Madrid and rivals make merry

Deportivo Alavés SAD 0-3 Real Madrid CF

Ronaldo, who has one match left to serve of a European ban for his sending off in last season's first knockout round defeat by Juventus FC, scored two second-half goals and Guti added a late third as Madrid continued their resurgence with a comfortable win at Alavés on Sunday. The Matchday 1 defeat by Olympique Lyonnais came in the midst of a three-match losing streak for Vanderlei Luxemburgo's side, but they returned to winning ways on Thursday, Raúl González registering twice in a 3-1 triumph against Athletic Club Bilbao.

Robinho also netted at the Bernabéu, but dropped to the bench on Sunday to make way for Guti. Sergio Ramos and Iván Helguera returned from suspension and a groin injury respectively, replacing Francisco Pavón and Jonathan Woodgate. The England defender was banned after a debut to forget against Athletic, in which he scored an own goal and was subsequently red-carded.

Luxemburgo lauded his team's spirit afterwards, but singled out Ronaldo for special praise. "This was a great victory for us and I am especially pleased for Ronaldo," he said. "In football, it is always the talented players - those that have quality - that end up making the difference. Having said that, to beat any team by three goals you also need a set of players who not only graft hard but are also prepared to work collectively as one."

Olympiacos CFP 2-0 Akratitos FC

Greek champions Olympiacos extended their winning start to the Alpha Ethniki season with a fourth victory at home to promoted Akratitos, and are yet to concede a goal having scored 12.

In front of an empty Georgios Karaiskakis stadium - the match was played behind closed doors due to a ban imposed on Olympiacos for crowd trouble last term - the Greek champions took control in the first 45 minutes, Predrag Djordjević opening the scoring 24 minutes in with a powerful left-foot shot. Mihalis Konstantinou doubled the lead when he headed his first goal for the club four minutes later from Djordjević's free-kick. Akratitos had two chances through Lucas De Francesco on 14 and 82 minutes, but both times Olympiacos centre-back Athanasios Kostoulas cleared off the line.

Ahead of their trip to Madrid, coach Trond Sollied decided to rest two key players - defender Georgios Anatolakis and defensive midfielder Ieroklis Stoltidis. Their places in the starting lineup were taken by Mihalis Kapsis and Pantelis Kafes respectively.

"The match was not that good, but we deserved to win because we had more chances to score," Sollied said. "I am satisfied only with the performance of Kostoulas and another player I shall not name. The rest should go and watch the game on television and see the mistakes they made."

FC Nantes Atlantique 0-1 Olympique Lyonnais

Lyon stretched their advantage at the top of the French league to four points after winning 1-0 at Nantes on Sunday. However, the champions were less than convincing, and had goalkeeper Grégory Coupet to thank for keeping Nantes at bay. The French international saved a penalty from Nicolas Savinaud and made other key saves, notably from Mamadou Diallo.

Two substitutes combined to create the winning goal ten minutes from time, as Fred headed in Florent Malouda's free-kick. Defender Lamine Diatta saw red for a second booking in the final minute. Coach Gérard Houllier rested midfielder Juninho Pernambucano and winger Hatem Ben Arfa, while full-back Jérémy Berthod was suspended and left-back Eric Abidal is out until mid-October with a foot injury. Mali midfielder Mahamadou Diarra was absent for the second game running with a thigh problem and only has a slight chance of playing in midweek.

"At the break I asked my team-mates whether their minds were already on Rosenborg [BK]," said Coupet. "We were very lucky to reach half-time at 0-0. We have produced better football in training than tonight. We have a lot to fear from Rosenborg's commitment if we don't improve."

Nevertheless, it was a return to winning ways for Lyon after the 1-1 home draw with RC Lens on Thursday, in which Portuguese midfielder Tiago scored his first goal since joining from Chelsea FC. However, Adama Coulibaly's strike for Lens ended Lyon's perfect home record this season.

Rosenborg BK 6-0 Odd Grenland

Rosenborg eased their relegation worries after a comprehensive win against an in-form Odd side who had come into the game on the back of six wins in seven previous matches. But defensive duo Robbie Russell and Miika Koppinen were ruled out with knee injuries and are doubts for Wednesday's visit of Lyon.

Vidar Riseth put the Norwegian champions ahead from the penalty spot on six minutes, before Espen Ruud scored an own goal 26 minutes later. Rosenborg showed their form of old after the interval, adding to their tally through Daniel Braaten, Øyvind Storflor, Alexander Ødegaard and Roar Strand.

"We finally got the breaks we deserved in the league," said relieved coach Per-Mathias Høgmo. "The players did the club proud with their performance. The key to this win was our solid defensive showing. We caught them on the break several times and that gave us the chances and, ultimately, the goals."