Antonio Conte refused to criticise his Napoli players after they laboured to another hard-fought win against one of Serie A's lesser lights on Saturday.

One week after beating Empoli 1-0, the Partenopei overcame 19th-placed Lecce by the same scoreline as Giovanni Di Lorenzo scored on the rebound in the 73rd minute.

Napoli are now unbeaten in their last eight league games, winning seven and drawing one, their best run since February 2023, when they went on to win the Scudetto.

Despite a series of flat attacking displays, they are five points clear of nearest rivals Inter ahead of the Nerazzurri's clash with Juventus on Sunday, and Conte refused to criticise their performances when speaking to DAZN.

"I have little to reproach the team today. I look at the statistics that can mean all or nothing, but today we had great ball possession and 16 corners," Conte said.

"They defended in an organised way, but we attacked. When you attack and don't score, then a bit of nervousness can take over.

"I calmed them down, because you have to have the maturity and patience to keep going, move the ball around and create chances to score."

Calmness is what is required according to Conte, especially against teams who set up to stop Napoli playing, with Lecce adopting a defence-first approach after losing 6-0 to Fiorentina last time out.

"We did what we had to, we dominated from start to finish. I can't ask more of the players looking at the statistics from the game," Conte said at his post-match press conference.

"I can ask that when the teams close down you have to have patience and calm. I'm happy because they are very difficult games.

"The standings don't reflect fairly on Lecce, I wish them the best and I'm sure they will get salvation."

Napoli midfielder Frank Anguissa gave an insight into Conte's reaction after a scoreless first half.

"He didn't shout. He told us to continue playing as we know how, and to remain calm," Anguissa told DAZN.

"It's always difficult playing against a team that defends so low. I'm happy for Di Lorenzo and for the squad."

Nuri Sahin has called for a united front at Borussia Dortmund as he looks to guide them through a tough patch.

Dortmund lost 2-1 to Augsburg on Saturday, ending a seven-match unbeaten run in the Bundesliga against the Bavarian club.

Donyell Malen put Dortmund ahead on Saturday after just four minutes, but Alexis Claude-Maurice's double saw Augsburg come back to claim the points.

It marked the second time in the space of five days that Dortmund had been on the wrong end of a comeback, after their 5-2 Champions League loss to Real Madrid.

Dortmund, who had 76% of the ball but accumulated just 0.92 expected goals (xG), have not won any of their four away games in the Bundesliga this season and remain in seventh place on 13 points.

"Having [close to] 80% possession does not necessarily mean more chances. We just did not get into the danger area often enough," Sahin said.

"Fact is, for 80% possession we had far too few chances. We need to work on creating more chances.

"Our squad is not without experience and I expect all of us together, players and coaches, to face this current situation and go through it together."

Sunderland defeated Oxford United 2-0 to go five points clear at the top of the Championship, as second-placed Burnley were held by Queens Park Rangers. 

Jobe Bellingham opened the scoring for Sunderland in the 16th minute before hitting the woodwork in the second half, but Wilson Isidor gave the home side the insurance of a second goal in the 63rd minute against 14th-placed Oxford at the Stadium of Light. 

The result was Regis Le Bris' side's third win in the space of six days, having beaten Hull City and Luton Town earlier in the week.

And Sunderland also saw their title rivals slip up to cap off a fine week.

After third-placed Leeds United were held to a goalless draw by Bristol City, Burnley suffered the same fate against QPR later in the day, allowing the leaders to extend their advantage. 

Pep Guardiola will "learn a lot" from Russell Martin after his Manchester City side beat Southampton 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

Erling Haaland's 11th Premier League goal early on ultimately decided Saturday's Premier League contest, though the visitors provided the champions with some nervy moments throughout.

Cameron Archer rattled Ederson's crossbar just before the break, with the Brazilian then twice tested by substitute Adam Armstrong in the second half. 

But it should have been a more comfortable scoreline for City, who registered 22 attempts, though only eight were on target, as they ended with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.73. 

Haaland was the most guilty of spurning some golden opportunities, most notably placing Savinho's teasing delivery wide of Aaron Ramsdale's net from close range. 

While City extended their unbeaten Premier League run to 32 games, with 28 of those coming in 2024, Guardiola was left impressed by his counterpart's plan.

