In the Champions League, Man City recorded a fantastic 3-1 win at home to Barcelona, while Celtic failed to capitalise on the ten men of Borussia Monchengladbach and could only manage a 1-1 draw. Arsenal left it late to defeat Ludogorets Razgrad and relied on a Mesut Ozil master class, and a wonder goal from Gareth Bale’s wicked left foot wasn’t enough to give Real Madrid an away win at Legia Warsaw.
Athletico Madrid are the only team to win four from four, yet have German champions Bayern Munich hot on their heels. A 1-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen for Spurs saw them slip to third in a group where Falcao is back amongst the goals for leaders Monaco.
A 0-0 draw for English champions Leicester at Copenhagen keeps their dream alive as they sit top of Group G, meanwhile Borussia Dortmund are officially the first team to qualify at this early stage.
In the Europa League meanwhile, Jose Mourinho and Man United were once again making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. A 2-1 loss to Turkish outfit Fenerbache saw them slip to third in Group A, thanks to Moussa Sow and Jeremain Lens wonder goals.
In a match where record signing Paul Pogba limped off early on and Wayne Rooney equalled Ruud van Nistelrooy’s 38 European goals, a furious Mourinho compared the performance to a ‘summer friendly’.
Elsewhere in the competition, Southampton kept their strong campaign going with a famous 2-1 win over Inter, while Zenit St Petersburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Schalke and Ajax all booked their place in the next round. Athletic striker Aritz Aduriz also made the record books as he became the first player to score five goals in a Europa League game, helping his side overcome Genk 5-3.
