go when Cristian Molinaro whipped a cross in for Harnik to control and life the ball over Oliver Baumann to double the lead. Freiburg pulled a goal back with 5 minutes to go when Cedric Makiadi sent Papiss Demba Cisse through on goal to slot the ball through the legs of Sven Ulreich.

[DavidP]

what a match. congratulations forzaitalia.

[forzaitalia]

Grazie mate. Nervous as hell after Chamakh's goal, but we saw it through. Great start for Yakubu, he looks a threat. Let's hope for a Roma victory tonight!

[taz]

[taz]

FT: Kaiserslautern 3-1 Mainz

Kaiserslautern won the 1st game of the season at home against local rivals Mainz. Kaiserslautern nearly took the lead 10 minutes in when Itay Shechter put his shot over the bar from a promising position. That miss would prove costly as a minute later as Sami Allagui's cross was headed on by Marcel Risse and nodded home by Maxim Choupo Moting. Kaiserslautern equalised 10 minutes later when Florian Dick's lofted ball resulted in Richard Sukuta-Pasy to pressure Bo Svensson into nodding the ball inadvertently over Heinz Muller to gift Kaiserslautern the equaliser. Kaiserslautern took the lead 10 minutes into the 2nd half when a big scramble in the box resulted in Itay Shechter lifting the ball into the roof of the net from 6 yards. Kaiserslautern made it 3-1 with 15 minutes to go Leon Jessen's cross was deflected allowing Christian TIffert to nod the ball home from close range.

[taz]

FT: Barcelona 8-0 Osasuna

Barcelona bounced back from a mediocre week with an emphatic thumping of Osasuna. Barca took the lead 5 minutes in when Sergio Busquets lifted a superb through ball for Daniel Alves to nod the ball across for Lionel Messi to poke the ball home at the far post. David Villa and Lionel Messi were then denied twice by Andres Fernandez. On 13 minutes, it was 2-0. Thiago's flighted pass to Cesc Fabregas was chested down for Lionel Messi who then returned a through ball for Fabregas to volley the ball home. Fabregas could have had a second shortly after but he was denied by Andres. Osasuna had their chances with Nino's shot being blocked by the legs of Victor Valdes. Messi hit the woodwork on the half hour mark when he headed Daniel Alves' cross off the post. Barca made it 3-0 with 10 minutes to go in the first half when David Villa cut inside to receive Eric Abidal's pass, round Andres and dispatch the ball into the empty net. Barca made it 4-0 on 40 minutes when David Villa was through with his shot being blocked by Andres but the loose ball was rebounded home inadvertently by Roversio. Barca made it 5-0 on the stroke of half time when Fabregas laid the ball off for Messi to sweep the ball home. Messi hit the bar 5 minutes into the 2nd half with a chio but it was 6-0 just before the hour mark when Xavi lifted the ball over Andres after a good pass by Messi. David Villa made it 7-0 with 15 minutes to go when a mix up by the Osasuna defence allowed Fabregas to sqaure the ball for Villa to slot the ball home. Messi completed his hat trick with 10 minutes to go when Messi sliced the defence open and sweeped the ball home.

[taz]

FT: Inter 0-0 Roma

Inter and Roma shared the spoils which at the San Siro. Inter were looking to bounce back after consecutive defeats to Palermo and Trabzonspor while Roma slumped to a home defeat to Cagliari. A lot of pressure on Gasperini. The game was dour. Maarten Stekelenburg got a serious injury 15 minutes in when he collided with Lucio. His replacement Bogdan Lobont later did well to deny Wesley Sneijder. Moments later, Fabio Borini had a shot blocked by Julio Cesar. Yuto Nagatamo curled a neffort just over the bar in the first half. Pablo Osvaldo was denied by Cesar in the 2nd half with the best chance probably coming to Wesley Sneijder in the lcoisng stages but his shot was blocked by Simon Kjaer. Both teams still looking for their first wins of the season.

[taz]

FT: Lille 2-2 Sochaux

Sochaux scored late on to earn a point away to champions Lille. Sochaux had the first opportunity of the game on 10 minutes when Marvin Martin lobbed Mickael Landreau but Franck Beria was able to scramble the ball away. Lille took control of the game halfway through the first half. Joe Cole saw an effort curl narrowly over, Eden Hazard dragged his shot inches wide and Moussa Sow fired a shot which was cleared off the line. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, Lille broke the deadlock. Moussa Sow had a shot blocked which rebounded to Eden Hazard who then crossed the ball for Benoit Pedretti to nod the ball past Teddy Richert. However, things turned nasty 5 minutes later. Mathieu Debuchy was shown a straight red card for his reckless challenge on Carlao which may have left him with a broken leg. Marvin Martin went close with an individual effort before Sochaux equalised with 20 minutes to go. Ryad Boudebouz dribbled the ball forward, flicked the ball up for Cedric Bakambu to volley the ball home. With 12 minutes to go, Damien Perquis brought down Eden Hazard conceding a penalty which Hazard duly converted to put Lille 2-1 up. However, Sochaux equalised with 4 minutes to go, A quick counter saw Boudebouz release Martin down the right who then crossed the ball for Sloan Privat to finish past Landreau.

