Nottingham Forest dismantled Manchester City 3-1, while Leeds United edged Tottenham Hotspur 1-0, according to ESPN and football-data.org.
Underdogs Hold the Line
In the Premier League, the pattern was pronounced. Arsenal won 1-0 over Hull City, and Fulham were held 1-1 by Newcastle United.
La Liga offered its own surprises. Valencia were comprehensively beaten 3-0 at home by Real Madrid, Elsewhere, Espanyol and Deportivo played out a goalless draw, Osasuna and Athletic Club shared a 1-1 result, and Racing Santander won 2-1 at Málaga, according to ESPN and football-data.org.
AS Roma beat Sassuolo 3-0, while Bologna edged Parma 2-1 in a tight away win. Cagliari squeezed past Frosinone 1-0, and Torino and Lecce could not be separated at 1-1.
Goals Flow in Germany
RB Leipzig beat FC Augsburg 5-2, while Paderborn and Eintracht Frankfurt drew 2-2. Borussia Dortmund won 2-1 over SV Elversberg, and VfB Stuttgart defeated Werder Bremen 1-0.
Ligue 1 reflected the theme of narrow margins. Paris Saint-Germain edged Troyes 1-0, and Paris FC won 0-1 at AJ Auxerre, both results decided by a single goal, according to ESPN and football-data.org.
What this means
The defeats of Manchester City and Tottenham, both away from home, show that disciplined hosts can neutralise fancied sides on a given afternoon. Real Madrid's 3-0 and Leipzig's 5-2 stand out as the day's most decisive attacking statements, while a cluster of 0-0, 1-1 and 1-0 scorelines across all five leagues points to fixtures settled by the finest of margins.
By the numbers
- Málaga 1-2 Racing Santander
- Espanyol 0-0 Deportivo
- Osasuna 1-1 Athletic Club
- Valencia 0-3 Real Madrid
- Leeds United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
- Arsenal 1-0 Hull City
- Fulham 1-1 Newcastle United
- Nottingham Forest 3-1 Manchester City
- Cagliari 1-0 Frosinone
- Torino 1-1 Lecce
- Parma 1-2 Bologna
- AS Roma 3-0 Sassuolo
- Borussia Dortmund 2-1 SV Elversberg
- RB Leipzig 5-2 FC Augsburg
- SC Paderborn 07 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
- VfB Stuttgart 1-0 Werder Bremen
- AJ Auxerre 0-1 Paris FC
- Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Troyes
Sources: ESPN and football-data.org.