The big news: Real beat Espanyol 2-0

Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid were on target as they beat Espanyol 2-0 for a record-equalling 16th straight league win to move three points clear at the top of the La Liga table. Real made it four wins out of four this season with star footballers Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo missing from Sunday's game. Bale was nursing a hip injury that he picked up during his side’s Champions League clash at Sporting Lisbon and Ronaldo was ruled out with a flu.

James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema scored the goals for Madrid as they moved three points clear of second-placed Barcelona, who have nine points from four matches. In other La Liga matches, Athletic Bilbao beat Valenia 2-1, while Villarreal beat Real Sociedad 2-1.

Other top stories

  1. Manchester United lost their third game on the trot as they were stunned 3-1 by Watford on Sunday. Etienne Capoue, Troy Deeney and Juan Camilo Zuniga scored one goal apiece for Watford as United’s Marcus Rashford pulled one back early in the second half.
  2. In other English Premier League matches, Crystal Palace hammered Stoke City 4-1, while Southampton beat Swansea City 1-0. In the last match of the day, Tottenham Hotspur beat Sunderland 1-0 with Harry Kane scoring the lone goal of the match. However, the victory wasn't a convincing one and the Spurs will look to work on their flaws.
  3. Juventus were defeated by Inter Milan 2-1 with Mauro Icardi playing a vital role. Stephan Lichtsteiner put the champions ahead. However, Icardi immediately equalised and then provided an assist to Ivan Persic for the second for a sensational win.
  4. India’s Under-16 team drew 3-3 with Saudi Arabia with a last-minute penalty. Aniket Jadhav, Aman Chhetri and Suresh Wangjam were on target for India in a tightly fought contest. With one match remaining, India’s chances of making it to the quarters look bleak as they face Iran next on September 21.
  5. England’s Joe Hart kept a clean sheet as he made his home debut for Torino in a goalless draw against Empoli. In his first game against Atalanta, Hart failed to deal with a corner and conceded an equaliser, which was a forgetful debut.