Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure opened his Premier League account for the season to seal Manchester City's 3-2 win at QPR to keep Roberto Mancini's side five points clear of United. Blackburn's Christopher Samba had a less enjoyable weekend, the Congo defender facing a lengthy lay off after suffering a hamstring injury in the 1-0 loss to Chelsea.
In France Mohamed Lamine Sissoko became the first PSG player to score at Bordeaux in six years to put the Qatari-backed side three points clear. In Germany Freiburg's Papiss Cisse converted a penalty with the last kick of the game to snatch a 2-1 win at Nuremberg for only their third win of the season.
ENGLAND
YAYA TOURE (Man City)
The Ivory Coast midfielder scored his first Premier League goal of the season to seal a 3-2 win over QPR at Loftus Road. Toure, who had opened his City account for the campaign in the midweek Champions League win against Villarreal, bagged his first domestic goal with a towering header from Aleksandar Kolarov's cross in the 74th minute as leaders City remained five points clear of second placed Manchester United.
EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR (Tottenham)
The Togo striker provided an assist as his side beat Fulham 3-1 at Craven Cottage on Sunday. Adebayor's cross in the final seconds of stoppage time was turned in by Jermain Defoe to seal the win that kept Tottenham fifth and boosted the spirits of manager Harry Redknapp, who is recuperating at home after heart surgery.
CHRISTOPHER SAMBA (Blackburn)
The Congo defender could face a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury in Saturday's 1-0 home defeat against Chelsea. Samba limped off just before half-time and Chelsea took full advantage, with Frank Lampard's winner leaving Rovers second bottom of the table. Under pressure Blackburn boss Steve Kean said: "It looks a bad one for Chris. It doesn't look good."
DEMBA BA (Newcastle)
The Senegal striker drew a blank against Everton at St James' Park, but that didn't stop his team extending their unbeaten run to 11 matches. Former West Ham star Ba had scored eight goals in his last six matches, including a hat-trick in the previous match at Stoke, and although Everton shut him out, he was still a constant danger for the visitors' defence.
GERVINHO (Arsenal)
The Ivory Coast forward was in vibrant form as the Gunners cruised to a 3-0 win over West Brom at the Emirates Stadium. Although Gervinho didn't get on the scoresheet for the third successive game, boss Arsene Wenger could have few complaints about his work-rate as he troubled West Brom's defence with his pace and power.
FRANCE
MOHAMED LAMINE SISSOKO (Paris Saint Germain)
Franco-Malian midfielder Mohamed Lamine Sissoko become the first PSG player to score in Bordeaux in six years when he found the net after ten minutes in a 1-1 draw which puts the Parisians three points clear at the top of the league as their leading rivals Montpellier, Lille and Lyon also failed to win.
JIRES KEMBO-EKOTO/JONATHAN PITROIPA (Rennes), VINCENT ABOUBAKAR (Valenciennes)
Jires Kembo-Ekoko opened for Rennes after 21 minutes but the Brittany outfit failed to achieve a win for the fourth successive match with a 1-1 home draw against Valenciennes. The 23-year-old Congolese striker picked up a cross from Burkina Faso's Jonathan Pitroipa to fire home a superb goal from the left. Cameroon's Vincent Aboubakar missed two chances (51, 67) to pull Valenciennes ahead with Pitroipa also missing a chance to break the deadlock late in the second half.
JORDAN AYEW (Marseille)
Ghana's Jordan Ayew helped Marseille to their third straight win, 2-0 at home to Nice, to move up to eighth. The 20-year-old -- son of former star and 1993 European champion Abedi Pele -- opened after 72 minutes with Loic Remy sealing victory with an injury time penalty.
SABEUR KHLIFA (Evian)
Evian's Tunisian international Sabeur Khlifa, 24, stunned hosts Lille with a fourth-minute opener for the visitors, promoted for the second straight year last season and who only three years ago were a fourth tier outfit. The northerners rescued a point thanks to substitute Benoit Pedretti's fortuitous freekick on 64 minutes.
GERMANY
ANTHONY UJAH (Mainz 05)
The Nigeria striker scored twice in Mainz's 3-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart on only his sixth appearance for the German club after joining in June from Norway's Lillestroem SK.
After Germany striker Cacau had put Stuttgart 1-0 up, the 21-year-old equalised in the 53rd minute before scoring Mainz's third as the victory gave his side only their second win in the last 10 games.
PAPISS CISSE (Freiburg)
The Senegal striker converted a penalty with the last kick of the game to give his side a dramatic 2-1 victory at Nuremberg which was only their third of the season.
This was the 26-year-old's eighth goal of the season on his 12th German league appearance to leave him joint fifth amongst the league's top scorers.
DORGE KOUEMAHA (Kaiserslautern)
The Cameroon striker equalised for Kaiserslautern in their 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim to leave his side 12th in the Bundesliga and unbeaten in their last five league games.
ITALY
AFRIYIE ACQUAH (Palermo)
The Ghana midfielder put in a committed, solid showing in the 3-1 defeat of Bologna. Acquah may not have provided much inspiration or creativity but he did have the legs to cover the field and ensure the Sicilians kept control of the midfield for long periods.
KWADWO ASAMOAH (Udinese)
The Ghana midfielder was typically influential as Udinese went top of Serie A with a 2-1 victory against Siena. Asamoah even came close to a rare goal as he performed a pair of step-overs to leave his marker standing and fired a shot just pas the upright on 26 minutes.
SPAIN
AROUNA KONE (Levante
The Ivory Coast international played 90 minutes for Levante in their local derby defeat at home to Valencia. Kone's goals have been important in Levante's excellent start to the season that saw the side top La Liga two games ago. On Saturday Kone was unfortunate to not score from a tight angle in the second-half.
IBRAHIMA BALDE (Osasuna)
The Senagelese forward scored Osasuna's only goal in their 7-1 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid. The goal equalised the game at 1-1 midway through the first half, Balde reacting to a quick free-kick to finish past Iker Casillas. It was Balde's third goal from only four starts, an encouraging start at his new club after signing from Atletico Madrid in the Summer.
KOFFI ROMARIC (Espanyol)
The Ivorian continues to impress for Espanyol, he was one of their most influential players on Sunday, with a number of shots on goal, in their 0-0 draw at home to Villarreal. Although there are obviously doubts about his ability to last 90 minutes as he was substituted again in the second-half for the sixth consecutive game.
Source: AFP
Source: AFP