Real Madrid's early-season woes deepened when they lost 2-1 at home to La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, while substitute Neymar struck twice in Barcelona's 2-0 win against visiting Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
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The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
Karim Benzema came off the bench to score 13 minutes from time and ruin any chance of a dream result for resilient Ludogorets as holders Real Madrid carved out a patchy 2-1 win in Wednesday's Champions League Group B match.
Reigning French Open champion Maria Sharapova, former world number one Venus Williams and Australian Samantha Stosur sailed into the second round of the China Open with straight set victories on Sunday.
Switzerland struck twice in quick succession to stun Euro 2016 champions Portugal 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday and hand them a first competitive defeat in two years under coach Fernando Santos.