European football roundup: Spurs down nine-man Liverpool; Real Madrid clinch easy win over LaLiga toppers Girona

Manchester City’s perfect start to the Premier League season came undone in a shock 2-1 loss to Wolves, but Liverpool missed the chance to go top as they were reduced to nine men in a 2-1 defeat at Tottenham. Manchester United slumped to another damaging defeat as Crystal Palace won 1-0 at Old Trafford, while Arsenal moved to within one point of the top after cruising to a 4-0 win at Bournemouth. City had won the opening six games of their title defence as they aim to become the first side to ever claim four consecutive English top-flight titles.

5/15 - Since Rodri made his Premier League debut in August 2019, Man City have lost five of 15 matches without the Spaniard in the competition (W9 D1); by contrast, they have lost just five of their last 67 league games when Rodri has featured (W53 D9). Irreplaceable. pic.twitter.com/DiQx9GANPB

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 30, 2023

By contrast, Wolves had taken just four points from their first six games, but stunned the champions at Molineux. Ruben Dias’ own goal put the home side in front only for City to respond through Julian Alvarez’s free-kick. Wolves, though, were a constant threat on the counter-attack and got their reward when Hwang Hee-chan swept home at the second attempt 25 minutes from time. “We have to do more but even when we win we have to do more,” said City boss Pep Guardiola, who watched the game from the stands due to suspension. “When we win and lose we do it together. Today we were not at our best.” City’s defeat meant victory would have taken Liverpool top, but Jurgen Klopp’s men had a mountain to climb when Curtis Jones was shown a straight red card for going over the top of the ball and making contact with Yves Bissouma after just 26 minutes. Son Heung-min put Tottenham in front, but the 10 men hit back when Cody Gakpo levelled in first-half stoppage time. Liverpool were then reduced to nine men as Diogo Jota was shown two quickfire yellow cards.

Full-time in London. #TOTLIV pic.twitter.com/D0dQefifCq

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 30, 2023

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Yet the visitors held out until the 96th minute when Joel Matip turned Pedro Porro’s cross into his own net. The three points take Tottenham above Liverpool into second, one point behind City, as they remain unbeaten in the Premier League under Ange Postecoglou. United are now off to their worst ever Premier League start to pile more pressure on Erik ten Hag. Joachim Andersen’s stunning first-half volley separated the sides at Old Trafford. United had won a League Cup meeting between the sides 3-0 in midweek but with Palace restored to full strength, the Red Devils suffered from a familiar lack of cutting edge up front as they laboured to get back into the game. “The final part of the game we didn’t play our best game,” said Ten Hag. “You have to be sharp and clinical. It’s about decision making.” The defeat sees United slip to 10th in the table. Arsenal moved up to third as Mikel Arteta’s men eased to victory at Bournemouth. Bukayo Saka had been an injury doubt, but was able to make his 87th consecutive Premier League appearance and headed into an empty net to open the scoring. Saka could have had more had he not then handed over penalty duties to Martin Odegaard and then Kai Havertz before Ben White rounded off the scoring in stoppage time. Ollie Watkins bagged a hat-trick as Aston Villa thrashed Brighton 6-1. Two goals from the England striker and a Pervis Estupinan own goal put Villa 3-0 up inside 26 minutes before Ansu Fati reduced the deficit with his first Brighton goal. But the day belonged to Watkins and he became the first Villa player in 47 years to score two hat-tricks in one season. Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz piled on the pain for Brighton in the closing stages and did enough to edge Villa ahead of the Seagulls into fifth on goal difference. Luton secured their first ever Premier League win with a 2-1 victory at Everton. Tom Lockyer and Carlton Morris were on target for the Hatters, who climb out of the relegation zone. Sheffield United remain bottom after the Blades were beaten 2-0 at West Ham with Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio getting the goals for David Moyes’ men. Bellingham delivers as Madrid punish Girona, Sociedad wins Basque derby Inspired by Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid showed both steel and class to beat high-flying Girona 3-0 on Saturday and move back top of La Liga. Real Sociedad thrashed Athletic Bilbao by the same scoreline to win the Basque derby later on and rise to fourth. Girona headed into the weekend as unlikely leaders but champions Barcelona usurped them by beating Sevilla on Friday, with Madrid then deposing their rivals at the league’s summit with a solid triumph on Catalan soil.

