Bayern Munich win 5-1 at Bayer Leverkusen to go top of Bundesliga

Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry scored twice apiece as Bayern Munich demolished Bayer Leverkusen 5-1 on Sunday to return to the top of the Bundesliga table.

Four goals in seven minutes left Leverkusen in tatters before halftime as Bayern made a statement win to underline why it's chasing a 10th consecutive title and proved it's bounced back from a rare defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt last time out.

Bayern needed less than four minutes to take the lead with a touch of style from Lewandowski. Dayot Upamecano picked up an overhit free kick on the touchline and crossed it low for Lewandowski to score with a backheel. Lewandowski lost no time ending a blip of two games without a goal. The Poland striker's relentless scoring form means that was his worst Bundesliga run since 2019.

Alphonso Davies danced through the Leverkusen penalty area to set up the second before laying the ball off for Lewandowski to apply the finish in the 30th. Then Leverkusen collapsed.

Thomas Müller claimed the third goal in the 34th when Niklas Süle's shot deflected off his thigh and into the net. The fourth came seconds after the restart, Gnabry scoring off a Müller cross as Leverkusen's offside trap misfired. Then came a fifth in the 37th, Gnabry again after combining with Leon Goretzka, as a onceclose game turned swiftly into a humiliation.

For the second season in a row, Bayern came to Leverkusen with the clubs at the top of the Bundesliga table and snuffed out Leverkusen's budding title hopes. At least last year it was close — Lewandowski sealing a 2-1 win in added time — but this time, the young, fast Leverkusen team built by new coach Gerardo Seoane was utterly outclassed.

The win returned Bayern to top spot in the Bundesliga after being overtaken when Borussia Dortmund beat Mainz 3-1 a day earlier. Bayern's only loss so far under coach Julian Nagelsmann, the 2-1 defeat to Frankfurt on Oct. 3, was due in large part to an exceptional goalkeeping performance by Kevin Trapp and offers no real blueprint to would-be challengers. Leverkusen is third.

Even before half time, Nagelsmann's thoughts turned to rotating the squad ahead of a Champions League trip to Benfica on Wednesday. Davies was withdrawn for the 21-year-old fringe defender Josip Stanisic in the 40th, and Lewandowski and Müller followed him to the bench early in the second half.

Leverkusen salvaged a scrap of pride when Patrik Schick scored in the 51st off a sharp through ball from 18-year-old Florian Wirtz, but a comeback was never on the cards. In eight league games this season, Bayern has scored 29 times to build an imposing goal difference of 22, meaning an average margin of victory of nearly three goals.

Lens and Nice lose, Marseille fans to pay Tapie tributes

Second-place Lens lost 1-0 at Montpellier on Sunday to fall nine points behind runaway league leader Paris Saint-Germain after 10 matches.

Montpellier dominated the first half and pressure told moments after the break when English striker Stephy Mavididi scored from the irrepressible Teji Savanier's pass.

Forward Valere Germain hit the post for Montpellier early on after latching onto a fine pass from the slick playmaker Savanier, who was in great form throughout and is pushing for a first call-up to France's national squad.

Earlier, high-flying Nice lost 1-0 at promoted Troyes after failing to reply to an early goal from forward Mama Balde.

Defender Giulian Biancone set up Balde in the fourth minute and he shot under the crossbar.

Top scorer Amine Gouiri came on in the second half for Nice after scoring midweek for France's under-21 side and looked a threat.

Defeat leaves coach Christophe Galtier's side in third place but still two points behind Lens, while Troyes moved out of the relegation zone.

It was going to be an emotional night for Marseille fans at home to Lorient as they paid tributes to hugely popular former president Bernard Tapie, who died this month.

It was the first home game at Stade Velodrome since Tapie's death on Oct. 3.

Striker Gaetan Laborde continued his fine scoring form with his league-leading seventh goal as improving Rennes won 3-0 at lowly Metz.

After starring in a well-deserved home win against PSG two weeks ago, Laborde netted midway through the first half before 19year-old Ghana winger Kamaldeen Sulemana added a superb solo goal and winger Martin Terrier completed the scoring just before the break.

Saint-Etienne coach Claude Puel is under increasing pressure to keep his job after his side lost 5-1 at Strasbourg. Saint-Etienne is last and is the only side yet to win apart from 19th-place Brest, which drew 1-1 at home to Reims.

South Korea striker Hwang Ui-jo scored for strugglers Bordeaux in a 1-1 home draw with midtable Nantes.

On Friday, runaway leader PSG needed a controversial late penalty from striker Kylian Mbappe to scrape a 2-1 win against Angers and make it nine wins from 10 games.

Newcastle collapses to lose 3-2 to Spurs as new era begins

New owners. Same old problems.

Callum Wilson headed Newcastle in front only 107 seconds into the new era under Saudi ownership before the hosts collapsed to lose 3-2 to Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday.

It leaves Newcastle with three points from eight games, stuck in the relegation zone and with no ability to spend on new players until the January transfer window.

Tanguy Ndombele began Tottenham's comeback in the 17th minute after Sergio Reguilon rolled the ball across the penalty area.

The visitors went into the lead five minutes later when Harry Kane scored his first league goal of the season after lifting a shot over goalkeeper Karl Darlow.

The game was suspended just before halftime for 20 minutes when a supporter required medical treatment. The players left the field before returning to complete the first half.

Son Heung-min got on the end of Kane's cross to extend the lead in first-half stoppage time.

A further blow came for Newcastle in the 83rd when Jonjo Shelvey, a 60th-minute replacement for Sean Longstaff, was sent off for a second bookable offense after tripping Reguilon.

Newcastle was handed a surprise lifeline when Eric Dier headed into his own net but Tottenham held on for a second consecutive win.

Tottenham is on 15 points in fifth place, four points behind leader Chelsea.

West Ham manager David Moyes was thankful for Angelo Ogbonna's 74th-minute headed goal in Sunday's 1-0 victory over former club Everton but annoyed that his side had not scored more before then.

Center back Ogbonna flicked home a header late on for a Premier League high 29th set-piece goal — excluding penalties — since Moyes returned to West Ham for his second spell in charge in December 2019.

It was only the Scot's third league victory over former Merseyside adversary Rafael Benitez.

"I was annoyed because I thought our play warranted more goals from it or even if we had clear opportunities created from it," said Moyes. "But credit to

Everton, they defended the box well when we got there and we didn't show enough in the final third."

On his side's prowess from set pieces, Moyes said: "Nowadays there is a modern trend for setpiece coaches and we want to try to be good.

"We want people who want to head the ball; Craig Dawson was good last year, Kurt Zouma is good, Ogbonna got his goal. We have one or two who can head it."

Benitez, a former Liverpool manager, was unhappy with Michail Antonio's challenge on goalkeeper Jordan Pickford which led to the corner and ultimately resulted in the winning goal.

"I have a problem because I am from Spain and normally in Europe, the six-yard box is to protect the 'keeper," Benitez said.