Euro Football Wrap

LONDON – Surprise team Hoffenheim went top of the Bundesliga with victory over Hamburg while Liverpool beat Chelsea to snatch the lead from them in England.

Olympique Marseille missed the chance to go top in France when they lost 4-2 at home to arch-rivals Paris St Germain. GERMANY – Hoffenheim took over the league leadership after hammering Hamburg SV 3-0, while Bayern Munich showed they are finally getting their act together under Juergen Klinsmann by winning 4-2 at home to VfL Wolfsburg.Hoffenheim, enjoying their first season in the top flight, were at their ruthless best at home to Hamburg on Sunday, as two goals from Chinedu Obasi and one from Vedad Ibisevic, his 10th of the season, saw them to an emphatic victory.Ralf Rangnick’s side lead the standings with 19 points from nine games, one point ahead of Bayer Leverkusen after they won 2-0 in their derby at home to Cologne on Friday.Hamburg slipped to third on 17 points, one ahead of VfB Stuttgart after two late goals from Mario Gomez gave them a 2-0 win at home to Bochum on Sunday.Bayern are in fifth place on 15 points after coming from two goals down to beat Wolfsburg in a breathless match.ENGLAND – Liverpool moved three points ahead at the top of the Premier League after a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge ended Chelsea’s 86-match unbeaten league run at home.Xabi Alonso scored the only goal in the first half to move Liverpool to 23 points from nine games.Chelsea have 20 points, the same as Hull City whose amazing start to life in the top flight continued with a 3-0 away win at West Bromwich Albion.Arsenal are fourth, a point further back thanks to a comfortable 2-0 win at West Ham United.Tottenham Hotspur made most of the weekend headlines after sacking coach Juande Ramos and replacing him with Portsmouth’s Harry Redknapp on Saturday before.Redknapp was in the technical area as Spurs won for the first time this season in the league — 2-0 against Bolton Wanderers.Spurs remain bottom, one point behind Newcastle United whose 2-1 defeat at Sunderland on Saturday was marred by crowd trouble.FRANCE – Olympique Marseille missed the chance to capture the lead in Ligue 1 when they lost 4-2 at home to arch-rivals Paris St Germain in a lively Ligue 1 game on Sunday.Marseille, who were desperate to bounce back four days after a 2-0 defeat at PSV Eindhoven left them in great danger of making an early Champions League exit, instead slumped to their first league defeat this season.They stay second on 19 points from 10 games, two points behind Olympique Lyon, who were held 0-0 at Auxerre on Saturday.Le Mans, Girondins Bordeaux and Toulouse follow, all one point behind Marseille.A thrilling match was heading for a 2-2 draw when two late goals by Jerome Rothen and Guillaume Hoarau presented PSG with victory and sent them up to sixth, four points off the pace.SPAIN -Valencia had their lead cut to one point at the top of the Primera Liga after David Villa salvaged a point in a 1-1 draw at lowly Recreativo Huelva on Sunday.Barcelona cruised into second place with a 5-0 home demolition of Almeria on Saturday, and they are ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference after the champions won 3-2 against Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu.Villarreal slipped to fourth on 18 points after coming back from two-down to lead 4-2, only to draw 4-4 against Atletico Madrid in a thriller at the Madrigal.ITALY – Champions Inter Milan remain joint leaders but could only draw 0-0 at home to 10-man Genoa, who had their chances to snatch victory.Udinese also have 17 points after Antonio Di Natale scored twice in a 3-1 stroll over last season’s runners-up AS Roma, who have now lost five of their eight league games to leave coach Luciano Spalletti clinging to his job.Napoli are the third side with 17 points after an own goal from Sebastiano Siviglia sealed a 1-0 victory at Lazio, who have not won in three games having been early pacesetters..- Nampa-Reuters NETHERLANDS PSV Eindhoven suffered their second successive defeat in the league, losing 3-2 at home against strugglers Roda JC Kerkrade to slip to sixth with 12 points, four behind the leaders, after seven matches.Groningen beat Sparta Rotterdam 3-0, with Swede Petter Andersson twice on target, to go top on goal difference over NAC Breda, who were held 0-0 draw by Utrecht.Goals by Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Luis Suarez gave Ajax a 2-0 victory over NEC Nijmegen, while a late header from Michael Mols salvaged a point for struggling Feyenoord in a 2-2 draw against Heerenveen.PORTUGAL Champions Porto suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season when they were beaten 3-2 at home by modest neighbours Leixoes on Saturday.Leixoes, whose midfielder Braga scored twice including a spectacular 35-metre strike for the winner, moved joint top of the standings with 13 points from six games, two points ahead of Porto.They are second on goal difference behind Nacional, who beat Vitoria Setubal 1-0 on Sunday.Benfica also overtook Porto with a 2-1 home win over Naval giving them 12 points.GREECE PAOK Salonika moved to within a point of the top of the Super League after leaders Olympiakos Piraeus slipped to their first defeat of the season on Sunday.While PAOK made short work of Levadiakos, Bosnian striker Zlatan Muslimovic scoring twice in a 3-1 win, the champions went down to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of PAOK’s biggest rivals, Aris Salonika, who scored through Spanish