This celebration>>> pic.twitter.com/FWxIBCgxfK

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 30, 2023

Joselu and Aurelien Tchouameni’s first-half goals were enough to burst Girona’s bubble and after that the record 35-time La Liga winners kept the plucky upstarts at arm’s length. The stylish Bellingham netted with 20 minutes remaining to seal Madrid’s victory and continue his own sparkling run of goalscoring form. Madrid defender Nacho was sent off late in the match for an ugly high tackle on Portu, who went off injured. “Nacho wasn’t thinking clearly, he’s usually a player who does things right, he has said sorry,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who praised his team’s display. “It was a solid performance, strong, we defended well, we knew they could hurt us with the ball, they play good football, so it was important to defend well in our half.” Michel’s side beat Real Madrid at home last season and their fans believed they could repeat the trick, but they found a determined side in their path. In only their fourth season in the Spanish top flight and unbeaten in their first seven games, the City Football Group-owned team are flourishing, but their illustrious visitors arrived with a point to prove about the natural order of things, and snapped that run. Ancelotti brought in Eduardo Camavinga at left-back to bolster the defence after Atletico Madrid found too much joy down the flanks in Los Blancos’ derby defeat last weekend. The coach also handed Vinicius Junior his first start after injury. Girona came out with their tails up, looking to capitalise on the boisterous home atmosphere at their small but fired-up Montilivi stadium. They almost did, with Yangel Herrera heading narrowly over and Viktor Tsygankov hitting the post in an onslaught inside the opening five minutes. However Madrid took the lead against the run of play to stop the hosts in their tracks. Joselu converted from close range after Bellingham found the Spain striker with a sublime outside-of-the-boot cross. Four minutes later the visitors netted their second, with Tchouameni given a free header from Toni Kroos’ corner, gratefully accepting his first goal for Madrid since joining in 2022. Girona started the second half strongly and Kepa Arrizabalaga was called into action to repel David Lopez’s header. Tchouameni survived a penalty appeal after tangling with Herrera inside his area as Madrid rode the pressure, with goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga denying Bellingham at the other end. However few teams have been able to keep the England international at bay this season. Bellingham, the division’s top scorer with six goals, turned home the rebound after Gazzaniga parried a Joselu effort to kill any hope of a comeback. Kane penalty helps Bayern draw at Leipzig Bayern Munich came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at RB Leipzig on Saturday as Harry Kane kick-started a second-half revival to prevent a first league loss of the season. Leipzig were 2-0 up and cruising at half-time thanks to goals from Lois Openda and Castello Lukeba, but Kane converted a penalty early in the second half to give his side hope.

We know we can do better but important to fight together in every moment! Thank you for the amazing away support 🙌 #miasanmia pic.twitter.com/oiAWt4VOxr

