Lewandowski scores disputed winner for Bayern over Dortmund

Robert Lewandowski scored twice against his former team for Bayern Munich to extend its Bundesliga lead with a contentious 32 win at Borussia Dortmund in "der Klassiker" on Saturday.

But Dortmund fans' anger was directed at the referee, who awarded Bayern a penalty and denied their team another.

Lewandowski scored the disputed winner from the spot in the 78th minute, after referee Felix Zwayer awarded the penalty following a VAR check. Zwayer penalized Mats Hummels for handball after Serge Gnabry's corner struck the Dortmund defender's elbow as he appeared to stumble.

Dortmund coach Marco Rose was sent off with his second yellow card for protesting.

Earlier, Dortmund captain Marco Reus had a penalty appeal waved away after a tussle with Lucas Hernández.

The game resumed to whistles from the home fans after Lewandowski's penalty – just 15,000 due to new coronavirus restrictions after Dortmund had to cancel and refund all 67,000 it previously sold for the game.

Lewandowski's second goal – his 16th of the season – dealt Dortmund its first loss at home and left it four points adrift of Bayern after 14 Bundesliga rounds.

It was Bayern's sixth consecutive win over Dortmund and it puts the Bavarian powerhouse on course for a record-extending 10th consecutive title.

There was a lengthy hold up in the second half following a serious clash of heads between Dortmund goal-scorer Julian Brandt and Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano. Brandt had to be carried off, while Upamecano continued.

Brandt set the tone for a thrilling game with a fine goal in the fifth minute, when he eluded Alphonso Davies by playing the ball between his legs and then fired it inside the top right corner.

Bayern looked uncertain after the setback, but Müller chased down a poor touch from Hummels and then held off his former teammate to set up Lewandowski, who equalized with a tidy finish inside the near post in the ninth.

There was no respite for either team as the game resumed at a furious pace. Dortmund had the more clear-cut chances, but Kingsley Coman scored a minute before the break with a deflected shot after Raphaël Guerreiro's attempted clearance was inadvertently blocked by Hummels.

Erling Haaland equalized after the break with a curled shot in off the far post, his 11th goal in eight Bundesliga games set up by Guerreiro after a mistake from Upamecano.

Dortmund's luck changed when Reus' penalty appeal went unheeded shortly afterward.

Chelsea knocked off top spot in EPL; Newcastle gets 1st win

West Ham is proving to be quite the stumbling block for England's top teams, although the London club needed a bit of luck to secure its latest statement win.

West Ham shook up the Premier League title race by coming from behind twice to beat Chelsea 3-2 at home on Saturday, a result that knocked the visitor off the top of the standings.

Liverpool took immediate advantage as Divock Origi's injurytime goal secured a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton that put Jurgen Klopp's team in first place. Manchester City had a chance to take over top spot by beating Watford later.

David Moyes' West Ham had already handed Liverpool its only loss of the league, beaten Tottenham, and knocked both Manchester clubs out of the League Cup. This win underlined the Hammers' own top-four credentials, even though it required a fluke late goal to complete the comeback.

Arthur Masuaku swung a speculative 87th-minute cross in from the left wing which veered toward goal and caught Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy by surprise. Mendy dove to keep the ball out but managed to push it only inside his own near post.

"It was a bit of a lucky goal," Moyes conceded. "But you have to get the ball in the box, you have to try it."

Liverpool missed a slew of chances before Origi finally secured the win after being set up by Mo Salah.

Newcastle earned its first league win of the season, in 15 attempts, as it held on after Callum Wilson's first-half goal to beat fellow relegation-struggler Burnley 1-0.

Neal Maupay scored eight minutes into injury time to rescue a 11 draw for Brighton at Southampton.

Barcelona loses to Betis 1-0 before critical Bayern trip

Barcelona lost its first match under Xavi Hernández on Saturday

when it fell to Real Betis 1-0 at home just before its critical trip to Bayern Munich.

Striker Juanmi Jiménez finished off a well-orchestrated counterattack to take Betis' winner in the 79th minute at Camp Nou.

Barcelona had won twice and drawn once since Xavi took over as coach from Ronald Koeman. The defeat left the team in seventh place and in danger of falling even further behind leader Real Madrid, which played at Real Sociedad later.

Barcelona visits Bayern on Wednesday needing a win to ensure its place in the Champions League round of 16. Bayern, which is already qualified as the group winner, beat Barcelona 3-0 in their first meeting this season.

If it loses, Barcelona would need Benfica to not beat Dynamo Kyiv to avoid elimination.

The high point of the day for Barcelona's fans came before kickoff, when Barcelona player Alexia Putellas presented to the 65,000-plus fans her Ballón d'Or for the world's best women's player.

Otherwise, it was more frustration.

"It hurts because we should have at least taken a point today," Xavi said. "Of course I am worried, I don't like losing. But I don't think we deserved to lose."

Betis' goal came just when Barcelona was playing at its best after Ousmane Dembelé went on as a substitute for the final half hour.

The winger, which the club wants to sign a new contract before his current one expires at the end of the season, ignited Barcelona's attack. Three times he shot just by the post before Betis caught Barcelona on a three-versus-two breakaway.

Sergio Canales coolly drew in Barcelona's last two defenders and passed for Cristian Tello, who fed the now unmarked Juanmi to slot the ball past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

"Canales had the patience to create those spaces," said Juanmi, whose nine goals are second in the league only to Karim Benzema's 12 with Madrid.

"We have to stop those counterattacks," Xavi said. "We had practiced just that, about when you have to make a tactical foul."

Barcelona lost teen talent Gavi Páez in the 34th when he needed to be carted off after apparently feeling dizzy following the powerful impact of a ball to his head.

Manuel Pellegrini's Betis rose into third place, right behind crosstown rival Sevilla, which beat Villarreal 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lucas Ocampos.

Sevilla and Villareal also have key Champions League matches this week. Sevilla must win at Salzburg to move on, while Villarreal plays Atalanta needing a draw to advance.