European Football Round-up: Goal-fest in Bayern, Milan

Bayern Munich and Inter Milan had it easy, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid dropped points, while Erling Haaland struck a second successive brace in German Bundesliga. We recap results from the weekend’s action in major European football leagues.

English Premier League

A clinical performance in the second half steered Chelsea to a comfortable win over Tottenham Hotspur. After a goalless opening 45 minutes, Thiago Silva headed home from Marcos Alonso’s corner to draw the first blood. N’Golo Kante extended Chelsea’s lead before the hour mark. The Frenchman’s attempt from 25 yards deflected off Eric Dier, hit the post, and went inside the net. Antonio Rudiger added the third in the added time, slamming home Timo Werner’s cut-back. It was the second successive defeat for Tottenham Hotspur in the league.

Sadio Mane struck his 100th goal for Liverpool as the Merseyside outfit blanked Crystal Palace 3-0 at Anfield. In an exciting encounter, Mane opened the scoring via tap-in the 43rd minute. Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita scored late in the second half to give the Reds their fourth win in five games. Crystal Palace had their chances, but Alisson was excellent at the back and claimed a fourth clean sheet this season.

Jesse Lingard and David De Gea emerged heroes for Manchester United against West Ham United in London on Sunday. The visitors fell behind to Said Benrahma’s deflected effort at the hour mark. Five minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo forced a fine save off Lukasz Fabianski and netted the rebound to level the scores. Both teams went in search of a winner in the second half.

In the 89th minute, Lingard grabbed the lead courtesy of a lovely curled effort from the box. However, the home side won a penalty in the added time. David Moyes, the West Ham United manager, brought on the experienced Mark Noble to take it. However, De Gea denied him with a fine save, and United held on to three points.

Manchester City endured a frustrating time at home as the champions played out a 0-0 draw with Southampton. Pep Guardiola’s men controlled the game but struggled to put away their chances. The home side was in trouble when the referee awarded Southampton a penalty and a red card for Kyle Walker for a foul on Adam Armstrong. However, the referee reversed both decisions after a lengthy VAR check. Raheem Sterling had a goal ruled out for offside in the second minute of the stoppage-time.

Spanish La Liga

Vinicius Jr. scored a goal and set up the winner as Real Madrid came back from behind to beat Valencia. Hugo Duro broke the deadlock in the 66th minute at Mestalla Stadium. With four minutes left on the clock, Vinicius’ saw his attempt deflected into the goal. Karim Benzema grabbed the winner after heading home the Brazilian’s cross in the 88th minute. It was their third successive win in Spanish La Liga.

A ten-man Atletico Madrid had to settle for a point against Athletic Club. Both sides had a few opportunities in the second half. Marcos Llorente saw his attempt hit the woodwork, while Athletic’s Inaki Williams, who was through on goal, parried his shot wide. Joao Felix, who came in the second half, received a red card in the 78th minute. He was booked for a foul on Unai Vencedor and got his second yellow for shouting at the referee.

Italian Serie A

Juventus find themselves in the relegation zone after a 1-1 draw against AC Milan. Massimiliano Allegri’s men took the lead through Alvaro Morata early in the match. In the 76th minute, Ante Rebic squared the game for the visitors. Mike Maignan, the AC Milan goalkeeper, made some excellent saves to deny Morata and Paulo Dybala in the first half. Juventus are 18th in the points table, while AC Milan is second with 10 points from four matches.

Inter Milan hit six past Bologna at San Siro on Saturday. Lautaro Martinez put them ahead in the sixth minute and Milan Skriniar and Nicolo Barella, too, scored a goal before half-time. The fourth goal came courtesy of Matias Vecino in the 54th minute. Edin Dzeko, who replaced injured Joaquin Correa in the first half, struck in the space of six minutes to give Inter Milan a 6-0 lead. Bologna managed to score a consolation goal in the dying minutes.

German Bundesliga

Bayern Munich climbed to the top of the German Bundesliga for the first time this season after hammering VfL Bochum by seven goals. An own goal and strikes from Leroy Sane, Joshua Kimmich, and Serge Gnabry helped them take a 4-0 lead at half-time. Kimmich completed his brace in the second half, while Robert Lewandowski and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, too, found their names on the scoresheet. Bayern is level on points with Wolfsburg but has a superior goal difference.

Borussia Dortmund fought off an excellent fightback from Union Berlin to grab a 4-2 win at home. Raphael Guerreiro and Haaland struck within the opening half-hour to give Dortmund a 2-0 lead at half-time. Marvin Friedrich’s own goal put them in a comfortable position. However, Union Berlin pulled two goals back. Haaland sealed the match for Dortmund with a sensational lob in the 83rd minute.

French Ligue 1

Mauro Icardi scored an injury-time winner to help Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) maintain their 100% start in French Ligue 1. Lyon opened the scoring in the 54th minute through Brazilian Lucas Paqueta. PSG won a penalty for a foul on Neymar inside the box. The 29-year-old made no mistakes from the spot. With a few seconds left for the final whistle, Icardi leaped high to nod home Kylian Mbappe’s cross. Lionel Messi made his first league start for PSG, who has 18 points from six matches and enjoys a five-point lead over Marseille.