SPANISH LIGA - DAY 5

FC Seville hold on to Barca-Real juggernaut

France's Karim Benzema scored twice Saturday as Real Madrid powered past Tenerife with an emphatic 3-0 win. Later in the evening, archrivals Barcelona matched Real's point tally thanks to a 2-0 victory over Malaga.

After five games, the two teams remain undefeated and evenly matched at the top of the Liga, having scored between them a total of 32 goals while conceding only  five.

Trailing just three points behind, FC Sevilla are the only club within reach of the top two. Frédéric Kanouté and his teammates rounded up an impressive 4-0 win in Bilbao to confirm their status as the Liga's dark horse.

Meanwhile, lowly Villarreal and Atletico Madrid are having a wretched time at the bottom of the table, with neither having won so far this season. Valencia's David Villa is the top scorer with six goals, followed by Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Real) on five.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – DAY 6

Chelsea slump to first defeat

Thirty-three. That’s the total of goals scored this week-end in the English Premier League, with the eagerly awaited contest between Manchester City and West Ham yet to be played.

Yet, unusually, Chelsea contributed little to the total, slumping to their first defeat under Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti. Having equalised a few seconds into the second half, the Blues lost goalkeeper Petr Cech, who was sent off for a late tackle, before Wigan romped to a rare 3-1 win.

The victory -- Wigan's first against a club of the ‘Big Four’ after a run of 34 defeats -- gave Manchester United the chance to take control of the championship. The Red Devils’ 2-1 victory against Stoke City did the rest.

ITALIAN SERIE A - DAY 5

Inter stumble

If anyone had doubted Sampdoria’s title credentials after their ugly defeat to Fiorentina on Wednesday, Antonio Cassano and his teammates silenced the doubters in style Saturday by handing Inter Milan their first defeat of the season. Sampdoria beat the title holders at their own game, patiently weathering the Inter attacks before scoring a poacher's goal with Giampaolo Pazzini. With their dream start back on track, the "Blucerchiati" are now alone at the top of the Serie A.

Juventus missed a good chance to leapfrog Sampdoria at the top of the table after allowing a defiant Bologna to score a last-gasp equaliser in Turin (1-1). The Old Lady is now trailed by Fiorentina, who squeezed past Livorno (1-0) in the Tuscan derby courtesy of a penalty kick by Montenegro’s Stefan Jovetic. The Viola’s defence will no doubt have a tougher time keeping Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres at bay when they host Liverpool on Tuesday.

A black weekend for the Milanese ended under a shower of boos at San Siro, where ever sloppier AC Milan were unable to overcome minnows Bari (0-0).

FRENCH LIGUE 1 - DAY 7

Bordeaux on top

The clash between the Ligue 1’s most prolific attacks produced just one goal as Brazilian midfielder Wendel helped Bordeaux to a deserved win over Rennes (1-0). Laurent Blanc’s men, who host Israel’s Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League on Wednesday, remain two points clear of Lyon at the top of the table.

The gap at the top could easily have been larger had Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis not converted a dodgy corner to help the home side squeeze past a stubborn Toulouse (2-1). Meanwhile, third-placed Marseille failed to keep the pace of the top two as they slumped to a 3-2 defeat at Valenciennes. Didier Deschamps’s men threw away the lead twice in the game through some shambolic defending. How they hope to stop Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema from scoring half a dozen at the Bernabeu on Wednesday is anyone’s guess.

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA - DAY 7

Hamburg show Bayern who's the boss

Despite Frank Ribéry's best efforts, Bayern Munich were unable to keep up with Bundesliga leaders Hamburg. Former Bayern player Zé Roberto handed striker Mladen Petric the ball that helped Hamburg see off the Bavarians (1-0) and continue their undefeated run.

With Juventus set to test Bayern Munich's European ambitions midweek, Germany's most successful team are yet to find a way out of the crisis that has been rocking the club for the past month.