Arsenal thrash Wigan 4-0, Liverpool win at West Ham

Arsenal bounced back from two successive Premier League defeats in emphatic style by thrashing Wigan Athletic 4-0 at the Emirates on Saturday while Liverpool triumphed 3-2 at West Ham United. Belgian centre back Thomas Vermaelen got two for Arsenal in a one-sided affair while Fernando Torres grabbed a double as Liverpool overcame a West Ham side who twice came from behind.

Aston Villa also gained ground on the leaders with a 2-0 home win over Portsmouth, who are still without a point after six games. Promoted Burnley's good start continued when they beat Sunderland 3-1 with two goals on debut from on-loan striker David Nugent, Birmingham City beat Hull City 1-0 away while Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City drew 1-1.

Liverpool and Villa move on to 12 points -- joining Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur --while Chelsea lead the way with a maximum 15 points. There are four games on Sunday, including the Manchester derby and Chelsea versus Spurs at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal began the day nine points behind Chelsea having lost to Manchester United and City in their last two games but were back to their imperious best on home soil.

Their early control was rewarded after 25 minutes when Vermaelen headed in a corner. Vermaelen, already looking an astute summer signing after joining from Ajax Amsterdam for a reported 10 million pounds ($16.35 million), doubled the lead with a superbly taken left footed curler four minutes into the second half.

Emmanuel Eboue got the third on the hour when he diverted an Eduardo Da Silva shot after the Croatian's initial effort came back from a post. Cesc Fabregas, limping heavily, backheeled the fourth in the last minute to take Arsenal's goal tally to 17 in five league games - only three of them wins. "We scored four today and we could have scored more. That shows we have potential," manager Arsene Wenger told reporters.

"It is good for the confidence of the team that we didn't concede and I think we will be more solid as we get used to the way we want to play. "I believe we have produced quality performances since the start of the season but weren't rewarded twice. "Today we have shown attitude quality, fluency and I'm very optimistic there is something special in this team."

Liverpool went ahead after 20 minutes when Fernando Torres burst through in the area but West Ham, with only one win over the visitors in nine years, equalised with an Alessandro Diamanti penalty after Zavon Hines, who hit a post early on, was brought down by Jamie Carragher.

Dirk Kuyt restored their lead after 41 minutes when he diverted a Steven Gerrard header into the net only for Carlton Cole to level again at the end of the half with a sharp glancing header. Liverpool gradually exerted more and more pressure in the second half and took the points when Torres nodded in Ryan Babel's cross after 75 minutes.

Lionel Messi sparks five-goal Barcelona to victory

Argentine star Lionel Messi celebrated his new deal with Barcelona by scoring twice in the European champions' 5-2 win over floundering Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Messi signed a two-year contract extension on Friday which will keep him at the club until 2016, with a buy-out clause rising from 150 million to an even more staggering 250 million euros.

He showed his value to the defending champions on Saturday as Barcelona made it three wins in three games to stay top of the table. Having failed to record a win so far this season the signs were ominous for Atletico ahead of their visit to the Nou Camp, and with memories of their 5-1 defeat by Barca in their last visit to Catalonia still fresh, they quickly went behind after a good finish from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

In an open game, Messi then scored the first of a brace, rounding the keeper after being put clear by Xavi Hernandez. Atletico too had their chances though with Dmytro Chygrynskiy having a rocky home debut at centre half. Maxi Rodriguez and Jose Jurado had chances to pull a goal back before a Dani Alves free-kick and a Seydou Keita tap-in gave Barca a 4-0 advantage.

A poor header from Sergio Busquets set up Sergio Aguero who pulled a goal back before half-time. Barcelona took their foot off the pedal after the break but continued to control the game except for rare counter-attacks from Atletico, one of which, leading to a Diego Forlan goals six minutes from time.

Messi though completed the scoring during injury time. New signing Alvaro Negredo scored his first goal for Sevilla, who gave further evidence that they will be a force to reckon with this season as they beat Osasuna 2-0. It was over 15 years since Sevilla last won in Pamplona but the Osasuna defence struggled with the power and strength of Negredo and Frederic Kanoute from the start - the Malian hitting the crossbar mid-way through the first half.

Osasuna did enjoy some possession if few chances and it was Negredo, supplied by Adriano Correia, who put the visitors ahead after 36 minutes. In the second half Walter Pandiani missed a glorious chance to equalise before Kanoute doubled Sevilla's advantage and secured the victory. Late on Sergio Fernandez was dismissed for a strong challenge on Diego Perotti to add to Osasuna's woes.

Racing Santander came out on top with their clash with Malaga who will rue missed chances. The match finished 2-1 with Sergio Duda equalising a first half goal from Manuel Arana but Nasief Morris headed home the winner eleven minutes from time. The home forward line, and especially Edinho and Nabil Baha, will look back with regret though on their poor finishing.

Earlier Real Mallorca equalled their best ever start to a season with a convincing 4-0 win over newly promoted Tenerife. The Balearic Island side took the game to Tenerife from the start, going ahead after 16 minutes through Mario Suarez. With the ball loose in the penalty area following a corner, the midfielder was quickest to react and slotted home.

Tenerife fought back and had the chances to equalise before half-time notably for Richi Perez, who failed one-on-one with the keeper but in the second half Mallorca finished off the match. Artiz Aduriz completed a good move after 50 minutes and then eight minutes later Julio Alvarez was put through by Borja Valero and he beat the keeper clinically. Then two minutes before time a Pierre Webo penalty completed the rout.

