Robert Lewandowski rescues Barcelona as Inter Milan retake Serie A top spot

By Sports Desk November 12, 2023

Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Spanish champions Barcelona recovered from an early shock to beat Alaves 2-1 in LaLiga on Sunday.

Teenager Samu Omorodion stunned Barca when he struck after just 18 seconds at the Olympic Stadium following a mistake by Ilkay Gundogan.

Samu then missed a gilt-edged chance to double the lead but the hosts hit back with a Lewandowski header in the 52nd minute and then won it when the Pole added a penalty 12 minutes from time.

Barca remain third in the table, four points adrift of leaders Girona and two behind Real Madrid.

Fourth-placed Atletico Madrid came from behind to beat Villarreal 3-1 with goals from Axel Witsel, Antoine Griezmann and Samuel Lino. Gerard Moreno had given Villarreal a 20th-minute lead at the Civitas Metropolitano.

Ayoze Perez cancelled out an Ivan Rakitic opener as Real Betis claimed a 1-1 draw in their derby at Sevilla.

Italian champions Napoli conceded a late goal to slip to a surprise 1-0 home loss to Empoli. Viktor Kovalenko scored the clincher for the visitors in stoppage time, leaving Napoli fourth in Serie A.

Inter Milan returned to the top of the table as they beat Frosinone 2-0 with goals from Federico Dimarco and Hakan Calhanoglu, the latter from the penalty spot, either side of half-time.

Fiorentina beat Bologna 2-1 to climb above their opponents in the table. Nicolas Gonzalez scored the winner from the penalty spot after 48 minutes.

The Lazio-Roma derby clash ended goalless while Ederson’s stoppage-time equaliser ensured Atalanta left Udinese with a 1-1 draw.

Bayer Leverkusen reclaimed leadership of the Bundesliga with an emphatic 4-0 win over bottom side Union Berlin.

Alejandro Grimaldo, Odilon Kossounou, Jonathan Tah and Nathan Tella were all on target for Xabi Alonso’s side, who moved back above Bayern Munich.

An early goal from Xavi Simons gave RB Leipzig a 1-0 win over Freiburg while Werder Bremem and Eintracht Frankfurt played out a 2-2 draw.

In France, struggling Lyon finally claimed their first Ligue 1 win of the season as a Jake O’Brien header gave them a 1-0 win at 10-man Rennes.

The hosts had Guela Doue sent off for a dangerous tackle after just five minutes and Lyon eventually made their numerical advantage count through Irishman O’Brien in the 67th minute.

Lille moved up to fourth with a 1-1 draw at home to Toulouse while Clermont won their basement battle with Lorient 1-0. Metz beat Nantes 3-1 and Lens edged out Marseille 1-0 with a last-minute Jonathan Gradit winner.

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    Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training. 

    Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term. 

    The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.

    She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.

    But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.

    "We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said. 

    "But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.

    "So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.

    "The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.

    "But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."

  • Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run

    Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run. 

    Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.

    The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.

    However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.

    Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang. 

    The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.

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  • Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan

    Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.

    Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.

    "I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.

    "Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."

    Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.

    Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.

    "I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.

    "This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."

    Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.

    "It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.

    "We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."

    Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.

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