By NICK IUELE
It was a week of upsets throughout Europe’s top leagues, but Manchester United took care of business against Arsenal.
United took sole possession of first place in the English Premier League with a 2-1 win over the Gunners at Old Trafford. Robin van Persie opened the scoring early with a third minute goal and Patrice Evra added a second goal in the 67th to seal the win. Santi Cazorla scored in the stoppage time at the end of the match, but it was too late for a comeback.
In Italy, Juventus lost to Inter 3-1, snapping their 49-match unbeaten streak in Serie A play. It was also the first time The Old Lady has lost at the new Juventus Stadium. Arturo Vidal scored in the first minute for Juve and it looked like they would be on to another positive result, but a second half brace by Diego Milito and a goal from Rodrigo Palacio gave Inter second position in the table with all three points from the defending champs.
In Spain, both Malaga and Atletico Madrid fell to lesser opponents. Malaga, which dropped out of the top three with the loss, fell to Rayo Vallecano 2-0 in which they were a victim of a Piti double. Madrid lost 2-0 to Valencia, putting them three points back of table-topping Barcelona. Roberto Soldado and Nelson Haedo Valdez were the goal scorers for Valencia.
Here is a look at what happened this weekend in Europe’s top leagues:
ENGLAND
Chelsea lost the top spot in the EPL with a draw against Swansea City. Victor Moses scored for the Blues, which appeared to be the game winner, in the 61st minute, but Pablo salvaged a point for the Swans with a equalizer in the 88th. Chelsea is now one point behind Manchester United. Manchester City also failed to gain ground on the top spot after being held to a scoreless draw with West Ham United.
Wigan Athletic upset top-five side Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Saturday. Ben Watson sunk Spurs with a 56th minute goal. Even with the loss, Tottenham remains in fifth place and in the Europe conversation.
English Premier League scoreboard:
Queens Park Rangers 1, Reading 1
Liverpool 1, Newcastle 1
Manchester United 2, Arsenal 1
Fulham 2, Everton 2
Norwich City 1, Stoke City 0
Aston Villa 1, Sunderland 0
Swansea City 1, Chelsea 1
Wigan Athletic 1, Tottenham Hotspur 0
West Ham United 0, Manchester City 0
Monday: West Bromwich Albion v Southampton
ITALY
AC Milan showed some life by winning a convincing 5-1 win over Chievo Verona. Urby Emanuelson, Riccardo Montolivo and Bojan Krkic had a goal each in the first half, while Stephan El Shaarawy and Giampaolo Pazzini capped the scoring in the second. The win marked a three-match unbeaten streak for i Rossoneri.
Lazio went from third to fifth in the table with a 4-0 beat down at the hands of Catania. Alejandro Gomez was at the double, while Francesco Lodi and Pablo Barrientos had a goal each in the win.
Serie A scoreboard:
US Pescara 2, Parma 0
Bologna 1, Udinese 1
Catania 4, Lazio 0
Fiorentina 4, Cagliari 1
Napoli 1, Torino 1
Atalanta 2, Sampdoria 1
Siena 1, Genoa 0
AS Roma 4, Palermo 1
AC Milan 5, Chievo Verona 1
Inter Milan 3, Juventus 1
SPAIN
Barcelona downed Celta Vigo 3-1 to grab sole possession of the La Liga lead. Adriano, David Villa and Jordi Alba scored for Barca. Tito Vilanova’s side has yet to lose a match this season and has a three point lead on Atletico Madrid at the top of the table.
Real Madrid barged into the top three with an easy 4-0 win over Real Zaragoza. Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain had first half goals within two minutes of each other, while Michael Essien and Luka Modric capped off the win with a second-half goal each. Real Madrid is eight points back of Barca.
La Liga scoreboard:
Espanyol 1, Real Sociedad 0
Deportivo La Coruna 1, Mallorca 0
Valladolid 1, Osasuna 0
Atheltic Bilbao 2, Granada 1
Seville FC 0, Levante 0
Rayo Vallecano 2, Malaga 1
Barcelona 3, Celta Vigo 1
Real Madrid 4, Real Zaragoza 0
Valencia 2, Atletico Madrid 0
Monday: Getafe v Real Betis
GERMANY
Red-hot Schalke was cooled off in a 3-2 upset at the hands of Hoffenheim. It was a back-and-forth affair for most of the match, but Hoffenheim’s Sven Schipplock bagged the winner in 90’+1 to upset the second-place club.
Bayern Munich rebounded from their first loss of the season with a 3-0 win over Hamburg. A second half goal each from Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos gave the table-toppers all three points. The combination of the win and Schalke loss puts Munich seven points ahead of second place.
Bundesliga scoreboard:
Bayer Leverkusen 3, Fortuna Dusseldorf 2
Werder Bremen 2, Mainz 1
Borussia Dortmund 0, VfB Stuttgart 0
Borussia Monchengladbach 1, SC Freiburg 1
Hannover 96 2, FC Augsburg 0
Nurnberg 1, VfL Wolfsburg 0
TSG Hoffenheim 3, Schalke 04 2
Bayern Munich 3, Hamburg SV 0
Eintracht Frankfurt 1, SpVgg Greuther Furth 1
FRANCE
First-place Paris Saint-Germain suffered a 2-1 upset at the hands of St. Etienne. A Mamadou Sakho own goal and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goal in the second half sunk PSG. The loss and Marseille win makes for a tie at the top of the table at 22 points each.
Toulouse dropped from second to fourth with a 1-0 loss to Bordeaux. The match appeared to be headed for a scoreless draw before Yoan Gouffran hit the winner in the 87th minute. Toulouse is now two points out of the top three.
Ligue 1 scoreboard:
Marseille 2, AC Ajaccio 0
Lyon 5, Bastia 2
Bordeaux 1, Toulouse 0
St. Etienne 2, Paris St.-Germain 1
Lille 2, Evian Thonon Gaillard 0
Nice 2, AS Nancy Lorraine 1
Stade Rennes 1, Stade de Reims 0
Troyes 1, Montpellier 1
Valenciennes 3, Sochaux 1
Brest 2, Lorient 0