European roundup: Rayo Vallecano hold Real Madrid; Juventus edge Fiorentina
Real Madrid spurned several chances as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Rayo Vallecano to leave them second in La Liga behind Girona. Carlo Ancelotti’s side are on 29 points, two behind the unexpected leaders who won 4-2 at Osasuna on Saturday. Third-place Barcelona have 27 points.
The hosts dominated from the start at the Bernabéu but could not score despite piling on the pressure and recording 22 shots. Rayo Vallecano produced a strong defensive display led by their goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, who kept out efforts from Federico Valverde and Joselu in the first half. Vinícius Júnior thought he had given Real the lead in the 66th minute, but his effort was ruled out for an offside earlier in the move.
In Serie A, an early goal by Fabio Miretti
gave Juventus a 1-0 win at Fiorentina, earning Massimiliano Allegri’s side their fourth consecutive Serie A victory to remain two points off top spot. The 20-year-old midfielder Miretti put Juventus in front in the 10th minute, converting a cross from Filip Kostic at the near post.
The game went ahead despite the Tuscany region being severely hit by Storm Ciarán and the resulting flooding. Fiorentina kept possession as they went after an equaliser but were unable to convert their chances. Juventus remain second on 26 points, four points above third-placed Milan and two adrift of leaders Internazionale.
Stoppage-time goals by Sardar Azmoun and Romelu Lukaku earned Roma a dramatic 2-1 home win against Lecce, cutting their gap to the top four to four points. The Lecce forward Pontus Almqvist put the visitors in front in the 72nd minute before
Azmoun levelled for Roma with a powerful header and Lukaku sealed the win when he fired a left-foot shot into the top corner.
“We took the old philosophy that losing by one or 10 is the same,” the
Roma manager, José Mourinho, told Dazn. “In the first half the game could have been almost over for us, but in the end the team had put in the heart and responded to a very risky situation.”
Nice retained their unbeaten record and overtook Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1 with a 2-0 victory against Rennes. The hosts broke the deadlock when Terem Moffi’s cross sneaked past the defence, reaching the far post, where an unattended Jeremie
Boga slotted in.
The second half saw red cards for both sides, Nice’s Youssouf Ndayishimiye sent off on 75 minutes for a knee-high tackle on Enzo Le Fée. However, Rennes had a one-man advantage for only 10 minutes before Warmed
Omari was sent off for a foul on Evann Guessand. Sofiane Diop’s late free-kick bounced off Steve Mandanda’s back, the own goal sealing Nice’s victory.
Third-placed Monaco dispelled any doubts that last weekend’s loss to Lille had been a fluke, as goals from Denis
Zakaria and Aleksandr Golovin earned them a 2-0 victory against Brest.
In Germany, promoted side Heidenheim surprised third-place Stuttgart with a 2-0 victory, while Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen played out a 2-2 draw at the Volkswagen Arena.