LONDON (AP) ― A summer spending spree of $250 million on new players was supposed to restore the dwindling fortunes of Manchester United.
If anything, it may be getting worse at Old Trafford.
United is off to its worst 10-game start to an English league season since 1986 after losing 1-0 at rival Manchester City on Sunday, leaving the 20-time champions in ninth place with just half the points of unbeaten Premier League leader Chelsea.
In the Spanish league, the logjam at the top remains after Valencia won and Sevilla lost.
Sergio Aguero kept Manchester City in range of Chelsea with a second-half derby winner that maintained the club’s recent supremacy over United.
The Argentina striker finished off a sweeping move in the 63rd minute, giving City a fourth straight league victory against its crosstown rival.
United lost defender Chris Smalling when he was sent off in the 39th minute for two quick yellow cards. It has just 13 points from 10 matches for its lowest haul since 1986, when Ron Atkinson was fired and replaced by Alex Ferguson.
City is six points behind Chelsea, which beat Queens Park Rangers 2-1 on Saturday.
Tottenham also benefited from a red card, with Nacer Chadli and Harry Kane scoring in the final six minutes of normal time in a 2-1 victory over 10-man Aston Villa.
Christian Benteke was sent off for pushing in the 65th, stopping Villa’s momentum after Andreas Weimann’s first-half goal.
Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi scored twice in a 3-1 win at Villarreal, helping his team climb into second place in Spain.
Valencia’s win ― and Sevilla’s 1-0 loss at Athletic Bilbao ― kept the top five teams all within two points through 10 rounds. Real Madrid leads with 24 points.
Mustafi scored in the 64th and 73rd minutes after Villarreal midfielder Manuel Trigueros had an own goal in the sixth, spoiling his team’s strong first-half push. Trigueros got a consolation goal in the 88th.
Bilbao’s Aritz Aduriz scored in the 13th minute to ruin Sevilla’s hopes of overtaking Madrid. The striker then left with an injury in the 28th.
Sunday’s results put Valencia ahead of defending champion Atletico Madrid in third on goal difference, with both teams one point behind Madrid. Barcelona is in fourth place, ahead of Sevilla on goal difference, and two points behind Madrid.
Patrick Herrmann scored two goals and set up another for Borussia Moenchengladbach, which underlined its strong start to the Bundesliga with a 3-1 win over previously undefeated Hoffenheim.
Andre Hahn put Borussia Moenchengladbach in front in the 12th minute, but Anthony Modeste tied it at 1 in the 30th. Herrmann then put his team in front for good two minutes after Modeste’s tying goal.
Herrmann scored again in the 52nd minute, pouncing on a rebound.
Moenchengladbach stayed four points behind leader Bayern Munich, trailing second-place Wolfsburg on goal difference.
AC Milan lost 2-0 at home to Palermo and fell behind third-place Sampdoria, which beat Fiorentina 3-1 in Serie A.
Cristian Zapata scored an own goal and Paulo Dybala added the second just two minutes later, sending Milan to its second loss of the season.
Sampdoria goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved a penalty to help his side move three points ahead of Milan and Udinese, which lost 4-2 to Genoa.
