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Rediff.com  » Sports » Man City go top, Montpellier lead in France

Man City go top, Montpellier lead in France

August 22, 2011 10:31 IST
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Big-spending Manchester City maintained their perfect start to the English Premier League season with a 3-2 win at Bolton Wanderers, while Arsenal capped a week to forget with a 2-0 home defeat by Liverpool.

In France, Montpellier HSC remained the only side with a 100 percent record, while there were surprise leaders in Germany too where last season's relegation battlers Borussia Moenchengladbach have set the early pace in the Bundesliga.

ENGLAND

Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers top the early standings after winning their second successive matches of the new Premier League season on Sunday.

City won 3-2 at Bolton Wanderers while Wolves beat Fulham 2-0 at Molineux to make their best start in the top flight since 1979.

Edin DzekoCity lead the standings on goal difference, while champions Manchester United could join them on Monday if they beat Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford when Spurs play their first match of the season.

It was another miserable weekend for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal who lost 2-0 at home to Liverpool, but despite all the problems facing his side, who have yet to score in the league, the manager pledged his commitment to the club.

"I am disappointed by our start to the season but there is no chance I will walk away," Wenger, manager since 1996, said. "There is only the chance I will still try to give my best for the club."

GERMANY

Borussia Moenchengladbach and Hanover 96 lead the table with seven points from three games after a weekend in which the nine games produced an impressive 33 goals.

Moenchengladbach, who narrowly survived relegation last term, are top on goal difference after a 4-1 victory over VfL Wolfsburg.

Schalke 04 scored four times in the last 35 minutes to recover from two goals down to win 4-2 at Mainz 05, while Bayern Munich thumped Hamburg SV 5-0 at home.

FRANCE

Montpellier are the surprise leaders in France with the only 100 percent record after three matches.

They hammered Stade Rennes 4-0 but fellow south coast side Olympique Marseille could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to St Etienne.

Big-spending Paris St Germain recorded their first win of the campaign, beating Valenciennes 2-1 thanks to Nene's second-half penalty, while champions Lille won 2-1 at Caen and Olympique Lyon struggled to a 1-1 draw at Stade Brest.

NETHERLANDS

Twente Enschede thrashed Heerenveen 5-1 with Marc Janko scoring twice to maintain their perfect record and go top of the Dutch league, while Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord dropped their first points.

Ajax fought back from two goals down at VVV Venlo to salvage a draw, while Guyon Fernandez equalised late on for Feyenoord at Heracles Almelo.

PORTUGAL

Brazilian forward Hulk scored two goals and set up another to earn Porto a 3-1 home win over Gil Vicente in the Portuguese League before they face Barcelona in the European Super Cup next Friday.

Rivals Benfica made hard work of notching their first league win of the season in a 3-1 home win over promoted Feirense.

Sporting were held to a second consecutive draw in the league, creating no chances in a muted first half and wasting a handful in the second as they drew 0-0 at Beira Mar.

SCOTLAND

Champions Rangers moved to the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win at previous league leaders Motherwell as the Gers won their third successive away match without conceding a goal.

Steven Naismith, Kyle Lafferty and Gregg Wylde scored as Rangers bounced back from Thursday's Europa League loss at Maribor, while inflicting Motherwell's first defeat of the season.

Celtic, held to a 0-0 draw by Sion in the Europa League on Thursday, had another disappointing day, going down to a shock 1-0 home defeat by St Johnstone, who scored their first win at Parkhead for 13 years thanks to a goal from David Mackay.

Saints goalkeeper Peter Enckelman also saved a penalty from Kris Commons to keep a clean sheet.

 

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