Adebayor maintains Man Citys winning start
Emmanuel Adebayor scored his third goal in as many Premier League matches to give Manchester City a 1-0 win at Portsmouth on Sunday, maintaining the clubs perfect start to the season.
The Togo international headed in Gareth Barrys corner from close range in the 30th minute to earn Citys second away win - as many as achieved all last season.
My confidence is very high, Adebayor said. (City) believed in my strength, they believed in my ability. At the moment Im just working hard for the team and for the club.
Adebayor joined City from Arsenal in July as part of owner Sheikh Mansours $200 million spending-spree since May. It is paying off, with City now only three points behind league leaders Chelsea and Tottenham with a game in hand.
The frontman for Citys takeover 12 months ago, Sulaiman Al-Fahim, was at Fratton Park having bought Pompey last week. The United Arab Emirates businessman wore a replica jersey and mixed with the fans, but manager Paul Hart said he would not have much money to spend before the transfer window closes Tuesday.
Thats unlikely to please the clubs fans, with Pompey having sold many of its best players and bottom of the standings after losing its first four matches.
Also Sunday, Everton got off the mark, collecting its first points of the season by rallying to beat Wigan 2-1. Leighton Baines scored from a 90th-minute penalty against his former club after striker Jo was fouled by Emmerson Boyce.
Wigan had taken the lead in the 57th through Paul Scharners diving header, but five minutes later Louis Saha nodded Everton level.
Aston Villa followed up its victory at Liverpool by beating Fulham 2-0.
Pressure from Gabriel Agbonlahor forced Fulham defender John Pantsil to head into his own net for the opening goal after three minutes.
Agbonlahor scored himself in the 59th with a fierce 20-yard strike.
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MADRID - Roberto Soldado scored a hat-trick to lead Getafe to a 4-1 win against Racing Santander in the first round of the Spanish league.
Getafe opened the scoring when Rafael Lopez scored in the 12th minute when he headed in a corner supplied by Adrian Gonzalez.
Gonzalez also set up Soldado for his first goal, a close-range shot in the penalty area in the 29th minute and the forward stretched the lead with his second five minutes later.
Santander midfielder Mehdi Lacen pulled one back in the 43rd minute but Soldado completed his hat trick in the 56th minute.
Malaga defeated Atletico Madrid 3-0 in a stadium where temperatures reached 100 degrees.
Athletic Bilbao won 1-0 against Espanyol, Mallorca bested Xerez 2-0 and Osasuna drew 1-1 with Villarreal.
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MILAN - Two goals from Diego helped Juventus to a 3-1 win away against AS Roma at Romes Olympic Stadium, while Fiorentina followed up its midweek qualification for the group stages of the Champions League by beating Palermo 1-0.
The Brazilian struck in each half to secure Juventus second win of the season before Felipe Melo scored in second half injury time to kill off any hopes Roma may have had of a late rally.
The result sent Roma to the bottom of the table with no points.
It was as hard as we thought it would be, Diego said, but you have to work hard to get anything against a side of this quality. There is a great atmosphere here at Juventus and with coach Ciro Ferrara and all the players, it has allowed me to settle into the team quickly.
Daniele De Rossi scored his first of the season in the 35th minute to tie it for Roma, before Diego gave Juve the lead again and Melo sealed it late.
Stevan Jovetic was rewarded with a starting place for Fiorentina after he had come on and turned the match around on Wednesday against Sporting Lisbon, and scored in the 29th minute.
Hes an excellent player and he put himself about for the team today, coach Cesare Prandelli said. He can develop more with us and tonight he provided a tonic for Fiorentina for at least an hour.
Elsewhere, two strikers strengthened their cases for inclusion in Marcello Lippis Italy squad for the upcoming matches with Georgia and Bulgaria.
Fabio Quagliarella scored twice for Napoli in its 3-1 win over Livorno, whilst Giampaolo Pazzini opened the scoring for Sampdoria as it beat Udinese 3-1.
Also Sunday, it was; Atalanta 0, Genoa 1; Cagliari 1, Siena 3; Chievo Verona 1, Lazio 2, and Parma 2, Catania 1.
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PARIS - Jeremy Clement, Peguy Luyindula and Christophe Jallet all scored in Paris Saint-Germains 3-0 win over Lille to help the club clinch its third consecutive win in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
PSG, one of six teams that are still unbeaten this season, provisionally moved up to first place ahead of Lyon. The two teams each have 10 points from four games but PSG has a better goal record.
Also Sunday, Valenciennes scored its first points after three consecutive losses when striker Mamadou Samassa slotted home in the 86th minute in a 1-0 away win at Toulouse.
Toulouse missed several chances in the second half. Portuguese midfielder Paulo Machado hit the post after 53 minutes and then France striker Andre-Pierre Gignacs header was stopped on the line by Valenciennes defender Milan Bisevac three minutes later.
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FRANKFURT - Mesut Oezil scored one goal and set up another to help Werder Bremen win 3-2 at Hertha Berlin in the fourth round of the Bundesliga.
Oezil scored against the run of play in the 57th minute, only minutes after Werder goalkeeper Tim Wiese had blocked a shot by Gojko Kacar. Oezil used a fast counterattack to put his team ahead after a pass from Marko Marin.
Tim Borowski doubled the lead in the 74th after another move by Marin had left the midfielder wide open to tap the ball in.
Three minutes later, Kacar broke through on the left and set up Lukasz Piszczek for Herthas first goal. But Oezil outplayed Herthas defense and passed to the unmarked Naldo, who drove home for 3-1. Patrick Ebert scored in injury time for Hertha.
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AMSTERDAM - Former England manager Steve McClaren was sent off in FC Twentes 1-1 draw at Feyenoord in the Dutch league.
The Twente coach was dismissed for storming onto the field to protest referee Roelof Luinges decision to caution Cheick Tiote after the Ivorian midfielders 58th-minute foul on Karim El Ahmadi.
Roy Makaay scored an injury-time penalty for Feyenoord to cancel out Nicky Kuipers 74th-minute goal.
Twente and Feyenoord, both unbeaten after five rounds, are tied with PSV Eindhoven in second place with 11 points, one less than AZ Alkmaar, which beat Willem II 2-1 Saturday.
Ajax is tied for fifth with 10 points after Toby Alderweireld, Dario Cvitanich and Ismail Aissati each scored in a 3-0 victory over Heracles Almelo.
Balazs Dzsudzsak set up two goals for Danny Koevermans as PSV downed FC Groningen 2-0, and Kees Kwakman scored one goal and created another for Matthew Amoah to give NAC Breda a 2-0 win over SC Heerenveen.
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EDINBURGH, Scotland - Georgios Samaras scored with a header to give 10-man Celtic a 1-0 victory over Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League.
The Greece striker met a cross from Andreas Hinkel in the 41st minute to keep Celtic perfect after three matches, the same as defending champion Rangers, which beat Hamilton 4-1 on Saturday.
Celtic midfielder Aiden McGeady was sent off in the 62nd minute after receiving a second yellow card for diving after a touchline challenge from Hibs defender Paul Hanlon. McGeady had been booked in the first half for a foul on Derek Riordan.
Also Sunday, St. Johnstone drew 2-2 with Hearts after Martin Hardie curled in a free kick from 20 yards in injury time.