— Harry Kane (@HKane) September 30, 2023

The goal, Kane’s eighth in six league appearances since moving from Tottenham, had the desired effect, spurring Bayern on and Leroy Sane equalised shortly afterwards. Bayern slipped to third, two points behind unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen, and captain Joshua Kimmich lamented his side conceding “dumb goals” while coach Thomas Tuchel said: “In the first half, we weren’t even here.” “The reaction in the second half was good,” Tuchel said, “and it was necessary.” Leipzig boss Marco Rose said his side had he better chances to score and said the win “showed we belong” among the top teams in the league. Just a day before the match, Leipzig fired sporting director Max Eberl, who had been heavily linked to a move to Munich, saying the former Bayern defender had shown a “lack of commitment” to the Saxony club. Bayern invited the hosts into the game early, goalkeeper Sven Ulreich roaming well out of his box and scuffing a pass to Emil Forsberg, but the Sweden international’s long-range shot drifted just wide. The home side did not have to wait long however, Openda latching onto a superb long pass from Xaver Schlager to score his fourth league goal of the season. Leipzig extended their lead shortly after through Lukeba, who slammed in a rebound from a corner for his first goal since moving from France in the summer. Tuchel made two changes at half-time to ignite his lethargic squad, who pulled one back from the penalty spot through Kane after VAR detected a Leipzig handball. Bayern drew level shortly after, Musiala carrying the ball up the middle of the park and laying off to Sane, who stroked the ball into the bottom corner. Bayern’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting had a chance deep in injury time but headed directly at the goalkeeper, meaning the sides split the points. Earlier on Saturday, Leverkusen continued their blistering start to the season, winning 3-0 at struggling Mainz to go top of the table. Leverkusen, who dropped their only points in the league this season in a 2-2 draw at Bayern, took the lead after 18 minutes as wing-back Jeremie Frimpong forced Mainz defender Sepp van den Berg into an own goal. Dead-ball specialist Alejandro Grimaldo doubled Leverkusen’s lead with a pinpoint free-kick before Germany winger Jonas Hofmann scored a third to round out another win. “It’s a lot of fun. Everyone pats you on the shoulder and tells you how nice the football looks,” said Hofmann. Hofmann toasted his team’s “extreme potential” after Leverkusen’s best start to a league season in their history, but said “it’s important to stay humble.” Union Berlin’s poor start to the season continued, losing 1-0 away at promoted Heidenheim after a second-half goal from Jan-Niklas Beste. Beste’s free-kick deflected into the net midway through the second half, consigning Champions League participants Union to their fifth consecutive defeat in all competitions for the first time since 2004. “There are going to be phases like this. It’s up to us to get out of it,” said Union captain Christopher Trimmel. Surprise package Stuttgart continued their remarkable rise this season, winning 2-0 at Cologne thanks to a brace from Deniz Undav. Stuttgart, who needed to win a relegation playoff against Hamburg last season to stay up, sit second having won five of six matches. Wolfsburg striker Jonas Wind scored both goals to help his team to a 2-0 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt and now has seven of his team’s nine league goals this season. Elsewhere, a double from Alassane Plea earned Gladbach their first win of the season, a 3-1 victory away at Bochum. Florian Neuhaus opened the scoring for the visitors and Plea added two by half-time, before Bochum’s Anthony Losilla pulled one back. Monaco top Ligue 1 as PSG held to draw Monaco went top of Ligue 1 with a 3-2 win over Gennaro Gattuso’s Marseille on Saturday after Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 0-0 draw by struggling Clermont. Marseille were playing their first game since former Italy star Gattuso was appointed coach and twice led in the principality through goals by Iliman Ndiaye and Samuel Gigot. Ndiaye opened the scoring after just 32 seconds and Gigot volleyed them back in front on 18 minutes after Maghnes Akliouche equalised. However, Monaco’s USA striker Folarin Balogun – who had two penalties saved in last week’s defeat by Nice – made it 2-2 midway through the first half, completing a remarkable opening to the game at the Stade Louis II. Balogun then set up Akliouche to make it 3-2 seven minutes after the restart and the youngster’s second goal of the night proved to be the winner. Monaco end the night a point clear at the top of the table from surprise package Brest, who visit fourth-placed Nice on Sunday – whoever wins that contest will seize first place. Meanwhile, Marseille have now gone three games without a win, and conceded 10 goals, since previous coach Marcelino Garcia Toral resigned. Gattuso will hope for his first victory when OM entertain Brighton and Hove Albion in the Europa League on Thursday. “We must improve but I was pleased with the spirit of the team and the way they kept trying until the end,” Gattuso said. “The only way we can turn this around is by working hard. I don’t know if three days before playing Brighton will be enough. The football I want to play is not easy, it needs time. But I think this team can do well.” PSG were warming up for a Champions League trip to Newcastle United as they went to Clermont, where Kylian Mbappe started having recovered from the ankle injury which forced him off in the first half of last week’s 4-0 win over Marseille. The reigning champions had been hoping to build on impressive wins against Borussia Dortmund and Marseille in their last two outings, but a goalless stalemate with a struggling Clermont side confirms they are far from the finished article under new coach Luis Enrique. “We tried to create and to win the match but it was almost impossible to kick the ball in the right way because it was always bouncing, especially for the strikers when they tried to score,” Luis Enrique told broadcaster Amazon Prime, with reference to a newly-laid pitch at Clermont’s Stade Gabriel-Montpied. “I knew the pitch was new, they changed it three days ago, but we were unlucky to have to play on it in these conditions.” PSG have won just three of their first seven league games and sit provisionally third in the table, two points behind Monaco. Clermont had beaten the Parisians away in their final game of last season but came into this match bottom and with just one point so far in this campaign. They are still winless, but the unexpected point lifts them off the foot of the table on goal difference from Lyon, who play on Sunday. Goalkeeper Mory Diaw, who was on PSG’s books as a youngster, was Clermont’s hero as he made a total of 10 saves, while Mbappe hit the outside of a post in the second half and was booked for diving late on.

It’s over in Clermont. #CF63PSG pic.twitter.com/RBGMpKm4FH

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) September 30, 2023

Visiting goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma also starred when he produced a brilliant save on his line just after half-time to deny Jamaican striker Shamar Nicholson before seeing Yohann Magnin hit the post from the follow-up. On Friday, Lens won 1-0 away at Strasbourg thanks to an Elye Wahi goal as they warmed up for Tuesday’s home Champions League meeting with Arsenal. Martinez hits four in Inter rout as Napoli see off Lazio Lautaro Martinez scored all four goals as Inter Milan thrashed Salernitana 4-0 on Saturday to stay top in Serie A, while AC Milan kept pace with their city rivals after overcoming Lazio. Inter rebounded from their first loss of the season midweek against Sassuolo thanks to a sensational second-half display from Martinez.

Pulisic power 🔥📊#MilanLazio #SempreMilan
Brought to you by @skrill pic.twitter.com/QYgQGN6MNA

— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 30, 2023

The Argentina striker dinked Marcus Thuram’s superb ball over home goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa to break the deadlock just past the hour. Salernitana’s Mateusz Legowski had a goal disallowed for offside before Martinez drilled in his second from a cross from Nicolo Barella. Martinez completed his hat-trick on 85 minutes after from the penalty spot Thuram was bundled to the ground. He added another with a first-time finish from Carlos Augusto’s pass. “I’m happy because I helped the team, it’s all that counts. It was important to win after all the criticism aimed at us after our defeat on Wednesday,” said Martinez, who tops the Serie A scoring charts with nine goals. “I’m not thinking about the title for top scorer, I just want to help the team.” Inter are level on 18 points with Milan, who had briefly gone top earlier in the day after they overcame a struggling Lazio 2-0. Christian Pulisic gave Milan the lead on the hour at the San Siro when he slammed in a bobbling pass from Rafael Leao for his third goal since joining from Chelsea. Leao was again involved as Milan made sure of the points in the 88th minute, the Portugal winger bursting into the area before cutting the ball back for Noah Okafor to slide home. “I thought we put a lot of pressure on, it was just a matter of time, we finally opened it up and from there it was a really strong performance,” Pulisic told DAZN. “I haven’t been here a long time, there are a lot of new players, but we are really starting to gel well. I am really enjoying my time with the team.” France goalkeeper Mike Maignan returned for Milan after missing the past two games with a thigh injury he sustained in a goalless draw against Newcastle in the Champions League. Lazio suffered their fourth defeat of the season and dropped to 14th place, with just seven points from as many matches. Napoli secured their second victory in four days as Victor Osimhen came off the bench and scored in a 4-0 win at Lecce, bumping the Italian champions up to third. After a run of three games without a win, Rudi Garcia’s side have rediscovered some form heading into next week’s Champions League clash at home to Real Madrid. Centre-back Leo Ostigard headed Napoli ahead early on with his first league goal for the club, but it wasn’t until the half-time introduction of Osimhen that the visitors took control of the game. The Nigerian nodded in a cross from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on 51 minutes before late goals from Gianluca Gaetano and Matteo Politano sealed the rout. Politano struck from the spot as Osimhen left penalty duties to a team-mate for the second game running after the club posted a video online mocking him for a missed attempt. After the player’s agent threatened legal action this week, Napoli said they never meant to offend Osimhen. Napoli remain four points adrift of Inter and Milan. “It was a well-managed match from start to finish, we wanted to hit hard and score in the first 15 minutes,” said Garcia. “I’m happy for Ostigard who is really a player who’s constantly thinking about the team.” “We drew lessons from what happened in Genoa (a 2-2 draw on September 16), it’s something that really pleases me,” added Garcia. “All our players are getting back to their best level, that’s why the team is now finding this consistency.”