LONDON, Aug 26: Champions League combatants Barcelona and Atletico Madrid won their second straight games in La Liga on Sunday while Napoli enjoyed a flying start to the Serie A season and Paris St Germain recorded their first win of the Ligue 1 season.

Barca, without the injured Lionel Messi, survived a couple of second-half scares but Adriano’s long strike helped them secure a 1-0 win at Malaga and maintain their perfect start to their La Liga title defence.

The victory leaves Barca at the top of the standings on goal difference after two matches following their 7-0 drubbing of Levante in last weekend’s opening game.

Messi bruised a muscle in his left thigh during Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid in the first-leg of the Spanish Super Cup.

While Barcelona may still be without their all-time leading scorer for Wednesday’s return leg at Camp Nou, Atletico warmed up for the clash by continuing their 100 percent record in the league with a 5-0 mauling of Rayo Vallecano at the Vicente Calderon.

Sevilla drew 0-0 at Levante, while Real Betis were beaten 2-1 at home to Celta Vigo in the late game.

Last season’s Serie A runners-up Napoli impressed in Rafa Benitez’s debut when they beat Bologna 3-0 to go top on goal difference and immediately state their intent to challenge two-time defending champion Juventus.

Benitez was able to enjoy his debut for Napoli as they began life without Edinson Cavani by over-running Bologna with two goals from Marek Hamsik and one from Spaniard Jose Callejon who was making his debut.

It was also a positive debut for former Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri with Inter Milan, who got off to a winning start with second-half goals from Japan’s Yuto Nagatomo and Rodrigo Palacio securing a deserved 2-0 win over Genoa.

AS Roma beat promoted Livorno 2-0 on coach Rudi Garcia’s debut while Hernanes and Antonio Candreva, from a penalty, scored in the first 20 minutes to set up a 2-1 win for Lazio over Udinese.

Cavani, meanwhile, helped French champions PSG to a 2-1 victory at promoted Nantes as the Parisians picked up their first three points of the season.

Ezequiel Lavezzi scored the other goal for PSG who drew their opening two games and lie four points behind arch-rivals Olympique Marseille who have been perfect in their opening three games.

Marseille are the only side remaining with a perfect record after Saint-Etienne’s 1-0 loss at Lille with Salomon Kalou scoring the only goal from the penalty spot.

Elsewhere in Germany, Eintracht Frankfurt and Augsburg earned their first victories and points of the Bundesliga season.

Eintracht Frankfurt bounced back from losing their first two matches of the season with a 2-0 victory over hapless Eintracht Braunschweig while Augsburg beat VfB Stuttgart 2-1.—Agencies