After the match coach Gregorio Manzano claimed that his side were technically superior."We should not get carried away as in the first half Tenerife had a reasonable amount of possession. We changed our system in the second half and that was when Tenerife really struggled," he said.

Bottom side Espanyol managed their first win of the season, and their first goals, with a 3-2 away win at Deportivo la Coruna. Real Madrid spent heavily over the summer looking to bring an end to Barca's dominance.

While it had been said that Cristiano Ronaldo was feeling the pressure of expectancy after his high-profile move from Manchester United his two goals for Real in their midweek Champions League victory over FC Zurich will have worked well to take the pressure off his shoulders. As the team prepare to face Xerez on Sunday the bad news is that they will be without Xabi Alonso for up to ten days with a calf injury.

Barcelona held to 0-0 draw at Inter Milan

Defending champion Barcelona was held to a 0-0 draw by Inter Milan to start their Champions League campaign Wednesday, as the matchup between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto'o against their former teams fizzled out to a rain-soaked stalemate. Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi had good chances to break the deadlock in the first half, but the rugged Inter defense stopped the Spaniards from building any attacking momentum in the second.

Inter came close twice in the second half, with Wesley Sneijder and substitute Dejan Stankovic narrowly missing the target with their efforts. Barcelona started the Group F match the brighter of the two teams. He went on a dribbling run in the second minute past Lucio and Javier Zanetti, but goalkeeper Julio Cesar saved the shot.

In his first match back at the San Siro, Ibrahimovic's first touch of the ball was greeted with a chorus of whistles from Inter's fans but they dissipated as the match went on. The Sweden forward had a great scoring chance in the seventh minute. Daniel Alves chipped over the defense to him, but Ibrahimovic hit his volley high and wide with only Cesar to beat.

A minute later, Messi's header forcing Cesar to react quickly to the danger after Alves had crossed to the Argentine at the far post. Neither team was able to take control of the match, with a number of promising moves breaking down as players drifted offside and passes failed to reach their intended target.

Diego Milito had Inter's best chance in the 28th. Cesar punted down field and Barcelona's defense failed to react, allowing the former Genoa striker to cut inside Gerard Pique to shoot, but goalkeeper Victor Valdes dived low to save the shot. Barcelona came close to scoring twice more before halftime. In the 41st, Xavi chipped the ball to Alves in the area. The Brazilian pulled it back to Seydou Keita, but the Malian hit a weak shot and Cesar scrambled to make the save.

Then, with one minute remaining in the half, Messi produced a typical run off the right wing, hit a powerful drive but again Cesar came to Inter's rescue, acrobatically pushing the ball away for a corner. Inter went close in the 47th when Eto'o rolled the ball across the edge of the area to Sneijder, whose shot went just wide of the post.

Barcelona continued to play its short passing game but was often crowded out by Inter's defense. Inter's Thiago Motta put Xavi under pressure in central midfield, with fullbacks Cristian Chivu and Maicon limiting Messi's and Thierry Henry's runs. Even the introduction of Andres Iniesta failed to spark Barcelona, while neither Messi and Xavi managed to exert a telling influence toward the end of the match.

Ronaldo, Kaka eye new golden Real Euro era

Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, who cost Real Madrid over 150 million euros, aim to lead the Spanish giants to a 10th European title this Ronaldo, Kaka season, with their campaign starting in the humble surroundings of FC Zurich on Tuesday. Ronaldo, the world's most expensive player, insists the historic winning mentality at the club will be key to driving them to a place in the Champions League final which will be staged at their Santiago Bernabeu home in May next year.

"This is a club used to winning, a lot of the players here are winners, but now it's about a new team and a new squad," said Ronaldo, keen to dismiss comparisons with the Galactico era. "That's why we have to create the right mentality for us to win the league, the Champions League and the cups. This is a club obsessed with winning and now the players here have to think the same way."

Real's last Champions League triumph came in 2002 and with bitter rivals Barcelona taking the title last season, the club's ambition has been sharpened further.Last season Real Madrid were beaten 5-0 on aggregate by Liverpool in the first knockout round. It was the fifth successive season they had lost out in the last 16.

"The ambition is to win the Champions League," said Kaka. "On top of that, you have the possibility of us being at home (in the final) and it would be fantastic to play the final at the Bernabeu." Real and FC Zurich have met once before in the competition but that was 45 years ago with the Spaniards winning 8-1 over two legs in the semi-final before losing to Inter Milan 3-1 in the final.

Defender Raul Albiol is a doubt for Real having twisted his ankle against Espanyol at the weekend while Pepe could make his first appearance this season. The Portuguese centre-back is suspended for two more games in the Spanish league - as part of a 10-match ban imposed last season for violent conduct - but is eligible to play in Europe.

Zurich reached this stage with a play-off defeat of FK Ventspils with Johan Vonlanthen, Silvan Aegerter and Dusan Djuric securing a 3-0 win in Latvia before second-leg strikes from Vonlanthen and Almen Abdi completed a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Williams sisters reach US Open doubles final

Serena and Venus Williams are back in the US Open women's doubles final for the first time in a decade. The fourth-seeded Americans beat No. 13-seeded Alisa Kleybanova and Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-2 in the semi-finals Thursday.

The Williams sisters are aiming for their 10th career Grand Slam doubles title as a pair and third this season. Their only US Open doubles championship came in 1999.

They are 9-0 in major doubles finals. The other semi-final, scheduled for Friday, pits the defending champions and top-seeded pair of Cara Black and Liezel Huber against the third-seeded team of Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs.