Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and PSG extend their impressive streaks, while Manchester United, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund falter. We recap results from the weekend’s action in major European football leagues.
English Premier League
Manchester City edged out Chelsea by a solitary goal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. After a goalless first half, Gabriel Jesus netted the winner in the 53rd minute. The visitors, who climbed to second in the standings, created better chances. Meanwhile, Chelsea didn’t register a shot on target.
Aston Villa defender Kortney Hause’s 83rd-minute header gave the Midlands club a famous win against Manchester United away from home. The goal came from a corner as Hause sent a sharp header past David De Gea. Bruno Fernandes missed a chance to level the game after missing a penalty in the added time.
Newly-promoted Brentford held Liverpool to a thrilling 3-3 draw. Ethan Pinnock gave hosts the lead, while Diogo Jota leveled the game for Liverpool four minutes later. Jurgen Klopp’s men twice led in the second half, but Brentford fought back and grabbed a valuable point.
A sensational first-half performance helped Arsenal pick up all three points against Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby. Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Bukayo Saka were on the scoresheet. Son Heung-min netted the lone consolation goal in the second half for Spurs.
Spanish La Liga
A fourth-minute strike from Victor Laguardia sealed all three points for Alaves against Spanish La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, who defeated Getafe 1-2 in the midweek fixture. It was their first defeat in the 2021-22 season. Atletico Madrid is fourth in the standings with 14 points from seven matches.
FC Barcelona cruised to a 3-0 win over Levante at Camp Nou. The Catalan outfit, who drew their last two league games, struck twice in the first 15 minutes. Memphis Depay converted a penalty, while Luuk de Jong made it 2-0. Ansu Fati marked his return from a ten-month injury lay off with an excellent strike in the added time.
Real Madrid played out a 0-0 draw with Villarreal at home. Thibaut Courtois made a fine save to deny Arnaut Danjuma’s powerful strike, while Real Madrid, too, had their chances but failed to find a way past a resilient Villarreal backline. The Spanish La Liga giants lead the standings with 17 points.
Italian Serie A
Juventus registered back-to-back wins after overcoming Sampdoria 3-2. Goals from Paulo Dybala and Leonardo Bonucci gave them a 2-0 lead. However, the visitors pulled a goal back through Maya Yoshida before the half-time whistle. Manuel Locatelli regained Juventus’ two-goal cushion after scoring his first goal for the club. Sampdoria netted their second, but Juventus held on to their lead till the final whistle.
Napoli and AC Milan maintained their unbeaten start with victories over Cagliari and Spezia Calcio, respectively. Victor Osimhen and Lorenzo Insigne struck for Napoli in the 2-0 win. Milan, meanwhile, needed an 86th-minute goal to beat the 17th placed Spezia. Daniel Maldini, the son of Paolo Maldini, broke the deadlock in the 48th minute. The home side equalized in the 80th minute. But substitute Brahim Diaz slotted home from a close range to pick up three points for his side.
Inter Milan had to settle for a point against Atalanta after Federico Dimarco missed a penalty late in the second half. The Italian Serie A champions drew blood in the fifth minute courtesy of a fantastic volley from Lautaro Martinez. However, Atalanta scored two goals in the space of eight minutes and went to half-time with the lead. Inter leveled the game through Edin Dzeko in the 71st minute. They were awarded a penalty for a handball inside the Atalanta box. But Dimarco’s spot-kick hit the crossbar and went out of play.
German Bundesliga
A 10-man Bayern Munich beat newly-promoted SpVgg Greuther Furth 3-1. Thomas Muller and Joshua Kimmich gave them a 0-2 lead by the half-hour mark. Three minutes into the second half, Benjamin Pavard saw a red card for a reckless challenge on Greuther Furth midfielder Jeremy Dudziak. However, an own goal from Sebastian Griesbeck put them in the driving seats. The home side pulled one goal back in the 87th minute.
Borussia Monchengladbach claimed the bragging rights in the Borussen Derby as they beat Haaland-less Borussia Dortmund by a solitary goal at home. Denis Zakaria netted the winner in the first half. Dortmund played the second half with ten men after midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud received two yellow cards in the space of 30 minutes.
French Ligue 1
PSG blanked Montpellier 2-0 at home and picked up their eighth successive win in the French Ligue 1 2021-22 season. Idrissa Gueye’s powerful left-footer put the Parisian outfit ahead in the 14th minute. Julian Draxler, who replaced Angel Di Maria in the second half, added a second goal a few minutes before the final whistle. PSG has a nine-point lead over second-placed Lens.
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
Read All Articles >
