Torres chews up the Toffees; Styles’ awful penalty decision tees up United’s victory; Hull claim shock scalp at Arsenal; Bremen edge Hoffenheim in nine goal thriller; Violence in crazy Catalonia derby

Everton 0 – Liverpool 2 (Premier League, September 27, 2008) (Longer highlights here, MOTD highlights here.) The Merseyside derby began full of the pace and passion expected from the fixture, and sadly also accompanied by some poor refereeing decisions from Mike Riley. Everton suffered from a “foul” called on Marouane Fellaini as he jumped with Reina for a ball which both players missed, but the £15m man wasted his shot anyhow. (First half highlights here.) Steven Gerrard was starring for Liverpool, and after the Reds began building up momentum early in the second half they scored, Alonso released Keane down the left and his cross was volleyed home by Fernando Torres. And one become two minutes later, Keane fed Kuyt in the box, his shot was saved with Torres firing home the rebound. David Moyes then had to see his side reduced to 10-men for Tim Cahill’s poor tackle on Xabi Alonso. (Second half highlights here.)

Stoke 0 – Chelsea 2 (Premier League, September 27, 2008) (MOTD highlights here.) Michael Ballack tested Sorensen early on, forcing the keeper to tip over his rasping shot from distance. With the Stoke supporters finding any means by which to watch the game, they watched on as Chelsea made the breakthrough in the 36th minute, Lampard picked out Bosingwa’s run into the box down the right hand side, and the full back controlled a fired home expertly to net his first goal for the Blues. Immediately on the restart Malouda crashed a shot against the underside of the bar, but his effort failed to cross the line. The Blues eventually netted the killer second, Bosingwa’s cross was chested down by Faye into the path of Anelka who cashed in on the opportunity.

Manchester United 2 – Bolton 0 (Premier League, September 27, 2008) (Longer highlights here, MOTD highlights here.) United dominated possession and the had the bulk of the chances against Bolton in the first half, Berbatov’s early header and a Ronaldo free-kick typical of the opportunities which fell to the hosts. But Bolton stayed resolute and should have gone ahead when Muamba fluffed a golden opportunity from Steinsson’s cross. (First half highlights here.) After the break it was more of the same, United pressing with Ronaldo hitting the post as they pushed for the opener. United eventually moved ahead but in completely undeserved circumstances, Rob Styles criminally penalised Samuel’s clean tackle on Ronaldo and awarded a penalty, which Ronaldo took and converted. United’s second however was a moment of pure class, sub-Rooney released Ronaldo who advanced into the box, backheeled to Rooney, and the number 10 curled a beauty in the far corner. In the final stages United were irresistible, and 2-0 flattered Bolton.

Arsenal 1 – Hull 2 (Premier League, September 27, 2008) (MOTD highlights here.) Cesc Fabregas dragged a shot wide against Hull after 14 minutes. Despite holding much of the ball Arsenal failed to score in the first half, Eboue pulled a shot wide late in the half after good skills prized open the opportunity. (First half highlights here.) Hull almost punished the Gunners early after the break but George Boateng’s shot was blocked by Cesc Fabregas. And as is so often the case, minutes later Walcott burst down the right, crossed into Adebayor, and Paul McShane turned the ball over his own line. The Tigers looked shell-shocked and Adebayor should have doubled the lead, but on the hour mark they equalised from nowhere, Geovanni hit a 25-yard screamer to stun the home crowd. Hull then stormed into the lead as Daniel Cousin headed home a corner. In the final stages Arsenal pressed hard for an equaliser, Gallas seeing his header rebound off the bar. Recording the result of the season, Hull move up to sixth, having as many points as Derby got all of last season.

Newcastle 1 – Blackburn 2 (Premier League, September 27, 2008) (MOTD highlights here.) Goals from Christopher Samba (a flying header) and Roque Santa Cruz (another header) put Blackburn in control before half time, while Michael Owen’s penalty continued his trend of scoring goals which fail to impact on the results of games.

Aston Villa 2 – Sunderland 1 (Premier League, September 27, 2008) (MOTD highlights here.) The Blacks Cats moved ahead with a fine goal created by Steed Malbranque, playing in Cisse in between Laursen and Davies and the French striker produced a textbook low finish into the bottom corner to beat Friedel. Ashley Young’s 25-yard free-kick drew Villa level, and the hosts stole all three points when Young’s free-kick deflected to Petrov, whose cross was cutely back-heeled in by John Carew.

