Manchester United spoilt the goal-scoring debut of Ivorian Wilfried Bony for Swansea City by cruising to a 4-1 win on the opening weekend of the English Premier League season.
The striker, a close-season signing from Dutch club Vitesse, struck on 82 minutes in south Wales, but it was too little too late as the 'Red Devils' had built a three-goal lead.
Hertha Berlin and Tunisia striker Sami Allagui has bagged three goals just two weeks into the German season, including one that flew in off the chest of a Nuremberg defender in a 2-2 draw.
ENGLAND
WILFRIED BONY (Swansea City)
Ivory Coast international Bony made his league debut for Swansea City against Manchester United after joining the south Wales side for a club-record fee of £12 million ($17.9 million, 13.9 million euros). He found the net in the 82nd minute with a low, side-foot finish, but ended on the losing side in a 4-1 defeat.
KOLO TOURE (Liverpool)
Former Arsenal and Manchester City centre-back Toure made his league debut for new club Liverpool at home to Stoke City and almost opened the scoring with an early header that cannoned back off the crossbar. The Ivorian international nonetheless contributed to a clean sheet, after goalkeeper Simon Mignolet saved an 89th-minute penalty from Jon Walters.
CABRAL (Sunderland)
Cape Verdean holding midfielder Cabral made his first league appearance for Sunderland in a 1-0 home defeat by Fulham after joining on a free transfer from Swiss side FC Basel. The powerfully-built 24-year-old had several attempts at goal but could not find a way past Fulham goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
AHMED ELMOHAMADY (Hull City)
Egyptian wide midfielder Elmohamady caught the eye despite finishing on the losing side in his team's 2-0 defeat at Jose Mourinho's Chelsea. His probing runs down the right flank were a regular source of menace and he almost created a second-half goal with an inviting cross that Curtis Davies could only head straight at Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.
MOHAMED DIAME (West Ham United)
Beginning his second season at West Ham, Diame enjoyed a winning start to the season after contributing to a 2-0 victory at home to promoted Cardiff City. The Senegal international came close to finding the net in the first half, but his deflected effort missed the right-hand post by inches with goalkeeper Andy Marshall rooted to the spot.
FRANCE
VINCENT ABOUBAKAR (Lorient)
The Cameroonian international striker scored his first goal for Brittany club Lorient since moving from Valenciennes as he drew his side level at 1-1 against Nantes. The 21-year-old from Yaounde, a former Coton Sport player, ended up on the winning side as Lorient won the local derby 2-1.
CHEICK DIABATE (Bordeaux)
The Mali international opened his scoring account just before half-time against Toulouse when his side were down to 10 men. The home side pulled back an equaliser in a 1-1 draw that was largely down to Diabate's strike and the heroics of Bordeaux 'keeper Cedric Carrasso.
ADAMA BA (Bastia)
The 19-year-old from Mauritania headed home Bastia's second goal on his debut with 11 minutes remaining, after being on the pitch only five minutes. The midfielder from Gouraye had the ideal start to his career in Corsica and is already a favourite with the fans as Bastia defeated Valenciennes 2-0 for their first win of the season.
GERMANY
SAMI ALLAGUI (Hertha Berlin)
The Tunisia striker scored a bizarre goal for Hertha when his shot flew into the net off the chest of Nuremberg defender Berkay Dabanli on 61 minutes in a 2-2 Bundesliga draw. Having scored twice in the 6-1 hammering of Eintracht Frankfurt on the opening weekend of the season, Allagui, 27, has three goals from the opening two games.
RUSSIA
AHMED MUSA (CSKA Moscow)
The 20-year-old Nigeria forward scored in a 1-0 win over Kuban Krasnodar, which lifted CSKA to the top of the table, level on points with city rivals Spartak. In the 11th minute Musa received a cross from Japanese midfielder Keisuke Honda on the edge of the box and fired the ball home with a low shot.
BENOIT ANGBWA (Samara)
The Cameroonian defender starred in defence for Samara, who defeated Tomsk 1-0 for a first win this season despite being reduced to 10 men in the 56th minute when midfielder Ilya Maximov was shown a red card for unsportsmanlike conduct.
SPAIN
YOUSSEF EL ARABI/HASSAN YEBDA (Granada)
Both Moroccan El Arabi and Algerian Yebda were on target as Granada got their La Liga campaign off to a flying start with a 2-1 win at Osasuna. El Arabi opened the scoring as he slid in to convert Allan Nyom's cross before Yebda doubled the visitors advantage in first-half stoppage time with a glancing header from a corner.
CEDRICK MABWATI GERARD (Real Betis)
Democratic Republic of Congo winger Cedrick, 21, made a huge impression on his Real Betis debut despite the team going down 2-1 at Real Madrid. The former Atletico Madrid youth prospect set up Jorge Molina's opener with a terrific burst of pace past Sergio Ramos and caused the Real defence all manner of problems before being replaced by Juan Carlos on the hour mark.
Source: AFP
