Real beat Espanyol, go top

Madrid, Sept. 23: Real Madrid moved top of La Liga after Marco Asensio’s goal proved the difference in a scrappy 1-0 win over Espanyol.

Their victory at the Santiago Bernabeu may only give Madrid 24 hours above Barcelona, who play Girona on Sunday, with their perfect record still intact.

More pressing for Julen Lopetegui will be the defensive slackness that made this arguably the least assured of the six competitive games he has overseen so far, including last weekend’s draw away to Athletic Bilbao.

There were changes, with Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Dani Carvajal who all were rested, the latter not even included on the bench, following Real’s win over Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday.

But if they gift Atletico Madrid the same chances in the city derby next weekend, they may not find their opponents so generous. Atletico had earlier ground out a 2-0 win away to Getafe.

“The game was nervous and in the last 15 minutes we lacked control,” Lopetegui said.

“These post-Champions League games are always really dangerous and we know it.” From a deeper than usual playmaker role Brazil’s Neymar pulled the strings as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat Rennes 3-1 in Ligue 1 on Sunday helping to dispel midweek memories of a European flop at Liverpool.

Hosts Rennes took a surprise 11th minute lead when PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot nodded past his own ’keeper Gianluigii Buffon from a corner before goals from Angel di Maria, Thomas Meunier and Eric Maxim ChupoMoting gave them a hardfought sixth straight Ligue 1 win.

After Rabiot’s earlier upset, Neymar seemed to be at the origin of everything the visitors threw at Rennes including when Cavani hit the post from a sumptuous set up. — AFP

Around 15 medallists including compound archers Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Abhishek Verma were given just bouquets as their names were misprinted on cheques.

PSG come from behind, beat Rennes