European roundup: Joselu earns Real Madrid win against Real Sociedad
Real Madrid came from behind to beat Real Sociedad 2-1 as the hosts regained the top spot in La Liga with their fifth consecutive win. Carlo Ancelotti’s side maintained their perfect league run to reach 15 points, two clear of secondplaced Barcelona, who crushed Betis 5-0 on Saturday.
Real Sociedad took the lead after just five minutes as the former Madrid player Take Kubo found Ander Barrenetxea in the centre of the box to score at the second attempt as Kepa Arrizabalaga made a superb save but could not prevent the goal on the rebound.
Federico Valverde levelled the score in the opening seconds of the second half with a fierce shot from the edge of the box that hit the left post and went in for his first goal of the season. Joselu then earned the lead for the hosts with a towering header from a Fran Garcia cross from the left in the 60th minute.
Roma earned their first win of the season after two quick goals set them on their way to a 7-0 home trashing of bottom-placed Empoli in Serie A on Sunday.
After a terrible start to the season, the victory lifted Roma out of the relegation zone to 12th on four points from four games. Six different Roma players were on target against powerless Empoli, who remain the only team in Serie A yet to score a goal or collect their first point this season.
Paulo Dybala gave Roma the lead, converting from the spot in the second minute after a penalty for a handball. Renato Sanches doubled the advantage in the eighth, nodding home a cushioned cross by Rasmus Kristensen, before Empoli’s Alberto Grassi made it 3-0 with an own goal in the 35th minute.
Empoli did not pose a challenge to José Mourinho’s Roma, who were even more comfortable after the break and Dybala scored his second of the night, placing a low finish inside the bottom left corner.
Bryan Cristante fired home from outside the box to make it 5-0 11 minutes from time before new signing Romelu Lukaku added one more in his first Roma start since joining on loan from Chelsea.
The captain, Gianluca Mancini, completed the rout with a header from a Cristante backheel cross following a corner on an entertaining night at the Stadio Olimpico. Empoli became the third team in the Serie A history to have lost their first four games of a season without scoring, after Mantova in 1964-65 and Padova in 1994-95.
Fiorentina beat Atalanta 3-2 in an entertaining game in Tuscany. The visitors took the lead but Fiorentina equalised and then went ahead on the stroke of half-time through Lucas Quarta. Ademola Lookman levelled it for Atalanta early in the second half before Christian Kouamé scored the winner with 14 minutes left.
Monza and Lecce drew 1-1 in a game that saw both sides finish with 10 men, while Frosinone moved up to sixth with their second win of the season as they beat Sassuolo 4-2.
Monaco missed the chance to go four points clear at the top of Ligue 1 after Lorient’s Romain Faivre scored a late equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw in a game that saw defender Benjamin Mendy make his return to professional football. With Monaco set to seal all three points, Isaak Touré rose above their defence in the box to head the ball down for Faivre, who volleyed home in the seventh minute of added time.
Lorient made an explosive start when Aiyegun Tosin was put through on goal and the Nigerian striker displayed his power and pace to score inside two minutes. Monaco equalised in scintillating fashion 15 minutes later with a well-worked team goal, a sweeping move ending with Youssouf Fofana chipping the ball to Aleksandr Golovin, who controlled the lob and scored. The visitors then took the lead in the second half through substitute Folarin Balogun as the 22-year-old squeezed his shot in at the near post for his first Monaco goal before Faivre levelled.
Lorient’s Mendy, who was acquitted of rape and attempted rape by a British court in July, came on as a substitute for the final 20 minutes. The 29-yearold last played for Manchester City in August 2021.
In the Bundesliga, Heidenheim beat Werder Bremen 4-2 as the southern side leapfrogged their northern rivals in mid-table, Eren Dinkci – on loan from Werder – scoring twice in the hosts’ victory.
Darmstadt claimed their first point of the season with a 3-3 draw at home against Borussia Mönchengladbach. In a game with six different scorers, the visitors’ Tomas Cvancara got the final goal with 13 minutes left against 10man Darmstadt.