"Today it was not how they [Southampton] defend deep it was how good they play with the ball with the keeper and the movement. It's a good game to learn as a manager," Guardiola said.

"I am going to learn a lot with Russell because they did really well. We were humble and accepted that they did really well.

"The last two games, Wolves and Southampton, are at the bottom of the league and if this is the level that shows how tough this Premier League is. They played really good.

"They didn't create many chances but it was an incredible effort to get the ball from us. We created chances that we couldn't convert but the result is good.

"The build-up is exceptional. They open the channels. They link well with the striker and every moment makes sense.

"I knew after what people had said to me about Russell [Martin] and we tasted it today. The players were not bad. When a team plays at that level, you have to accept it."

For Southampton, though, their wait for a first Premier League win of the season continued.

The Saints are now winless in their last 22 top-flight games (D5 L17), the third-longest such run in the competition’s history after Derby County (32 in 2007-08) and Sunderland (26 between 2002 and 2005).

Despite this, Martin left the Etihad pleased with his side's display, insisting if his players can replicate that performance for the remainder of the season, they will remain in the division.

"The guys threw everything at them defensively, so I can’t ask for much more away from home to the best team in the country," Martin said.

"They will take so much from that performance. If we play with that courage and spirit, we will be fine.

“I think we defended with the ball a lot. It was the best performance we’ve had with the ball for a long time. I’m really pleased with that.

“If we can have moments and create what we did today and some of the build-up moments we had was incredible, if we can carry that forward, we will be fine.

“We’ll take so much form today. Not just tactically, but psychologically from the players, I think they should take a lot of pride and belief from today.”

Borussia Dortmund were reduced to 10 men as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Augsburg in the Bundesliga.

Alexis Claude-Maurice struck twice for Augsburg as Dortmund lost again after taking the lead, following their 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Nuri Sahin's team took the lead after just four minutes on Saturday, with Donyell Malen slotting home.

Augsburg got an unexpected equaliser in the 25th minute when Claude-Maurice broke through, found no resistance from four defenders and had plenty of space to drill in a long-range finish.

The Frenchman, making his first league start for Augsburg, netted a second to complete the comeback five minutes after the restart, curling a low shot home from the edge of the box.

Dortmund's comeback attempts fell short, and their frustration was compounded when substitute Almugera Kabar received his second booking in stoppage time. 

Data Debrief: BVB's European hangover

Dortmund have lost their last four Bundesliga games following on from a Champions League fixture in midweek.

In fact, they have only won two of their last 14 Bundesliga away matches on the weekend after a Champions League clash.

Augsburg, meanwhile, ended a winless run of seven Bundesliga games against Dortmund.

Evanilson scored a 96th-minute equaliser as Bournemouth rescued a thrilling 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at Villa Park.

The hosts bossed proceedings for much of the game, but Mark Travers’ goalkeeping heroics for Bournemouth kept the fixture goalless for 76 minutes.

Ross Barkley came off the bench to find the breakthrough for Unai Emery's side, who posted a 2-0 win against Bologna in midweek to go top of the 32-team Champions League table.

But there was to be a twist deep in stoppage time as Bournemouth produced some late drama. 

Substitute Evanilson headed in from Marcus Tavernier's free-kick to snatch a point for the Cherries and frustrate Villa, who had a goal overturned by VAR in the first half.

Third-placed Villa are now five points behind leaders Manchester City, while Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth sit 10th, having collected 12 points from nine matches.

A second-half goal from Giovanni Di Lorenzo was enough to earn Napoli a 1-0 win over struggling Lecce on Saturday, stretching their lead at the Serie A summit. 

Di Lorenzo, who had a goal disallowed in the first half, bundled the ball into the net in the 73rd minute after his initial effort had been saved, and it proved enough to take all three points at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Lecce, despite their lowly position and dismal run of recent results, were far from outplayed by the league leaders but fell to their fourth successive defeat and remain second from bottom in the standings with five points.

The home side's only real chance in the opening 45 minutes came close to half-time when Cyril Ngonge's effort from distance brought a save from Wladimiro Falcone, while Lecce's Federico Baschirotto also had a header saved by Alex Meret.

