Real beaten by Atletico, Neymar lifts Barca

Monday, 15 September 2014 00:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Real Madrid’s early-season woes deepened when they lost 2-1 at home to La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, while substitute Neymar struck twice in Barcelona’s 2-0 win against visiting Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. In their last league outing at the end of August, Real let slip a two-goal lead and lost 4-2 at Real Sociedad and it was another disappointing display from the European champions, who have spent heavily to bolster their star-studded squad after winning a 10th continental crown last term.

Tiago beat Karim Benzema to the ball at a corner to head Atletico in front in the 10th minute before Cristiano Ronaldo levelled for the hosts with a 29th-minute spot kick after being brought down by Guilherme Siqueira. Real dominated for long periods without threatening a typically dogged Atletico side and paid dearly for failing to press home their advantage when substitute Arda Turan swept the ball low past Iker Casillas with about 15 minutes left. Atletico’s latest win over their crosstown rivals, the first time they have secured consecutive victories against Real at the Bernabeu, suggests they are genuine contenders for silverware again this season despite losing top scorer Diego Costa to Chelsea. Atletico lost 4-1 to Real in last term’s Champions League final but gained a measure of revenge by beating their local rivals 2-1 on aggregate in the season-opening Spanish Super Cup. Real, meanwhile, are left wondering whether the decision to sell midfielders Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria and replace them with Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez was the right one. The pacy Di Maria was one of the team’s best performers in recent seasons, while the experienced Alonso gave the team solidity and control in midfield. Neymar came off the bench for Barca in the earlier kickoff and produced two exquisite finishes from brilliant Lionel Messi assists to secure a 2-0 win at home to Bilbao and maintain their perfect start to the campaign. Barca, seeking to improve on last season’s second place finish to Atletico, were the only team to win their opening two games and top the table with a perfect nine points and no goals conceded.

Chelsea’s Costa grabs hat-trick, City draw at Arsenal

Reuters: Diego Costa continued his stunning start to life at Chelsea with a hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Swansea City on Saturday while champions Manchester City were staring up the table after snatching a 2-2 draw at Arsenal. Costa, who now has seven goals from his first four Premier League games, helped Chelsea come out on top against the only other team with a 100% record after Swansea had taken the lead with an early John Terry own goal. New signing Loic Remy grabbed his first Chelsea goal before Jonjo Shelvey netted a consolation late on, leaving the west London side two points clear at the top and five ahead of title rivals Manchester City. Martin Demichelis scored with a late looping header for City after moments of sublime skill from Jack Wilshere and Alexis Sanchez had briefly turned the match in Arsenal’s favour, following Sergio Aguero’s opener. Elsewhere, unbeaten Aston Villa are second after they beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield, Newcastle United’s sorry start continued with a crushing 4-0 defeat at Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur were held to a 2-2 draw at Sunderland. Everton beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0, Leicester City grabbed their first win since promotion, beating Stoke City 1-0, while Burnley and Crystal Palace played out a goalless draw.