Wayne Rooney showed his determination to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo as Manchester United began their English Premier League title defense with a 1-0 victory at home to promoted Birmingham on Sunday.
Lionel Messi scored a 19th minute winner as Barcelona moved ever closer to regaining the Spanish title with a 1-0 victory at Getafe on Saturday night. Barcelona had not won in the Coliseum since 2005 and owed victory to the Argentine’s 20th goal of the season.