Marco Asensio’s strike earned Real Madrid a 1-0 home win over Espanyol to send them provisionally top of La Liga on Saturday.
After an emphatic Champions League win over Roma on Wednesday, Julen Lopetegui shuffled his pack for the visit of Espanyol, sixth in the table after a good start to the season. The coach rested Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Toni Kroos, handing a debut to the defender Álvaro Odriozola in place of the injured Dani Carvajal.
The hosts took the lead four minutes before the break, when Luka Modric’s pass took a triple deflection before finding its way to Asensio, who steered home his first league goal this season, though he had to wait for VAR to prove he was onside before celebrating.
Real held on despite late Espanyol pressure to take top spot before second-placed Barcelona host Girona on Sunday in a Catalan derby.
A David Soria own goal and Thomas Lemar’s strike gave Atlético Madrid a 2-0 win at Getafe, who had Iván Alejo sent off just after the visitors’ second goal. Earlier Alavés had stormed to a 5-1 win at Rayo Vallecano, while Iago Aspas continued his goalscoring run with a brace as Celta Vigo drew 3-3 at home to Real Valladolid.
Bayern Munich maintained their perfect start to the season after dispatching Schalke 2-0 at the Veltins-Arena to cement first place in the Bundesliga. James Rodríguez and Robert Lewandowski were on target either side of half-time to make it four wins from four matches for the reigning champions, who were temporarily replaced as league leaders by Hertha Berlin. Apart from a brief spell in the first half Bayern were dominant and would have been more convincing winners but for some poor finishing from Rodríguez. The defeat continued Schalke’s dismal start to the season, last season’s runners-up slumping to a fourth straight loss as their attack reduced visiting keeper Manuel Neuer to the role of spectator.
Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic scored an 84th-minute equaliser to rescue a 1-1 draw at Hoffenheim. The American, who scored the winner at Club Brugge in a Europa League victory in midweek, tapped the ball home after good work from Marco Reus to earn his team a point.
Undefeated Hertha Berlin saw their Bosnian striker Vedad Ibisevic score twice as they defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-2 for their third win in four games. Werder Bremen, with the 39-year-old striker Claudio Pizarro making his first start of the season, squandered a two-goal lead but won 3-2 at Augsburg thanks to Davy Klaassen’s 75th-minute winner following a goalkeeping error.
In Italy Marcelo Brozovic scored a 90th-minute winner for Inter at Sampdoria. Parma, meanwhile, won 2-0 at home to Cagliari. Roberto Inglese’s neat finish was followed by a staggering goal from Gervinho, who ran the length of the pitch, riding multiple challenges before rifling an unstoppable shot in off a post. Fiorentina climbed to second with a 3-0 win against high-flying Spal. Staff and agencies
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