A ten-men Manchester City maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season as they demolished Nottingham Forest 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium. The EPL title holders scored twice in the first 14 minutes of the game to seal their victory. Pep Guardiola's side, however, had to play the entire second half of the game with only one man as Rodri was sent off at the start of the half. They survived, however, and managed to grab the required three points of the day. Manchester City's win against Nottingham made it six wins out of the six games played in the Premier League putting them two points clear at the top of the table against second-placed Liverpool who have more than enough times recently proved to be City's challengers of the league title. Pep Guardiola's men have now won 20 consecutive matches in all competitions played on home soil. They were made to work much harder for their recent victory, however, following Rodri's send-off after his moment of madness. The Spanish international grabbed Morgan Gibbs-White around the neck less than one minute into the second half and could possibly face a costly suspension as a three games ban will see him miss the fixture against a high-flying Arsenal who themselves managed a stalemate against Tottenham in a much-hyped North London derby. Guardiola said: “An exceptional game in the first half. Exceptional game in the second for our resilience and our work because we played 52 minutes 10 against 11, so it was not easy but we were fantastic.” When asked about Rodri's send-off, he said: "Hopefully Rodri will learn. He has to control his emotions."

Also Read: Pochettino says Chelsea players need to grow up!
 
On the other side of Europe, fellow last season's Champions League finalists Inter Milan also enjoyed their own perfect start to the season in the Serie A after beating Empoli 1-0 to make it five wins in five games. Their one-goal victory, however, came harder than expected against a side that has yet to register a point or score a goal after five matches. Empoli's resolute defense was, however, broken down when Federico Dimarco netted a solo goal in the second half of the game. Inter has now won all its five Serie A matches conceding only one goal while scoring 14 of them in the process. This places them at the top of the table and are now three points ahead of their city arch-rivals and second-placed AC Milan. Even though Inter Milan got the needed points against bottom-placed Empoli, they lacked the quality that saw them destroy their city rivals 5-1 last weekend. It had to take a world-class strike from their left-wing back, arrowing a half-volley from 20 yards into the top corner to put them in front. 

La Liga reigning champions Real Madrid saw their perfect start to the season destroyed by their city rivals Atletico Madrid after suffering a 3-1 defeat at the Civtas Metropolitan Stadium. The derby saw Alvaro Morata net a brace and Antonie Griezman score once to hand the Los Blancos their first loss in La Liga after six straight victories in all competitions earlier in the season. 

ALSO READ:
Will Pochettino manage to pull Chelsea out of the mud?
Julian Nagelsman unveiled as new Germany manager
Is Onana a solution or a problem for Manchester United?
 

(Image: Pulse Sports Kenya)