Early season surprise packets Fiorentina and Real Zaragoza continued to confound the tipsters this weekend with victories in Italy and Spain. Fiorentina made it four wins out of four in Italy with a last-gasp 1-0 win over Udinese while Zaragoza beat Extremadura 2-0 to go two points clear in Spain after Real Madrid lost at home.
In Italy, Brazilian striker Edmundo, understudy to Ronaldo at the World Cup, scored a lastminute goal to maintain Fiorentina's 100 per cent start, at home to Udinese. The last gasp victory gave the Florentine side 12 points from their first four matches, two clear of Inter Milan, who beat Perugia at the San Siro with a goal in each half from Chilean Ivan Zamorano and France's Youri Djorkaeff.
AC Milan and Juventus lie equal third on nine points after wins over Venezia and Piacenza respectively.
In Spain, Zaragoza took over at the top of the league with victory over Extremadura as Real Madrid crashed 1-0 at home to Real Betis.Kili Gonzalez and Savo Milosevic scored to take their team two points clear of Real.
Nigerian Finidi George scored Betis's winner against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu after 54 minutes. Real's city rivals Atletico Madrid also lost, 3-1 at Oviedo, while Barcelona beat Valencia 3-1.
In Germany, Bayern Munich were held 2-2 at home by Borussia Dortmund as their run of six straight league wins came to an end. Stephane Chapuisat put Dortmund in front before Giovane Elber and Carsten Jancker looked to have earned Bayern another win. But Bayern old boy Christian Nerlinger equalised.
TSV 1860 Munich demolished Nuremberg 5-1 away to move to within three points of their city rivals at the top. Bayer Leverkusen drew 2-2 at home to champions Kaiserslautern.
The Italian Olympic Committee's anti-drug investigator announced yesterday he will reopen his inquiry into drug abuse in Serie A.
The official, Ugo Longo, said he investigate whether a positive doping test turned in by a player in a 1997 match was covered up.
He will also investigate a report that 24 Parma players showed abnormalities in blood tests in July. The players allegedly had elevated levels of red blood cells.
Longo will not undertake an examination of the Italian national team, he said.
