North London take Manchester mauling

Manchester City ran riot at Tottenham with Edin Dzeko helping himself to 4 goals in their 5-1 demolition of Spurs while Arsenal, who missed a penalty and once again ended the match a man short, were slaughtered 8-2 at Old Trafford with Rooney scoring a hat-trick for the sharp-shooting United who sit at the top of the Premier League table ahead of their flamboyant neighbours. Chelsea needed 2 late goals to overcome Norwich 3-1 at the Bridge and Liverpool enjoyed the same scoreline at home to Bolton while Leon Best scored both goals for Newcastle in their 2-1 home win against Fulham and Wolves held onto their unbeaten record with a goalless draw at Aston Villa. Blackburn who missed 2 penalties were beaten by a last minute penalty at home to Everton while QPR lost to a double from Franco di Santo at Wigan. There were no goals between Swansea and Sunderland and the Match between West Brom and Stoke was also goalless until a last-minute goal settled it for the visitors. The Spanish La Liga got under way with Cristiano Ronaldo grabbing a hat-trick as Real Madrid smashed Zaragoza 6-0 away from home while Barcelona opened with Fabregas getting on the score sheet for his new club and Messi netting a brace in their 5-0 home win over Villareal.