(CNN) — Others may already be faltering, but Chelsea march on.
Jose Mourinho’s side continued their impressive early season form with a 6-3 win against Everton in the English Premier League on Saturday.
After comfortable wins against Leicester City and Burnley in their opening two league fixtures, the Blues traveled to Goodison Park.
Roberto Martinez’s side were expected to provide a stern test of Mourinho’s newly-modeled side but were ultimately swept aside in a thrilling encounter on Merseyside.
The home side’s interest in the match threatened to be curtailed inside three minutes as Chelsea raced into a 2-0 lead.
Diego Costa struck after just 35 seconds, guiding a low shot underneath Everton keeper Tim Howard with Branislav Ivanovic doubling the lead two minutes later.
Everton regrouped and thought they’d pulled one back in the 16th minute when Sylvain Distin turned the ball in after Romelu Lukaku’s header had rebounded off the post.
But the French defender’s effort was ruled offside.
The Toffees stuck at it and their perseverance paid off on the stroke of halftime as Seamus Coleman’s cross was met by Belgian midfielder Kevin Mirallas who headed past Chelsea keeper and international teammate Thibaut Courtois.
Everton started the second half brightly, but Chelsea were soon in control of the match once more when Coleman deflected Eden Hazard’s cross into his own net in the 67th minute to make it 3-1.
Despondency soon turned to hope again as Everton’s Steven Naismith scored two minutes later only for Nemanja Matic to restore Chelsea’s two-goal cushion in the 74th minute.
Substitute Samuel Eto’o made an immediate impact against his former club with a headed goal to make the score 4-3, before Ramires scored for the visitors again moments later.
Diego Costa confirmed the inevitable with his second goal of the match in the 90th minute to cap another good day for his new club.
As one Spanish striker beds in at Stamford Bridge another has departed after it was announced that Fernando Torres will join Serie A side AC Milan on a two-year loan deal subject to the 30-year-old passing a medical.
Torres has endured a torrid time in London since his £50 million ($83 million) move from Liverpool in 2011 scoring just 20 times in 110 appearances.
The unsettled Spaniard leaves an increasingly settled Chelsea side who are now top of the league with nine points from three games.
Their main rivals for the title this season have so far endured mixed fortunes with Manchester City the latest to slip up.
The Sky Blues slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat to Stoke City earlier on Saturday.
Following comfortable wins over Newcastle United and Liverpool, Manuel Pellegrini’s side were hot favorites to make light work the Potters who had lost all previous 12 matches at the Etihad Stadium.
But it was Stoke who walked away with all three points after Senegal striker Mame Biram Diouf’s fine solo effort in the 58th minute settled the game.
Stoke’s first win of the new campaign lifts them to ninth in the table while City slip to fourth.
United still winless
The red side of Manchester will be equally blue this weekend as Louis van Gaal’s search for a first Premier League win goes on.
Despite fielding new signing Angel Di Maria for the first time, United were unable to break down the defenses of newly promoted Burnley in a game that ended goalless.
The result leaves United languishing in 14th place in the table with two points from a possible nine.
The lackluster display caps another dismal week for United who suffered a shock exit from the English League Cup in midweek at the hands of MK Dons, a team two divisions below them.
There was one bright spot on an otherwise gloomy weekend for United fans with the announcement that Dutch international Daley Blind will join from Ajax, subject to a medical and the defensive midfielder agreeing personal terms, the club said Saturday.
In Sunday’s matches, Mario Balotelli is expected to make his debut for Liverpool as the Merseysiders take on Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
Arsenal are also in action against Leicester City, while Aston Villa take on Hull City.
Bayern held by Schalke
Meanwhile in the Bundesliga, Xabi Alonso made his debut for Bayern Munich but couldn’t prevent the German champions from dropping their first points of the season in a 1-1 draw at Schalke.
The veteran Spanish midfielder, who joined Pep Guardiola’s side from Real Madrid on Friday, played nearly 70 minutes before being substituted, by which time both goals in the game had been scored.
Bayern took the lead in the 10th minute courtesy of Robert Lewandowski — scoring his first goal for his new club since joining from Borussia Dortmund in the summer — before Schalke picked up their first point of the new season with a 62nd minute equalizer from Benedikt Howedes.
The draw leaves Bayern with four points from two games and joint second behind Bayer Leverkusen who continued their perfect start to the season with a 4-2 win over Hertha Berlin.
Paderborn, Cologne were also winners on Saturday with the matches between Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg and Frankfurt ending in draws.
Atletico win in Spain
In La Liga, reigning champions Atletico Madrid picked up their first win of the new season beating new boys Eibar 2-1.
Former Bayern Munich striker Mario Mandzukic scored what proved to be his new team’s winning goal in the 25th minute following Brazilian center back Miranda’s 11th-minute opener.
Abraham Minero Fernandez pulled one back for Eibar in the 33rd minute but they couldn’t find an equalizer.
The result leaves Diego Simeone’s side on four points from two games with Barcelona and city rivals Real Madrid both in action on Sunday.
The Catalans travel to Villarreal while Real visit Real Sociedad.
Serie A kicks off new season
Two matches were played on the opening day of Serie A in Italy on Saturday. Reigning champions Juventus were 1-0 winners at Chievo while last season’s runners up were also victorious beating Fiorentina 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico.