European roundup: Barcelona earn late win at Levante, Milan held by Torino
Barcelona striker Luuk de Jong scored a header in added time to give his side a 3-2 win at struggling Levante after a remarkable, end-to-end game in which his side gave away three penalties.
Levante began the game in 19th place but took a deserved lead against lacklustre opponents in the 52nd minute. The captain José Luis Morales scored from the spot after a foul by Dani Alves and moments later the hosts earned a second penalty, for a handball by Eric García. This time striker Roger Martí stepped up to take it and his effort was saved by Marc-André ter Stegen.
The visitors quickly made Levante pay, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang heading home a cross from Ousmane Dembélé. Pedri then gave Barcelona the lead, thumping a first-time shot into the bottom corner after being teed up by 17-year-old Gavi, who had also been hauled on from the bench in the second half.
Levante then won a third spot-kick when Dani Gómez latched on to a through ball and was tripped by Clément Lenglet. Gonzalo Melero assumed taking duties and made no mistake against Ter Stegen to level in the 83rd minute, before De Jong converted from
Jordi Alba’s cross in the second minute of stoppage time.
The dramatic win moves Xavi’s side back up to second in the table, 12 points behind leaders Real Madrid with one game in hand. Elsewhere, there were 1-0 home wins for Osasuna and Espanyol, against Alavés and Celta Vigo, respectively, while Real Sociedad came from behind to earn a 2-1 win away at Elche and close the gap on fourthplaced Atlético Madrid to three points.
In Serie A, Fiorentina produced a clinical display of finishing to win 3-2 at Napoli, as Luciano Spalletti’s side suffered another blow to their title hopes. Dropped points for leaders Milan made it a good weekend for Internazionale, who beat Verona 2-0 on Saturday and can go top if they win their game in hand over their local rivals.
Nicolás González hammered the visitors into a 29th-minute lead, and although Dries Mertens levelled early into the second half, Jonathan Ikone’s fine drilled finish and a superb solo goal from Arthur Cabral stunned the home fans into silence. Victor Osimhen pulled one back six minutes from time, but it was too little too late, as Spalletti’s side remained in third.
Milan were held to their second successive 0-0 draw and the stalemate with Torino means their advantage over second-placed Inter is just two points. The only notable chance in the first half was a Davide Calabria strike that was well saved, with Milan looking nervous in their pursuit of a first Scudetto since 2011.
Torino improved after the interval, with Mergim Vojvoda denied by an excellent acrobatic stop from Mike Maignan before Italy striker Andrea Belotti fired into the side netting. Milan never really got going and followed their goalless draw with Bologna on Monday with another tame display.
A late winner from defender Chris Smalling earned Roma a 2-1 victory over Salernitana in the Italian capital, moving José Mourinho’s side up to fifth in the standings. A Ciro Immobile hattrick earned Lazio a 4-1 win at Genoa, while Atalanta dropped to eighth following a 2-1 loss at Sassuolo.
In the Bundesliga, RB Leipzig boosted their Champions League ambitions with a 3-0 win over Hoffenheim. Christopher Nkunku put the hosts in front and Marcel Halstenberg extended their lead, before Nkunku set up Dominik Szoboszlai for the third before half-time.
Leipzig stay in fourth but cut the gap to Leverkusen down to a point before they meet next Sunday. Leverkusen failed to break down Bochum, settling for a 0-0 draw, while fifthplaced Freiburg won 2-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt.
In France, Marseille stayed on course to finish second with a 2-0 home win over Montpellier. Bamba Dieng and Cengiz Ünder scored in the first half, before visiting keeper Jonas Omlin was sent off late on. Strasbourg and Lyon drew 1-1, a result that does little for either team’s European ambitions.
Nice’s poor form continued as they lost 3-0 at Lens despite playing with an extra man for 40 minutes. Arnaud Kalimuendo scored twice as Nice lost despite Massadio Haïdara’s early dismissal, with Mario Lemina and Dante sent off in the second half.
Elsewhere, Kevin Volland got the winner as Monaco overcame Troyes 2-1 at home, while Bordeaux boosted their survival hopes with a 3-1 win over bottom club Metz.