Napoli finally found a way through when Scott McTominay's header from a corner was parried away by Falcone and, while the keeper also got a hand to Di Lorenzo's first attempt from the rebound, Napoli's captain scrambled home at the second time of asking. 

Lecce tried to push forward in search of an equaliser but a side who have scored just three league goals all season never seriously threatened Meret's goal and Napoli, while again far from convincing, earned the all-important three points.

Data Debrief: Partenopei rearguard driving title bid

Napoli were far from free-flowing on Saturday, but as has been the case on several occasions already this season, a solid defensive performance provided the basis for a victory.

They have kept five clean sheets in their last six league matches, as many as they managed in their previous 34.

Antonio Conte's men are now unbeaten in their last eight league games (seven wins, one draw), their best run since February 2023, when they went on to win the Scudetto.

Bryan Mbeumo’s late goal sunk 10-man Ipswich Town as Brentford came out 4-3 victors from a chaotic Premier League clash at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Kieran McKenna's side looked on course for a morale-boosting victory as quickfire first-half goals from Sam Szmodics and George Hirst put them 2-0 up.

However, the game was flipped on its head just before the break, as Yoane Wissa slotted home and then forced an own goal from the luckless Harry Clarke, who subsequently conceded a penalty early in the second half.

Mbeumo slammed home from 12 yards, and Clarke’s day got worse when he received his second booking, only for Ipswich to fightback through Liam Delap’s 86th-minute effort.

Yet Mbeumo had the final say as his cross-shot found the net deep in stoppage time, with Brentford moving ninth while Ipswich remain 16th, without a win to their name.

Data Debrief: Mbeumo the man for buzzing Bees

Brentford's powers of recovery were once again on show at the Gtech Community Stadium, coming from two goals down to win a Premier League match for the very first time, having drawn two and lost 29 of the previous 31 games in which they found themselves down by at least two.

And the Bees' comeback was spearheaded by Mbeumo, who has now scored in each of his last five league home matches, the first time a player has done so for Brentford after the Cameroonian himself between November 2019 and January 2020.

It was, however, a game to forget for Ipswich's Clarke. He became just the second player in Premier League history to score an own goal, concede a penalty and be sent off in the same Premier League match, after Jan Bednarek for Southampton against Manchester United in February 2021.

Ipswich remain winless across their first nine matches of the 2024-25 Premier League season (D4 L5), the Tractor Boys’ longest ever such run at the start of a top flight campaign.

Matheus Cunha completed a late comeback as Wolverhampton Wanderers earned a dramatic 2-2 draw against Brighton at the Amex Stadium.

Gary O’Neil’s men had been 2-0 down with five minutes to go before striking twice late on to rescue a point, though they still remain winless after nine games.

Danny Welbeck opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time as Georginio Rutter threaded the ball through to the Englishman and he made no mistake by firing across goal and into the bottom-left corner.

Evan Ferguson appeared to put the game to bed five minutes from time with an incisive strike from the edge of the box.

But Rayan Ait-Nouri gave the visitors hope when he struck following a corner in the 88th minute before Cunha sent the away fans into raptures with a stoppage-time equaliser.

Brighton sit fifth while Wolves move up to 19th in the Premier League table, overtaking Southampton.

Data Debrief: A good game for the goalscorers

Welbeck has now scored in three successive games for only the third time in the Premier League, previously doing so in January 2014 with Manchester United and November 2010 with Sunderland.

Fellow Brighton striker Ferguson ended a run of 19 Premier League games without a goal. It was his first as a substitute in the competition since August 2023 against Luton on the opening day of the 2023-24 campaign. 

All three of Ait-Nouri’s Premier League goals for Wolves this season have come in his last four games, while he’s been involved in more goals in 2024 than any other defender (eight).

Manchester City battled their way back to the Premier League summit as Erling Haaland netted the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Southampton at the Etihad Stadium.

Haaland was on target early on with a clinical finish from inside the area, though City were unusually profligate in front of goal for the rest of Saturday’s contest.

Cameron Archer missed the visitors’ best chance with an effort that struck the woodwork just before the interval.

Haaland passed up two fantastic chances to make the scoreline more comfortable after the break, though City ultimately got the job done to move top ahead of Sunday’s clash between Arsenal and Liverpool.

