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• Williams shares blame as Athletic miss three penalties against Girona

  Inaki Williams acknowledged Athletic Bilbao missing three penalties against Girona cannot happen in LaLiga, while taking the blame for his part in the disappointment.

  Alex Berenguer was denied by Paulo Gazzaniga in the first half from 12 yards, with Williams then denied in the second period by the Girona goalkeeper on Sunday.

  Gazzaniga was adjudged to have stepped off his line too early for the Williams spot-kick save, though the former Tottenham man then saved from Ander Herrera's retaken penalty.

  In a remarkable turn of fate, Cristhian Stuani converted a 99th-minute penalty for the visiting Girona to snatch a 2-1 victory, much to the dismay of Athletic winger Williams.

  "There are no excuses, we missed three penalties. I plead absolutely guilty, we can't miss three penalties. This can't happen in LaLiga," a frustrated Williams said.

  With Williams' miss not officially counting due to the retake, Athletic became the first side in LaLiga to miss two penalties in one match since Real Madrid in 2022.

  It was also the first time this century that the Basque club have suffered such a feat in the competition, solely down to the heroic exploits of Gazzaniga.

  "I'm happy for the three points the team got. I don't remember another match like this," Gazzaniga said.

  "Again, I would like to highlight the work of the team because without them it wouldn't have been possible.

  "We were studying the penalties with the goalkeeping coach and this time it worked out well."

  Girona's victory ended a four-match winless run in LaLiga heading into the October international break.

• Flick keen to avoid Barcelona and Bayern comparisons

  Hansi Flick's Barcelona have made a flying start to the season, but he was reluctant to draw comparisons with his all-conquering Bayern Munich team.

  Barca moved three points clear at the top of LaLiga after Robert Lewandowski's first-half hat-trick helped them to a 3-0 victory over Deportivo Alaves on Sunday. 

  In the league, Barcelona have already scored 28 goals in nine games, more than any other team in the division, and the most of any team across the top five European leagues.

  Flick took interim charge at Bayern midway through the 2019-20 season, guiding them to a treble by winning the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and the Champions League. 

  However, the manager believes it is too early to compare the two sides. 

  "No, no, I don't like that. This team is different," Flick told reporters.

  "The situation is different. At the moment, things look good. I'm happy to be the coach of this team, but I know that things can change really quickly in football.

  "We value what we have, it's fantastic to see things work... What this team is doing is amazing. The atmosphere in the dressing room is great.

  "It's not just about winning and losing. We analyse matches, that's why we have a very large group of analysts. We want to show the players what we can improve on for the next match."

  Lewandowski's hat-trick was the fourth-earliest ever scored by a Barcelona player in LaLiga (32 minutes), and took his tally up to 10 goals in the competition.

  Flick was full of praise for his striker, who was part of that treble-winning team at Bayern. 

  "Lewandowski is the same player I knew in Munich, and he's the best in the box. What he does is fantastic, he's always ready to score," Flick added.

  "I think we should praise everyone in the team, they're all helping him. He's in good form, and I'm happy to see that. I'm happy for the three points and happy with Lewy's performance.

  "In the first half, we didn't make any mistakes, we didn't allow Alaves to play their game. That was the key to winning."

  The only blemish at the Mendizorrotza Stadium was the injury suffered by forward Ferran Torres, who limped off five minutes into the game.

  "We still don't know what injury Ferran has, but it looks muscular. We'll see with the medical tests tomorrow," Flick said.

  "Ferran's injury is worrying. We don't have many options in attack, but we'll see what happens.

  "We hope to recover the injured players in the international break. We will see in the next two weeks, and we hope they return in good shape."

• Hurzeler lauds Brighton comeback after finding missing confidence

  Fabian Hurzeler insisted Brighton will always have setbacks as the German revelled in his side finding their "missing" confidence after Sunday's comeback victory over Tottenham.

  Brighton were outclassed in the first half at the Amex Stadium as Brennan Johnson and James Maddison sent Spurs deservedly leading 2-0 into half-time.

  Hurzeler's high line was once again punished at will by the visitors in that opening period, though Yankuba Minteh's blasted finish shortly after the break offered the home side hope.

  Georginio Rutter swiftly followed Minteh's strike up with a fine goal of his own, before the former Leeds United man played a key part in the winner as his deflected cross found Danny Welbeck.

  Questions appeared to be mounting on Hurzeler after a four-game winless run, though the 31-year-old silenced some of those doubts with this 3-2 comeback triumph.

  "In the process, it is normal to have bad performances as the process is not linear, it's up-and-down, you have to accept these downs," the Brighton boss told Sky Sports after the game.

  "You have to focus on your own quality and that is what I said to the team: focus on the process. That is how you react to bad performances."

  When pressed on the confidence lacking in his team after their recent struggles, he added: "I think a little bit was missing. Being ruthless is the most important. 

  "In the duels we were not ruthless and if you win the personal duels and get the ball into the opponent's half you get self-confidence, that was the biggest change.

  "I always say 'we have enough quality to always score' [but] it is always important to learn from the first half."

  Rutter has now scored in back-to-back Premier League appearances, also netting against Chelsea, having failed to score in any of his first 15 outings in the competition across his spell with Leeds and now Brighton.

  His individual exploits proved the difference in the second half, though the Frenchman insisted Brighton's comeback was more about battling than tactics.

  "We are happy and stayed together like the coach said 'we have to believe'. That is what we do. We have three points so we're happy," Rutter said.

  "What we said at half-time was 'it's not about tactics, it's about fighting'."

  Welbeck scored his 27th Premier League goal for Brighton here, too, though it was just his second winning goal for the Seagulls, also netting what proved to be the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Leicester City in September 2021.

  The veteran attacker, who could have scored another in the first half from Kauro Mitoma's cross, echoed a similar sentiment to Rutter.

  "In the first half we were bitterly disappointed and frustrated, the performance we put in was embarrassing," Welbeck said. "Nothing we want to be part of, but we showed our character.

  "The attitude was right in the second half we came out and fought. We have got to give credit to the senior boys who are not on the pitch the likes, of Steely [Jason Steele] and Milner [James Milner], they told us the bare minimum is we've got to fight. Everyone is together in this.

  "We want to be challenging the establishment like the management touched upon."