European Football Round-up: Ronaldo, Lukaku, Benzema dazzle

Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool registered comfortable wins, while Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Borussia Dortmund grabbed hard-earned three points. We recap results from the weekend’s action in major European football leagues.

English Premier League

Cristiano Ronaldo’s twin goals on his second debut helped Manchester United thump Newcastle United 4-1 at Old Trafford. The 36-year-old broke the deadlock at the stroke of half-time and took the lead for his side after Javier Manquillo leveled the game for the visitors in the 56th minute. Ronaldo’s Portugal teammate Bruno Fernandes made it 3-1, and substitute Jesse Lingard added a fourth in stoppage time. Paul Pogba grabbed the assists for both goals, taking his tally to seven assists in four matches.

A second-half goal from Bernardo Silva made the difference in an evenly fought clash between Leicester City and Manchester City at King Power Stadium. Both goalkeepers had a busy outing, as Ederson and Kasper Schmeichel made excellent saves. After a goalless opening 45 minutes, Silva pounced from a close range to net the winner. It was Manchester City’s third successive win since the defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in their season opener.

Chelsea continued their impressive start to the new season after a 3-0 win over Aston Villa. Romelu Lukaku drew the first blood in the 15th minute, while Mateo Kovacic, who set up the opening goal, took advantage of a poor backpass and slotted home Chelsea’s second. In the third minute of added time, Lukaku sent a powerful strike past the Aston Villa goalkeeper to complete his brace and seal a comfortable win for the Blues.

Liverpool eased past Leeds United courtesy goals from Mohamed Salah, Fabinho, and Sadio Mane. The Egyptian scored his 100th English Premier League goal to give Liverpool the lead in the 20th minute. The visitors doubled their advantage through Fabinho in the opening minutes of the second half. Leeds United defender Pascal Struijk received a straight red for a reckless tackle on Harvey Elliott at the hour mark. Mane piled misery on the Yorkshire outfit with Liverpool’s third in the dying minutes.

Spanish La Liga

Real Madrid twice came back from a goal down to beat Celta Vigo 5-2 at Santiago Bernabeu. Karim Benzema had an outstanding game, netting a hat-trick and providing the final pass for Vinicius Junior’s goal. The Brazilian registered his fourth goal in Spanish La Liga this season. Also, teenager Eduardo Camavinga scored his first goal in Real Madrid colors.

Thomas Lemar fired home in the ninth minute of the added time to help Atletico Madrid pick up three points against Espanyol. The Spanish La Liga champions, who struck a late equalizer in their last league fixture, trailed 1-0 at half-time. With 11 minutes left on the clock, Yannick Carrasco restored parity for Atletico. The Belgian also turned provider for Lemar’s winning goal.

Italian Serie A

Juventus’ winless run continued in Italian Serie A after suffering a defeat at the hands of Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli on Saturday. Spain forward Alvaro Morata put them ahead in the tenth minute. But Matteo Politano and defender Kalidou Koulibaly netted in the second half to inflict a second straight defeat for the record Italian Serie A winners, who are 16th in the standings with just one point from three matches.

Inter Milan squandered their lead twice and had settle for a 2-2 draw against Sampdoria. Goals from Federico Dimarco and Lautaro Martinez gave a 1-2 lead at the break. But, within two minutes into the second half, Tommaso Augello squared the game for the home side. Meanwhile, AC Milan and AS Roma maintained their 100% start to the new season. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored on his return from injury as Milan blanked Lazio 2-0. Stephan El Shaarawy’s injury-time goal saw AS Roma pip Sassuolo 2-1.

German Bundesliga

Four players were on the scoresheet as Bayern Munich registered another big win in the German Bundesliga. The Bavarians hit four past a hapless RB Leipzig, who suffered their third defeat in four games. Robert Lewandowski converted a penalty in the 12th minute, while Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane struck in the space of seven minutes early in the second half. Leipzig pulled a goal back through Konrad Laimer, but Bayern scored another courtesy of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

Erling Haaland inspired Borussia Dortmund to a thrilling 3-4 win over Bayer Leverkusen. The Norwegian scored twice and set up Julian Brandt’s equalizer in the second half. Dortmund, who came back from behind thrice in the match, grabbed all three points after Haaland scored from the spot in the 77th minute. The 21-year-old has five goals and three assists in the German Bundesliga this season.

French Ligue 1

Lionel Messi, Neymar-less Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) eased past Clermont Foot at home. Former Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera struck twice in the first half, while Kylian Mbappe and Idrissa Gueye scored a goal after the break for the Parisian club. PSG, who has won all their five games so far, enjoys a four-point lead at the top of the points table.