Middlesbrough 0 – West Brom 1 (Premier League, September 27, 2008) Jonas Olsson earned West Brom their first away win of the season by being in the right place at the right time to score following Greening’s left wing corner.

Fulham 1 – West Ham 2 (Premier League, September 27, 2008) West Ham struck twice in the last couple of minutes of the first half, first Carlton Cole tapped in from Matty Etherington’s pullback and then Cole returned the favour by laying the ball off to Mark Noble whose superb 30 yard ball was seized on by Etherington and he slotted it past Schwarzer. Fulham’s nightmare end to the half reached its nadir as England international striker Andy Johnson was sent off for a second yellow card for a foul on Lucas Neill. Danny Murphy converted a second half penalty, but the Cottagers could not find an equaliser.

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Southport 3 – Vauxhall Motors 2 (FA Cup, September 27, 2008)

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Hannover 1 – Bayern Munich 0 (Bundesliga, September 27, 2008) Hannover’s Hungarian international Szabolcs Huszti gave the hosts the lead over Bayern Munich firing home a wonderful left footed free-kick which curled out of the reach of Rensing.

Werder Bremen 5 – Hoffenheim 4 (Bundesliga, September 27, 2008) (Longer highlights here.) For the second week running Werder Bremen were able to score goals for fun, hitting four past Hoffenheim in the opening 45 minutes. Ozil’s opener was cancelled out by Ba, only for Werder to pull away with strikes from Pizarro, Diego and Aaron Hunt (a stunner). Hoffenheim did manage to give themselves a lifeline on the stroke of halftime, Salihovic scoring a delicious free-kick which curled into the top corner. The turning point came in the 62nd minute when Mertesacker was sent off for a professional foul. Ibisevic then scored a penalty for Hoffenheim, who then incredibly drew level 4-4 when Compper scored in the 71st minute. But Bremen had a sting in their tail, and won the game thanks to Ozil’s second of the match.

Borussia Dortmund 3 – Stuttgart 0 (Bundesliga, September 27, 2008) Dortmund’s impressive start to the season continued with a convincing win over Stuttgart thanks to Tamas Hajnal’s long-range blast and headers from Felipe Santana and Alexander Frei.

Hertha Berlin 0 – Energie Cottbus 1 (Bundesliga, September 27, 2008) Cottbus took the points after a swift break in the 15th minute was converted by Jelic.

Bochum 2 – Bayer Leverkusen 3 (Bundesliga, September 27, 2008) Arturo Vidal and Renato Augusto (wonderful strike) put Leverkusen ahead, and Patrick Helmes gave them a 3-0 lead, before Stanislav Sestak and Sinan Kaloglu mounted a late charge.

Hamburg 1 – Monchengladbach 0 (Bundesliga, September 27, 2008) Martin Jol’s Hamburg got back to winning ways, Petric bagging the only goal after 12 minutes.

Hansa Rostock 3 – St. Pauli 0 (Bundesliga II, September 26, 2008)

Oberhausen 0 – Greuther Furth 4 (Bundesliga II, September 26, 2008)

Osnabruck 1 – Koblenz 0 (Bundesliga II, September 26, 2008)

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Espanyol 1 – Barcelona 2 (La Liga, September 27, 2008) In the Catalonia derby, Messi set up Henry and Xavi hit the crossbar as Barca looked for the opener. But it was Espanyol who struck after some dreadful Barca defending, Corominas slotting home after a cross was poorly dealt with. Henry then had an effort cleared off the line, before Espanyol were reduced to 10 men as Nene was dismissed for a second yellow. (First half highlights here.) After the break Barca continued to press, Messi flashed a shot wide and Henry’s acrobatic bicycle-kick was saved. The game was then halted for ten minutes after violence broke out in the stands as the home fans threw flares into the away supporters, before turning on their own stewards, breaking down a fence. When the game finally resumed Thierry Henry got reward for his hard work, netting the equaliser after a lucky break presented him with an open goal. The game ended is hugely controversial circumstances, Samuel Eto’o fell in the box after a clean, legal tackle, the ref pointed to the spot and Messi rolled home the winner with the final kick of the game.

