Barcelona crash away to Atletico Madrid

LA LIGA champions Barcelona crashed to a 2-1 defeat away to Atletico Madrid last night.

Samuel Eto’o opening the scoring for Barca after five minutes but Fernando Torres equalised on the 17th minute. The second half was barely a minute old when Mateja Kezman produced a stunning header - which proved to be the winner.

Real Madrid completed a miserable week when they slipped to a third defeat in a row, losing 1-0 at Espanyol.

The determined and well-organised Catalans grabbed victory when defender Daniel Jarque got behind the Real back four to head in a Ivan de la Pena free-kick 22 minutes from time. Real’s pride was further wounded when two of their new signings were sent off in the closing minutes.

Sergio Ramos was dismissed for a body check on the outstanding De la Pena as he surged towards goal and midfielder Julio Baptista followed him down the tunnel in injury time after a reckless studs-up challenge on Jonathan Soriano. Real lost 3-2 to Celta Vigo in their first home match of the season last Saturday before being going down 3-0 at Olympique Lyon in their opening Champions League match on Tuesday.

Earlier Bernd Schuster’s Getafe claimed top spot in the Primera Liga for the first time in their history thanks to a pulsating 4-3 win at Alaves.

The modest Madrid-based side had to twice come from behind to goals from Alaves striker Nene in the opening half hour. Striker Riki put Getafe ahead with his second goal seven minutes before the break and defender Mariano Pernia stretched their lead when he curled a free kick into the top corner.

Brazilian Nene notched his hat-trick with a second penalty in the 65th minute, but it was still not enough to prevent his side slipping to defeat.

Getafe join Deportivo Coruna, who drew 2-2 at Valencia on Saturday, at the top of the standings on seven points, one ahead of Celta Vigo, who dropped their first points of the season when they went down 1-0 at home to Racing Santander. Athletic Bilbao lost 2-1 at home to Malaga, Cadiz drew 1-1 with Villarreal, Osasuna defeated Sevilla 1-0 while Real Betis played out a scoreless draw with Real Zaragoza.

In Germany, Bayern Munich stretched their Bundesliga winning streak to a record 14 matches as a Martin Demichelis header proved enough to give them a 1-0 victory at home to Hanover 96 on Saturday.

Bayern needed their latest win to stay two points clear of Werder Bremen. Bremen, beaten 2-0 by Barcelona in the Champions League came back to win an entertaining clash with Borussia Dortmund 3-2. Hamburg SV lost ground with a 1-1 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt while VfB Stuttgart claimed their first league win of the season with a 2-1 success at bottom club Mainz.

Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to beat strugglers MSV Duisburg 3-1 yesterday and make it a winning return to coaching for Rudi Voeller.

In Italy, Juventus maintained their 100% start to the season with a 2-1 win over Ascoli as AC Milan suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat at Sampdoria yesterday.

Champions Juventus moved on to nine points from three matches, two ahead of Fiorentina who beat Udinese 4-2. Lazio and Palermo also have seven points after wins over Treviso and Siena.

AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini equalled Dino Zoff’s record of 570 Serie A appearances but had little else to celebrate after a defeat that left his side five points behind Juventus.

Juve’s victory marked a return to form for their captain Alessandro Del Piero. The diminutive forward, who has struggled to earn a starting place since Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s arrival last season, produced an inspired performance, putting his team ahead with a 13th-minute penalty after midfielder Domenico Cristiano handled in the area.

Juventus dominated possession but a deflected shot by Serie A debutant Alfredo Cariello shortly after the half hour drew Ascoli level.

Del Piero re-established Juve’s lead with a well struck free kick just before the break and they could have extended their lead in the second half if Ibrahimovic’s finishing had been more precise.

AC Milan striker Alberto Gilardino gave his side an early lead at Sampdoria and wasted a chance to double the advantage when he blasted Andriy Shevchenko’s cutback high over the bar.

His wastefulness was punished in the 38th minute when Sampdoria striker Emiliano Bonazzoli turned and fired the equaliser into the top corner of Dida’s net from close range.

Milan came out strongly after the interval but repeatedly ran into Sampdoria’s suffocating defence and Max Tonetto grabbed the winner in the 58th minute, unleashing a powerful shot from the left that beat Dida at his near post.

Lazio beat Treviso 3-1 and Palermo won 2-1 at Siena while Inter Milan defeated Lecce 3-0 on Saturday. Livorno and AS Roma drew 0-0 last night.

Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven’s unbeaten streak ended at 21 matches yesterday after a 1-0 loss at Groningen. Yuri Cornelisse’s strike a minute before the break condemned Guus Hiddink’s side to defeat. PSV remain in fourth place, five points behind the leading three.

Olympique Lyon head the standings in France, having extended their unbeaten run to seven games since the start of the season with a 1-1 draw at Girondins Bordeaux on Saturday.

Lyon have 17 points, three more than Le Mans, who beat Sochaux 2-1 at home.