There were the two sides of Wayne Rooney, scoring before being sent off for a reckless challenge as Manchester United held on to beat West Ham 2-1.
But it was all about the scoring for Barcelona's stars as Lionel Messi and Neymar contributed all the goals in a 6-0 rout of Granada.
Here is the pick of the action from Europe's top leagues on Saturday:
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ENGLAND
United's game against West Ham started well for Rooney when he put United in front after five minutes with a deft volley. Robin van Persie doubled the lead in the 22nd minute with his 50th goal for United, but West Ham pulled one back before halftime through Diafra Sakho's header. Rooney was sent off in the 59th for kicking out at Stewart Downing, but United held on for just its second victory in seven matches under Louis van Gaal.
Chelsea remains the leader after overwhelming Aston Villa 3-0, with Diego Costa heading in his eighth goal in six league games for his new club either side strikes from Oscar and Willian.
Frank Lampard made it four goals in three games for Manchester City to complete a 4-2 win at Hull after the champions threw away a two-goal lead.
There were stalemates in the day's two derbies, with Arsenal-Tottenham and Liverpool-Everton both 1-1 draws. Nacer Chadli's second-half opener for Tottenham was canceled out Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain six minutes later. At Anfield, Everton Phil Jagielka struck in stoppage time after Steven Gerrard put Liverpool in front from a free kick.
Southampton's impressive start continued with a 2-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers to remain three points behind Chelsea in second place. Sunderland remains winless after drawing 0-0 with Swansea, while Crystal Palace beat Leicester 2-0.
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SPAIN
Neymar hit a hat trick and Messi scored his 400th and 401st goals for club and country to ensure Barcelona consolidated its grip on top place with the Granada win. Messi has scored 359 times for Barcelona and 42 times for Argentina.
Cristiano Ronaldo also found the net for his sixth straight game in Real Madrid's 2-0 win at Villarreal.
Defending champion Atletico Madrid routed third-placed Sevilla 4-0 in the return of coach Diego Simeone to move up into second, two points behind Barcelona.
Valencia can match Barcelona on points with a win at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
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GERMANY
Bayern Munich tightened its grip on top place in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at Cologne. Former Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze put Bayern in front, and forced an own goal from Daniel Halfar to stretch the champions' unbeaten run to 10 games.
Borussia Moenchengladbach won 2-1 at Paderborn to stay two points behind Bayern in second place.
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FRANCE
Paris Saint-Germain's defensive frailties were exposed again in 1-1 draw at Toulouse to draw.
Despite a fifth draw in eight league matches, PSG provisionally up to second place. Leader Marseille can move five points clear of PSG if it beats Saint-Etienne on Sunday.
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ITALY
Mattia Destro scored from near the halfway line to help Roma beat Hellas Verona 2-0 as the capital side made it five wins out of five in Serie A.
Three-time defending champion Juventus also maintained its perfect record as Carlos Tevez scored twice in a 3-0 victory at Atalanta, while Alvaro Morata notched his first goal for the club.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon saved a penalty as Juventus extended its record to become the first team in Serie A history to win its opening five matches without conceding a goal.