Real Betis 1 – Real Madrid 2 (La Liga, September 27, 2008) (Longer highlights here.) Real Madrid moved ahead at Real Betis when Gabriel Heinze headed home van der Vaart’s free-kick. Betis almost equalised on the stroke of halftime, but Emana’s effort stayed out thanks to a combintion of post and Iker Casillas. Betis equalised after the break, the ref award a penalty against Marcelo (who was sent off in the process), and although initially saved by Casillas, Sergio Garcia scored on the rebound. Garcia was then later sent off for picking up his second card, and with new impetious Real claimed a last-gasp winner thanks to Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Sporting Gijon 0 – Villarreal 1 (La Liga, September 27, 2008) Villarreal moved top of the Spanish league after winning at Gijon with a goal from Giuseppe Rossi.

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Fiorentina 1 – Genoa 0 (Serie A, September 27, 2008) Fiorentina maintained their momentum near the top of Serie A by narrowly beating Genoa, Antonio Gillardino continued his marvelous form by scoring a brilliant individual goal on the hour mark.

Sampdoria 0 – Juventus 0 (Serie A, September 27, 2008) Del Piero started brightly for Juventus at Sampdoria, coming close with a free-kick and then dragging a shot onto the post.

Ascoli 0 – Bari 1 (Serie B, September 27, 2008)

Cittadella 0 – Empoli 2 (Serie B, September 27, 2008)

Salernitana 1 – Pisa 1 (Serie B, September 27, 2008)

Rimini 1 – Sassuolo 2 (Serie B, September 27, 2008)

Vicenza 3 – Avellino 0 (Serie B, September 27, 2008)

Livorno 0 – Grosseto 0 (Serie B, September 27, 2008)

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Lyon 2 – Nancy 1 (Ligue 1, September 27, 2008) Karim Benzema put the defending champions in the lead after 31 minutes and Fred doubled the advantage another five minutes later. Nancy reacted immediately as Berenguer netted for 2-1, but Lyon held on to their lead to take the points.

Le Mans 1 – Marseille 1 (Ligue 1, September 27, 2008) Hatem Ben Arfa scored for OM after just seven minutes following a genious jinking solo run. Thorstein Helstad responded straight away with a header from Anthony Le Tallec, taking advantage of Laurent Bonnart’s dreadful back pass. Mamadou Samassa appeared to have scored the winner for Le Mans as his header crossed the line after hitting the bar, but the referee did not allow the youngster his first goal of the season.

Rennes 1 – Nice 0 (Ligue 1, September 27, 2008) A single goal proved to be enough for Rennes, French Under-21 international Jimmy Briand netted a diving header for the Brittany-based side.

Caen 3 – Nantes 0 (Ligue 1, September 27, 2008) Steve Savidan opened the scoring in the first minute after beating the offside trap, followed by Fahid Ben Khalfallah at the far post (11) and finally Benjamin Nivet (30).

Auxerre 3 – Le Havre 0 (Ligue 1, September 27, 2008) Coulibaly headed home the opener after 25 minutes of play and then Jelen added a second two minutes into the second half with a smart finish. Kahlenberg scored the third goal of the night with seven minutes to go.

Sochaux 1 – Lorient 1 (Ligue 1, September 27, 2008)

PSG 0 – Grenoble 1 (Ligue 1, September 27, 2008) Grenoble moved into third place with thanks to an exquisite lob from Nassim Akrour, who scored his third goal of the season in the 77th minute.

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PSV 1 – Volendam 0 (Eredivisie, September 27, 2008) A Stijn Wuytens header sent PSV to the top of the Eredivisie.

NAC 4 – Heerenveen 2 (Eredivisie, September 27, 2008) Goals by Martijn Reuser and Anthony Lurling had the hosts two up within 37 minutes. Dingsdag looked to have given the visitors some hope heading into half-time by cutting the deficit in the 41st minute but Amoah immediately restored NAC’s two-goal cushion and then notched another in stoppage time to all but kill the game. Pranjic struck a second for Heerenveen from the penalty spot but NAC ran out convincing winners.