striker Javito.Olympiakos still head the table after seven games with 16 points, one more than PAOK who are now the only unbeaten side in the leagueGERMANY – Hoffenheim took over the league leadership after hammering Hamburg SV 3-0, while Bayern Munich showed they are finally getting their act together under Juergen Klinsmann by winning 4-2 at home to VfL Wolfsburg.Hoffenheim, enjoying their first season in the top flight, were at their ruthless best at home to Hamburg on Sunday, as two goals from Chinedu Obasi and one from Vedad Ibisevic, his 10th of the season, saw them to an emphatic victory.Ralf Rangnick’s side lead the standings with 19 points from nine games, one point ahead of Bayer Leverkusen after they won 2-0 in their derby at home to Cologne on Friday.Hamburg slipped to third on 17 points, one ahead of VfB Stuttgart after two late goals from Mario Gomez gave them a 2-0 win at home to Bochum on Sunday.Bayern are in fifth place on 15 points after coming from two goals down to beat Wolfsburg in a breathless match.ENGLAND – Liverpool moved three points ahead at the top of the Premier League after a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge ended Chelsea’s 86-match unbeaten league run at home.Xabi Alonso scored the only goal in the first half to move Liverpool to 23 points from nine games.Chelsea have 20 points, the same as Hull City whose amazing start to life in the top flight continued with a 3-0 away win at West Bromwich Albion.Arsenal are fourth, a point further back thanks to a comfortable 2-0 win at West Ham United.Tottenham Hotspur made most of the weekend headlines after sacking coach Juande Ramos and replacing him with Portsmouth’s Harry Redknapp on Saturday before.Redknapp was in the technical area as Spurs won for the first time this season in the league — 2-0 against Bolton Wanderers.Spurs remain bottom, one point behind Newcastle United whose 2-1 defeat at Sunderland on Saturday was marred by crowd trouble.FRANCE – Olympique Marseille missed the chance to capture the lead in Ligue 1 when they lost 4-2 at home to arch-rivals Paris St Germain in a lively Ligue 1 game on Sunday.Marseille, who were desperate to bounce back four days after a 2-0 defeat at PSV Eindhoven left them in great danger of making an early Champions League exit, instead slumped to their first league defeat this season.They stay second on 19 points from 10 games, two points behind Olympique Lyon, who were held 0-0 at Auxerre on Saturday.Le Mans, Girondins Bordeaux and Toulouse follow, all one point behind Marseille.A thrilling match was heading for a 2-2 draw when two late goals by Jerome Rothen and Guillaume Hoarau presented PSG with victory and sent them up to sixth, four points off the pace.SPAIN -Valencia
had their lead cut to one point at the top of the Primera Liga after David Villa salvaged a point in a 1-1 draw at lowly Recreativo Huelva on Sunday.Barcelona cruised into second place with a 5-0 home demolition of Almeria on Saturday, and they are ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference after the champions won 3-2 against Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu.Villarreal slipped to fourth on 18 points after coming back from two-down to lead 4-2, only to draw 4-4 against Atletico Madrid in a thriller at the Madrigal.ITALY – Champions Inter Milan remain joint leaders but could only draw 0-0 at home to 10-man Genoa, who had their chances to snatch victory.Udinese also have 17 points after Antonio Di Natale scored twice in a 3-1 stroll over last season’s runners-up AS Roma, who have now lost five of their eight league games to leave coach Luciano Spalletti clinging to his job.Napoli are the third side with 17 points after an own goal from Sebastiano Siviglia sealed a 1-0 victory at Lazio, who have not won in three games having been early pacesetters..- Nampa-Reuters NETHERLANDS PSV Eindhoven suffered their second successive defeat in the league, losing 3-2 at home against strugglers Roda JC Kerkrade to slip to sixth with 12 points, four behind the leaders, after seven matches.Groningen beat Sparta Rotterdam 3-0, with Swede Petter Andersson twice on target, to go top on goal difference over NAC Breda, who were held 0-0 draw by Utrecht.Goals by Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Luis Suarez gave Ajax a 2-0 victory over NEC Nijmegen, while a late header from Michael Mols salvaged a point for struggling Feyenoord in a 2-2 draw against Heerenveen.PORTUGAL Champions Porto suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season when they were beaten 3-2 at home by modest neighbours Leixoes on Saturday.Leixoes, whose midfielder Braga scored twice including a spectacular 35-metre strike for the winner, moved joint top of the standings with 13 points from six games, two points ahead of Porto.They are second on goal difference behind Nacional, who beat Vitoria Setubal 1-0 on Sunday.Benfica also overtook Porto with a 2-1 home win over Naval giving them 12 points.GREECE PAOK Salonika moved to within a point of the top of the Super League after leaders Olympiakos Piraeus slipped to their first defeat of the season on Sunday.While PAOK made short work of Levadiakos, Bosnian striker Zlatan Muslimovic scoring twice in a 3-1 win, the champions went down to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of PAOK’s biggest rivals, Aris Salonika, who scored through Spanish striker Javito.Olympiakos still head the table after seven games with 16 points, one more than PAOK who are now the only unbeaten side in the league