Real Madrid opened a two-point lead over Villarreal at the top of La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo set a club scoring record in a 3-0 stroll at home to Levante on Saturday.
Marcelo fired Real ahead in the 27th minute at the Bernabeu when he exchanged passes with Ronaldo and blasted the ball past Ruben in the Levante goal.
Ronaldo made it 2-0 three minutes later when he cracked a long-range effort into the corner, his 324th Real goal putting him one clear of former Spain striker Raul.
It ended a rare four-match goal drought in Spain's top flight for the Portugal captain, his joint-worst run since he joined Real in 2009. -- Reuters
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Barca's four-goal Neymar coy on secret of success
Neymar was delighted after netting his first four-goal haul, including two penalties, for Barcelona on Saturday but the Brazil forward was not about to give away any clues to the secret of his success.
It was one of the 23-year-old's best performances since joining Barca in 2013 as the Spanish and European champions fought back from 1-0 down to beat a spirited Rayo Vallecano 5-2 at the Nou Camp.
After they fell behind in the 15th minute, Neymar won and converted a pair of spot kicks and added two more goals in the second period before teeing up Luis Suarez to score a fifth for the home side late on.
He is the first Barca player other than Lionel Messi to score four in a match since Samuel Eto'o in 2008 and his eight goals in La Liga this term are helping offset the impact of Messi's absence through injury. -- Reuters
Goals rained in for Manchester City and Manchester United but Juergen Klopp's first game as Liverpool manager was solid rather than spectacular as they drew 0-0 at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday.
Raheem Sterling's hat-trick and a Wilfried Bony double helped leaders City to a 5-1 home win against Bournemouth while a few miles down the motorway United thumped Everton 3-0 with Wayne Rooney scoring his first away league goal for 11 months.
City have a two-point lead over United and Arsenal, who moved up to second with a 3-0 win at Watford. West Ham United, who won 3-1 at Crystal Palace, are a further two points adrift.
Liverpool's sixth draw in seven matches in all competitions left them down in 10th place but there was reason for optimism for Klopp who replaced the sacked Brendan Rodgers this month. -- Martyn Herman, Reuters
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Unstoppable Bayern beat Werder for record league start
Bayern Munich edged past struggling Werder Bremen 1-0 on Saturday courtesy of Thomas Mueller's first half goal to set a Bundesliga record for the best start to a season with their ninth consecutive victory.
Germany international Mueller, in sensational form this season, was left unmarked in the box to latch onto a superb Thiago Alcantara chip and tap in from close range in the 23rd minute for his ninth league goal as Bayern improved the record they had set themselves in the 2012/13 season.
Unbeaten Bayern, who did not need to hit top form and eased off late in the game granting Werder more space, have a maximum 27 points, seven more than second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who won 2-0 at Mainz 05 on Friday. Bayern face Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday. --Reuters
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Mourinho lauds Chelsea discipline after win without Hazard
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said the struggling English champions will stick to their back-to-basics approach after a hard-fought 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday in which Eden Hazard started on the bench.
He added that the Belgium winger, Chelsea's stand-out player in last season's title-winning team, was among the substitutes as part of a revamp to end his side's miserable run of form.
"I left out Hazard because we are conceding lots of goals, we need to defend better, we need our midfield players to be just in the central area of the pitch," Mourinho told reporters.
"When, for example, a central midfielder has to be worried about providing cover to one of the sides, it's like a blanket, you pull this side, you have your feet in the cold, you know?"
Hazard, the Premier League's player of the year last season, had previously started every league game for Chelsea this season but only came on as an 83rd minute substitute on Saturday.
By then, the game was effectively over, thanks to a first-half goal by Spain striker Diego Costa and a 53rd minute own-goal by Alan Hutton who deflected in a strike by Costa. -- William Schomberg, Reuters
Raheem Sterling's hat-trick and a Wilfried Bony double helped leaders City to a 5-1 home win against Bournemouth while a few miles down the motorway United thumped Everton 3-0 with Wayne Rooney scoring his first away league goal for 11 months.
City have a two-point lead over United and Arsenal, who moved up to second with a 3-0 win at Watford. West Ham United, who won 3-1 at Crystal Palace, are a further two points adrift.
Liverpool's sixth draw in seven matches in all competitions left them down in 10th place but there was reason for optimism for Klopp who replaced the sacked Brendan Rodgers this month. -- Martyn Herman, Reuters
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Unstoppable Bayern beat Werder for record league start
Bayern Munich edged past struggling Werder Bremen 1-0 on Saturday courtesy of Thomas Mueller's first half goal to set a Bundesliga record for the best start to a season with their ninth consecutive victory.
Germany international Mueller, in sensational form this season, was left unmarked in the box to latch onto a superb Thiago Alcantara chip and tap in from close range in the 23rd minute for his ninth league goal as Bayern improved the record they had set themselves in the 2012/13 season.
Unbeaten Bayern, who did not need to hit top form and eased off late in the game granting Werder more space, have a maximum 27 points, seven more than second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who won 2-0 at Mainz 05 on Friday. Bayern face Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday. --Reuters
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Mourinho lauds Chelsea discipline after win without Hazard
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said the struggling English champions will stick to their back-to-basics approach after a hard-fought 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday in which Eden Hazard started on the bench.
He added that the Belgium winger, Chelsea's stand-out player in last season's title-winning team, was among the substitutes as part of a revamp to end his side's miserable run of form.
"I left out Hazard because we are conceding lots of goals, we need to defend better, we need our midfield players to be just in the central area of the pitch," Mourinho told reporters.
"When, for example, a central midfielder has to be worried about providing cover to one of the sides, it's like a blanket, you pull this side, you have your feet in the cold, you know?"
Hazard, the Premier League's player of the year last season, had previously started every league game for Chelsea this season but only came on as an 83rd minute substitute on Saturday.
By then, the game was effectively over, thanks to a first-half goal by Spain striker Diego Costa and a 53rd minute own-goal by Alan Hutton who deflected in a strike by Costa. -- William Schomberg, Reuters
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