Willem II 2 – AZ Alkmaar 5 (Eredivisie, September 27, 2008) Only 39 minutes were needed for Louis van Gaal’s side to move into a 0-5 lead. El Hamdaoui grabbed a hat-trick, while De Zeeuw and Moussa Dembele (incredible solo goal) chipped in a goal apiece. Demouge hit an inconsequential brace for Willem.

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Benfica 2 – Sporting Lisbon 0 (Super Liga, September 27, 2008) Benfica took the three points in the big game in Portugal, Juan Antonio Reyes opened the score after 66 minutes, and six minutes later, Sidney’s header doubled the home side’s advantage.

Braga 1 – Associacao Naval 1 (Super Liga, September 27, 2008)

Vitoria Setubal 1 – Rio Ave 0 (Super Liga, September 27, 2008)

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Lokomotiv Moscow 0 – Zenit St. Petersburg 3 (Premier Liga, September 27, 2008) Zenit produced a fabulous result to beat Lokomotiv, Faizulin netted the opener after 17 minutes, Pyugrenieer’s header doubled the lead on the hour mark, and Dominguez sealed the win with the third.

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Bronshoj BK 2 – Aalborg BK 3 (AET) (DONG Pokal, September 26, 2008) A true David versus Goliath match took place in the Danish Cup on Friday night, as Champions League Aalborg followed the script when Augustinussen gave them the early lead. But the third division minnows struck back, Frost hit a sweet shot to equalise for Bronshoj, before the crowd (and commentator) went crazy celebrating a wonder-strike from Petersen, smashing home a 30-yard half-volley in the second half. But eventually Aalborg took control, Saganowski took the game to extra time scoring in the 85th minute, Risgard killing off the giant-killing dreams in the 99th minute.

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Trabzonspor 3 – Antalyaspor 2 (SuperLig, September 27, 2008)

Istanbul BB 1 – Besiktas 1 (SuperLig, September 27, 2008)

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OFI Crete 0 – Olympiakos 0 (Greek Super League, September 27, 2008)

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Hapoel Tel Aviv 3 – Hapoel Petah Tikva 2 (Ligat ha’Al, September 27, 2008) Hapoel Tel Aviv recorded its first win of the season, the winning goal coming two minutes from time as Dimitar Telkiyski sent a powerful free-kick past Shavit Elimelech.

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Mattersburg 1 – Salzburg 2 (T-Mobile Bundesliga, September 27, 2008)

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Wisla Krakow 4 – Arka Gdynia 0 (Ekstraklasa, September 27, 2008)

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Omonia Nicosia 2 – Atromitos Yeroskipou 0 (Cypriot First Division, September 27, 2008)

AEL Limassol 0 – Anorthosis 2 (Cypriot First Division, September 27, 2008)

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New York Red Bulls 4 – Colorado Rapids 5 (MLS, September 27, 2008) Conor Casey’s hat-trick gave the Colorado Rapids a hard-earned win in New York.

Chivas USA 2 – KC Wizards 1 (MLS, September 27, 2008) Alecko Eskandarian and Sasha Victorine scored first half goals for Chivas, rendering Wolff’s second half goal obsolete.

Toronto FC 1 – Houston Dynamo 1 (MLS, September 27, 2008) Marvell Wynne scored a wonderful solo effort for Toronto, but Hunter Freeman’s own goal meant Toronto had to settle for a draw that stretched its winless streak to seven games.

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Adelaide United 2 – Newcastle Jets 0 (A-League, September 27, 2008) Reigning champions Newcastle fell foul of injuries and found themselves down to 10 men from the 55th minute. Cristiano ensured Adelaide cashed in late with strikes in the 72nd and 89th minutes to lift Adelaide up to third.

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Independiente 0 – Lanus 2 (Argentinean Apertura, September 27, 2008)

Colon 1 – Huracan 1 (Argentinean Apertura, September 27, 2008)

San Lorenzo 2 – Arsenal Sarandi 0 (Argentinean Apertura, September 27, 2008)

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Flamengo 2 – Sport Recife 1 (Campeonato Brasileiro, September 27, 2008)

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Deportivo Cuenca 4 – Macara 3 (Campeonato Ecuatoriano, September 26, 2008)