[taz]

FT: Sevilla 1-0 Real Sociedad

Sevilla contineud their unbeaten start to the campaign with victory over Real Sociedad. Sevilla were in control of the game. Gary Medel and Jesus Navas went close but had their shots beaten away by Claudio Bravo. Sevilla took the lead 10 minutes into the 2nd half. Gary Medel flicked the ball up for Alvaro Negredo to nod the ball across goal for Freddie Kanoute to lash the ball into the net. Real Sociedad's best chance for an equaliser came when Igor Martinez headed Mikel Aranburu's cross at the far post just narrowly wide despite the keeper being rooted to the spot.

[taz]

FT: Atalanta 1-0 Palermo

Atalanta reduced their points penalty to -2 with victory over Palermo in the torrential rain. The game was suspended for half an hour due to the pitch being deemed unplayable. Atalanta almost took the lead two minutes in when Ezequiel Schelotto nodded a freekick narrowly wide. German Denis gave Atalanta the lead 10 minutes before half time when he latched onto Giacomo Bonaventura's through ball and disptached ball through the legs of Alexandros Tzorvas. There were not many chances in this rain affected game with Atalanta getting the 3 points.

[taz]

FT: PSV Eindhoven 2-2 Ajax

Ajax twice came from behind to share the spoils with PSV Eindhoven in an entertaining encounter. PSV took the lead 2 minutes in when Erik Pieters threaded a pass through the Ajax defence to Tim Matavz who duly clipped the ball over Kenneth Vermeer from 12 yards. Ajax nearly levelled when CHristian Eriksen's low powerful freekick fortunately for PSV bounced off the feet of goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton. Siem de Jong went close before Ajax equalised on the stroke of half time when a mix up in the PSV defence allowed Kolbeinn SIgthorsson to slot the ball into the net. PSV retook the lead 10 minutes into the 2nd half when Gregory van der Wiel fouled Dries Mertens with Giorginio WIjnaldum slotting home the resulting penalty. Moments later, Mertens had the chance to increase the lead when he rounded Vermeer but his shot was hacked off the line by Toby Alderweireld. Ajax did find the equaliser 10 minutes from time when Dmitry Bulykin converted Greogry van der Wiel's cross.

[taz]

FT: Twente 5-2 ADO Den Haag

Twente thrashed ADO Den Haag to go top of the table. ADO took the shock lead 14 minutes in when Lex Immers converted a penalty after being fouled by Leroy Fer. 2 minutes later, Twente were level when Douglas played Marc Janko through to slot the ball into the net. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Twente scored to lead 2-1. Roberto Rosales' cross was powerfully headed home by Douglas. Luuk de Jong made it 3-1 with 20 minutes to go when Leroy Fer played him through to score. With 15 minutes to go, Joh Verhoek headed home to pull a goal back but Twente restored their two goal advantage a minute later with a sweet strike from Emir Bajrami. In the final minute, Luuk de Jong scored his 2nd of the game firing home a Roberto Rosales cross.

[taz]

FT: Rubin Kazan 2-3 Zenit St Petersburg

Zenit St Petersburg are now two points clear at the top after coming from two goals down to defeat Rubin Kazan. Rubin Kazan raced into a two goal lead in side 25 minutes with goals coming from Bibars Natkho and Serhiy Kislyak. On the half hour mark, Roman Shirokov pulled a goal back. Danny equalised 5 minutes into the 2nd half and he turned the game around by putting Zenit ahead by scoring the winner with 20 minutes to go. CSKA Moscow are now 3rd after their draw with Rostov and Dimano Moscow's 3-0 win over Amkar Perm.

[taz]

FT: Siena 0-1 Juventus

Juventus maintained their perfect start to the season with victory at Siena. 20 minutes in, Andrea Pirlo dribbled past three Siena players but he dragged his shot wide. Juve took the lead 10 minutes into the 2nd half when Emanuele Giaccherini pulled the ball inside to Mirko Vucinic who went past one defender, pulled the ball back for Alessandro Matri who slotted the ball past two defenders on the goal line. Juventus had the chance to double the lead when Alessandro The Waterboy played Arturo Vidal through but he put his shot over the bar from close range.

[taz]

FT: Hannover 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund were leading with 3 minutes to go but threw it away allowing Hannover to score twice to get the 3 points. 25 minutes in, Ivan Perisic tried to score a goal similar to his effort against Arsenal but Ron Robert Zieler was on hand to tip the ball away. Moments later, Neven Subotic had to scramble the ball away when Didier Ya Konan rounded Roman Weidenfeller. Just past the hour mark, Borussia Dortmund hit Hannover on the break to take the lead. Shinji Kagawa managed to get past Emanuel Pogatetz with ease and dink the ball into the bottom corner. Borussia Dortmund had the chance to double their lead but somehow Kevin Grosskreutz managed to fire the ball over from close range and an open goal. Karim Haggui hit the bar with 5 minutes to go but 2 minutes later, he was able to head home the equaliser. With a minute to go, Didier Ya Konan scored a wonderful volley to give Hannover the 3 points. Hannover had a man sent off late on through Artur Sobiech.