LONDON (AP) ― Rafa Benitez was greeted with jeers from Chelsea fans, and the Blues were held to a 0-0 draw Sunday by Manchester City in his first game as manager.

A forgettable match lacking in clear-cut scoring chances was notable for the scenes that unfolded in the stands at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea fans welcomed Roberto Di Matteo’s successor with boos.

“My experience in England is that when the fans are singing I don’t understand what they say,” said Benitez, who managed Liverpool from 2004-10.

After leading Chelsea to its first Champions League title, Di Matteo was fired Wednesday and replaced by Benitez, who was hired as interim manager for the rest of the season. Benitez’s introduction before the match was greeted with persistent jeers, and the public address announcer had to plead with the fans to mute their dissent so tribute could be paid to former manager Dave Sexton, who died Saturday.

After a minute’s applause, the Chelsea fans turned on Benitez again with chants of, “We don’t want you here!” while “Rafa Out” banners appeared in the stadium.

“How many people do you need to write a banner? One,” Benitez said. “And maybe two to hold it.”

Fernando Torres returned to Chelsea’s starting lineup but the misfiring forward, prolific under Benitez at Liverpool, squandered his only meaningful chance in the second half.

“You could see he was trying hard ― the team has to help Fernando create more chances to score goals,” Benitez said.

Chelsea (7-2-4) dropped to fourth below West Bromwich Albion (8-3-2), while City (8-0-5) remained second behind Manchester United (10-3).

In north London, American midfielder Clint Dempsey set up Gareth Bale’s goal in the 58th minute of Tottenham’s 3-1 win over West Ham, which ended a three-game losing streak for Spurs.

Moments after Dempsey’s shot hit the crossbar, he flicked ahead to Bale on a quick move. Jermain Defoe scored in the 44th and 64th minutes, and Andy Carroll got the visitors’ goal in the 82nd, his first goal in 11th league appearances since he was loaned from Liverpool in August.

Southampton climbed out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Newcastle on goals by Adam Lallana and Gaston Ramirez.

Spain

Lionel Messi scored twice, raising his total for the year to 82 goals, and Barcelona won 4-0 at Levante to open a season-high, 11-point lead over Real Madrid in the Spanish league.

Messi scored in the 47th and 52nd minutes, both times off passes from Andres Iniesta, who then scored in the 57th and set up Cesc Fabregas’ goal in the 63rd.

With his 11th multigoal game this season, Messi moved within three of the world record for goals in a year, set by Gerd Mueller for Bayern Munich and Germany in 1972.

Barcelona (12-0-1) matched Real Madrid’s record for best La Liga start, set in 1991-92, and maintained a three-point lead over second-place Atletico Madrid (11-1-1), which routed visiting Sevilla 4-0. Real Madrid (8-3-2), which lost Saturday at Real Betis, is third. No team has ever won La Liga after trailing by 11 points.

Barcelona, which had 77 percent possession, started 10 homegrown players. The exception, right back Daniel Alves, left with a leg injury in the 14th minute and was replaced by another homegrown player, Martin Montoya. Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes saved Jose Barkero’s penalty kick in the 87th.

Italy

Robinho converted a penalty kick in the 31st minute for his first goal of the season, giving AC Milan a 1-0 victory over Serie A leader Juventus.

Milan was given the penalty kick by referee Nicola Rizzoli, who ruled Mauricio Isla handled Robinho’s header in the penalty area. Replays appeared to show the ball struck Isla’s side, under his armpit.

Juventus (10-2-2), which lost for only the second time in 53 league games, has 32 points and is four ahead of second-place Fiorentina (8-2-4), which rallied twice for a 2-2 tie at Torino. Milan (5-6-3) moved up to eighth place with 18 points.

Roma won 1-0 at struggling Pescara on Mattia Destro’s goal in the fifth minute as coach Zdenek Zeman to the club he guided to promotion as Serie B winners last season.

Germany

American midfielder Fabian Johnson scored his third Bundesliga goal of the season in Hoffenheim’s 2-1 loss at home to Bayer Leverkusen.

Goals by Lars Bender in the 15th minute and Daniel Carvajal in the 38th built a 2-0 lead for the visitors before Johnson scored on a shot that deflected off Bernd Leno.

Hoffenheim (3-7-3) is 16th in the 18-team league, while Leverkusen (7-3-3) is fifth.

Augsburg squandered a lead against Borussia Moenchengladbach in a 1-1 draw that leaves it bottom. Freiburg beat local rival Stuttgart 3-0.

France

Bordeaux missed a chance to take the French league lead, losing 1-0 at defending champion Montpellier as Remy Cabella scored in the 68th minute.

Marseille (8-3-2) won 1-0 at home against Lille on Andre Ayew’s goal in the 46th minute, has 26 points and trails first-place Paris Saint-Germain (7-2-5) on goal difference.

Bordeaux (6-2-6) is fifth with 24 points, one behind Saint-Etienne (7-3-4) and Lyon (7-2-4). Montpellier (4-5-5) moved three points above the relegation zone.