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• Alonso's injury concerns growing amid Leverkusen fixture congestion

  Xabi Alonso stressed that he needs all of his players to compete in Bayer Leverkusen's packed schedule, with Salzburg next up in the Champions League.

  French striker Martin Terrier joined Leverkusen's long injury list when he fractured his right forearm during their 5-2 comeback win over Heidenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while Jeremie Frimpong also had to go off before half-time.

  Jonas Hofmann was ruled out for the rest of the year due to a thigh injury before that game on Saturday, joining Victor Boniface, Amine Adli, Nordi Mukiele and Jeanuel Belocian on the sidelines.

  "We need the whole squad but with six injured players, everyone is even more important," Alonso told reporters.

  "It's intense to play every three days. A special situation in which we need every single player."

  Along with injury concerns, Leverkusen have struggled with form in the past weeks as they drew 1-1 with Brest and then lost 4-0 to Liverpool in Europe's top competition.

  Since the start of last season, no team has won more games in major European competition than Leverkusen (11, excluding qualifiers), while only Liverpool (39) and Manchester City (38) have scored more than Alonso's side (37) in this period.

  However, since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, Leverkusen have won six of their seven home matches in major European competition (D1), and beat Milan in their only match on home soil in the Champions League this term (1-0). 

  Leverkusen, winners of the domestic double last season, are 13th in the Champions League standings and will face Salzburg, who are 30th, but Alonso said Pepijn Lijnders' side cannot be taken lightly.

  "We know how important the upcoming home games against Salzburg and Inter are. We expect a good opponent tomorrow," he added.

  "Salzburg plays with a lot of intensity and dynamism. We want to get these important points in the BayArena. We need the energy from the fans. In difficult moments, they can influence and push us."

• Premier League MD12: Lucky winners and unlucky losers

  Pep Guardiola may have signed a new contract at Manchester City, but there was no turnaround in fortunes for the Premier League champions.

  City were humbled 4-0 by Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, losing a fifth straight game in all competitions.

  Liverpool capitalised on that result, coming from behind to beat lowly Southampton 3-2 on Sunday and moving eight points clear at the top in the process.

  Ruben Amorim made his bow as Manchester United boss in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at Portman Road, while Chelsea and Arsenal are hot on Man City's heels.

   

  We also saw a managerial departure, with Leicester City parting ways with Steve Cooper after four league matches without a win.

  But, who were the unlucky losers, and lucky winners, from the weekend's Premier League fixtures?

  Unlucky losers: Fulham

  Man City were not the only team to ship four goals on Saturday, with Fulham also having that unwanted badge of honour following their 4-1 home loss to Wolves.

  But while Wolves were excellent on the counter and clinical when their chances came, it is fair to say Fulham were unfortunate to concede four times, given they only gave up 1.3 expected goals against (xGA).

   

  Indeed, Fulham and Wolves both had 10 shots, while both teams also had 23 touches in the opponents' box.

  It was a bad day at the office for Marco Silva, but he can at least take solace that the numbers suggest they were somewhat unfortunate.

  Unlucky losers: Bournemouth

  Bournemouth were beaten 2-1 by Brighton on Saturday, as the Seagulls held off their south coast rivals despite Carlos Baleba's red card.

  David Brooks pulled one back for Bournemouth late on, as Andoni Iraola's team fell short of their 1.6 xG.

  Brighton, on the other hand, accumulated just 0.9 xG, the third-lowest total of any of the 18 games to have been played across Saturday and Sunday.

  Bournemouth had 19 shots but only got five of them on target. Brighton, on the other hand, sent four of their six attempts on target.

  Lucky winners: Tottenham

  Time for some controversy...

  Spurs were brilliant against City, with James Maddison marking his 28th birthday with a first-half double before Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson got in on the act after the break.

   

  Yet, the metrics suggest Tottenham were fortunate to keep a clean sheet, with City - who had 23 attempts - accumulating 2.1 xG.

  That is not to say Spurs were not impressive going the other way. They finished with 2.5 xG from just nine shots, showing they created high-calibre chances.

  But should it really have been 4-0? The numbers suggest not, but then again, stats must always be used within context and should not be all we go off.

• Mbappe position switch works wonders for Ancelotti

  Carlo Ancelotti was satisfied his tactical decision to switch Kylian Mbappe's position in attack paid off in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Leganes.

  Mbappe scored his seventh goal of the season to help Madrid to a comfortable victory in LaLiga on Sunday.

  However, his position in Madrid's front line has been a topic of debate since he joined the Spanish champions, with Mbappe having often played out wide while at Paris Saint-Germain.

  And Ancelotti elected to switch Mbappe out to the left flank against Leganes, with Vinicius Junior spearheading Los Blancos' attack.

  "Mbappe played on the left side, where he did well, and Vinicius on the inside," Ancelotti told reporters.

  "We have to highlight their play to open the scoring. They did very, very well. Mbappe scored, after a fantastic assist from Vinicius. Little by little, they're both improving.

  "Kylian is more used to playing there and today, for the team and for him, it was the best thing.

  "Because playing on the outside brings more effort and Vinicius was back on Thursday. Meanwhile, Kylian had been training here for a week and a half, he was fresher."

  Mbappe was not called up by France coach Didier Deschamps for this month's Nations League games, despite being Les Bleus' captain.

  With an injury crisis at the back and a trip to Anfield to face Premier League and Champions League leaders Liverpool coming up, Ancelotti added he was hopeful of Lucas Vazquez, who has a hamstring strain, and Aurelien Tchouameni, who is recovering from a sprained left ankle, returning to action.

  He was also upbeat about the contribution of Federico Valverde, who scored from a free-kick while filling in at right-back.

  "The truth is that Fede, at the back, has done very well," said Ancelotti of the Uruguayan, who also wore the captain's armband. 

  "He's a fantastic fullback. After Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, the best right-back in the world. His problem is that he can play at this level in many positions and is the coach's problem to choose the best position for the team.

  "Let's see if Lucas and Tchouameni can recover. If not, we will make decisions."

  Jude Bellingham netted Madrid's other goal as Ancelotti's team closed to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo on Saturday.

  Madrid also have a game in hand on Hansi Flick's side.