Man United, Chelsea come from behind to win; Man City maintains winning start vs. Arsenal

Man United, Chelsea fight back to win away

LONDON — Manchester United and Chelsea rallied to victories Saturday, while Manchester City’s expensively revamped team passed its first big Premier League test against Arsenal.

Brazil midfielder Anderson ended his two-year wait for a United goal as the defending champions won 3-1 at Tottenham despite Paul Scholes being sent off.

Chelsea won 2-1 at Stoke on Florent Malouda’s stoppage time goal. Emmanuel Adebayor scored against former club Arsenal in a 4-2 win that gave Man City its fourth straight triumph.

After opening the season with five wins, Chelsea has a three-point lead over United, City and Spurs — all separated by goal difference. Liverpool is three points behind those three after routing Burnley 4-0 on a hat trick by Yossi Benayoun.

“To be top of the league is very important,” Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said. “We have good confidence in our play and a very good atmosphere in the dressing room.”

United was trailing inside a minute after Jermain Defoe’s acrobatic overhead kick. But Ryan Giggs curled in a free kick to tie it for the visitors and Anderson scored before halftime.

Despite the Red Devils playing more than 30 minutes with 10 men after Scholes was sent off, Wayne Rooney added a third goal in the 78th minute.

MADRID (AP) — Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi gave Barcelona a 2-0 Spanish league win at Getafe on while Real Madrid beat Espanyol 3-0 after Cristiano Ronaldo came on as a second-half substitute to score.

Ibrahimovic toe-poked Seydou Keita’s deflected pass under goalkeeper Oscar Ustari and off the inside of the far post to open the scoring in the 66th minute. The Sweden striker controlled the ball with his chest and crossed to a streaking Messi for a header in the 79th minute for the Spanish champions.

Ronaldo, who left Manchester United in June in a record transfer of $131 million, watched from the bench as Esteban Granero put Madrid ahead in the 40th after being set up by Kaka. The Brazil playmaker then fed Jose Maria “Guti” Gutierrez in the 77th for the second goal before the Portugal winger scored his second of the season in the 90th.

Barcelona and Real Madrid both have a maximum six points while Atletico Madrid remains without a win after drawing 1-1 against Racing Santander.

PARIS (AP) — Michel Bastos scored a second-half header to give Lyon a 1-0 victory over Lorient and first place in the French league. The Brazilian midfielder capitalized on a cross from Sidney Govou to give Lyon 13 points from five matches.

Marseille beat Le Mans 2-1 after dropping points in its last two games. Brazilian forward Brandao scored the winning goal by heading in a free kick from Benoit Cheyrou in the 70th minute.

Mamadou Niang delivered a volley in the 14th minute to open the scoring. Modibo Maiga evened the score for Le Mans in the 61st with a bicycle kick after a cross from Anthony Le Tallec.

Lucho Gonzalez made his French league debut with Marseille. The Argentine playmaker missed his team’s first four matches after injuring his left collarbone.

FRANKFURT (AP) — Bayern Munich routed Borussia Dortmund 5-1 for its second straight victory, while Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen both won to open a four-point lead in the Bundesliga.

Hamburg beat Stuttgart 3-1 and Leverkusen won 3-2 at defending champion Wolfsburg, which dropped its third straight.

Thomas Mueller came off the bench to score two goals for Bayern one day before his 20th birthday. Mario Gomez, Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger added the others as Bayern rallied after conceding an early goal.

Simon Rolfes scored two goals for Leverkusen in Wolfsburg, with both teams finishing with 10 men.

After five rounds, Hamburg and Leverkusen top the standings with 13 points, with Hamburg ahead on goal difference. Eintracht Frankfurt won 2-0 at promoted Freiburg to remain unbeaten and take third place at nine points, one more than Bayern.

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Allan McGregor saved a late penalty kick to help Rangers maintain an unbeaten start to their Scottish title defense with a 0-0 draw at Motherwell.

Jim O’Brien’s kick was saved by McGregor in the 87th minute after Madjid Bougherra had conceded the penalty by fouling Lukas Jutkiewicz. The Rangers defender picked up two yellow cards in quick succession: one for the foul and then for complaining about the decision.

Rangers kept the league lead, however, after Celtic managed only a 1-1 draw at home against Dundee United.

Dundee United went ahead with a goal from David Goodwillie in the sixth minute, but Scott McDonald tied it in the 17th with a short header off Danny Fox’s cross.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Defending champion Olympiakos was held to a 0-0 draw against newcomer Kavala in its home opener.

Olympiakos has four points after two games, three behind league leader Aris, which beat Giannena 1-0. Panathinaikos is second with six points and plays at Panthrakikos on Sunday.

Kavala, promoted to the top league after 28 years in lower divisions, also has four points from three games.

Larissa drew 2-2 at home with Atromitos.