Southampton, meanwhile, are bottom of the pile, with just one point from their opening nine games. 

Data Debrief: Haaland on target, but not at his best

Haaland scored his 74th Premier League goal, 32 more than any other player since he joined the division in 2022. Today was just his third strike in a 1-0 victory, however.

But the Norwegian should have had more. He ended the contest having had eight shots, though only four were on target, contributing a whopping expected goals (xG) tally of 2.16 to City's 2.73 total. 

Pep Guardiola's side extended their unbeaten Premier League run to 32 games, with 28 of those coming in 2024 – only Chelsea in 2005 (29) have had a longer unbeaten run from the start of a calendar year in the competition’s history.

For Southampton, meanwhile, they are now winless in their last 22 Premier League games (D5 L17), the outright third longest such run in the competition’s history after Derby County (32 in 2007-08) and Sunderland (26 between 2002 and 2005).

Atletico Madrid cannot provide a timeline for defender Robin Le Normand's return from a traumatic brain injury, Diego Simeone said on Saturday.

The 27-year-old defender collided with Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni late in their 1-1 draw in September, and needed medical attention on the pitch.

Atleti confirmed that Le Normand had suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) with subdural haematoma.

And ahead of Atleti's clash with Real Betis in LaLiga on Sunday, Simeone said there is no update on Le Normand's comeback.

"We still don’t have a clear idea about his return. The important thing is that he comes back well. That's the only thing we care about," Simeone told reporters.

"Once he is healthy, he can start anew with us like he has just arrived having rested after winning the European Championship."

Le Normand had made eight appearances since joining from Real Sociedad in the close season after winning Euro 2024 with Spain.

Atletico have now played four games across all competitions since he was sidelined, losing twice, winning once and drawing once, while conceding nine goals.

Asked about the team's poor defence following their 4-0 loss at Benfica and 3-1 home loss to Lille in the Champions League, Simeone said it came down to decision-making in the crucial moments.

"Both defence and offence prowess make you better... but the reality is decisiveness in the areas, and the team that is better in those situations will always be the one closer to winning," he said.

Sunday's opponents Betis, who are seventh in LaLiga, have lost only once in their five home matches this season, earning 10 of their 15 points from home fixtures.

Leeds United missed the chance to go top of the Championship table as they drew 0-0 at Bristol City, while Coventry City produced a stirring comeback to beat Luton Town.

Playing before early-season pacesetters Sunderland, Leeds had the chance to go level with the Black Cats at the summit but were unable to make the breakthrough at Ashton Gate.

Max O'Leary made two strong saves to deny Willy Gnonto and Dan James in the first half, while Zak Vyner came up with a goal-line clearance to keep out another Gnonto effort after the interval.

The draw came on an emotional occasion for Bristol City boss Liam Manning, who returned to the dugout after missing two matches due to the death of his baby son Theo.

The Robins have now drawn seven of their first 12 games of the season and sit three points adrift of the play-off places, with Leeds third on 23 points.

Elsewhere, Coventry gained a measure of revenge for their play-off final defeat to Luton two seasons ago, recovering from two goals down to claim a memorable 3-2 win at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

A Carlton Morris penalty and a composed Elijah Adebayo finish put Luton 2-0 up at the interval, but Ellis Simms got Coventry back in the game before Victor Torp levelled with a left-footed stunner.

Luton were then reduced to 10 men when Tom Holmes received his second yellow card for a shirt pull in second-half stoppage time, giving Coventry the impetus to grab the winner. 

Haji Wright – one of the heroes of the Sky Blues' run to the FA Cup semi-finals last season – completed the turnaround by bundling home after Alfie Doughty played him onside.

Coventry's third win of the campaign lifted them clear of the relegation zone, one point clear of Luton amid a poor start to the season for the Hatters. 

In the last of the early kick-offs, Watford beat Blackburn Rovers 1-0, extending their unbeaten run at home to 10 league games.

Edo Kayembe's penalty 19 minutes from time was enough to seal victory for the Hornets, after Blackburn's Ryan Hedges was adjudged to have handled inside the area.

The win takes Watford level on points with sixth-placed Blackburn, only outside the play-off places on goal difference.