KEVIN DE BRUYNE injured himself hitting his fourth Serie A goal but Napoli went on to beat visiting Inter 3-1 on Saturday, halting their slide and moving to the top of Serie A.
AC Milan left the leadership door ajar when they drew with Pisa on Friday night to move onto 17 points. Napoli are now one point clear at the top after a timely win at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Napoli had been struggling, losing two of their last three Serie A games, including a defeat at AC Milan, before suffering a 6-2 humiliation at PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
They responded in front of their home crowd.
Napoli won a penalty after 33 minutes when Henrikh Mkhitaryan brought down Napoli right back Giovanni Di Lorenzo
Mkhitaryan injured himself making the challenge and went off before De Bruyne stepped up to convert the penalty. It was the Belgian’s fourth league goal of his first Italian season. He had already scored twice from the penalty spot and once with a free kick.
But the 34-year-old Belgian clutched a hamstring after scoring and was helped off the field before play resumed.
Scott McTominay doubled the home lead when he smashed the ball from the edge of the box after 54 minutes.
Hakan Calhanoglu hit back from the spot five minutes later after Alessandro Buongiorno blocked a Lautaro Martinez strike with an arm.
Andre-Frank Anguissa drove home a third for Napoli after 67 minutes to finish the scoring.
Inter are fourth behind Roma who visit Sassuolo on Sunday and could draw level with Napoli.
Bundesliga
Advertisement
Lennart Karl celebrates after scoring for Bayern Munich. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Bayern Munich scored three goals in the last half-hour to win 3-0 at a 10-man Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday, staying five points clear at the top of the table.
Joshua Kimmich, Raphael Guerreiro and teenager Lennart Karl all got on the scoresheet as Bayern made it 13 wins from 13 games in all competitions this season.
It was only the second time this season Harry Kane, who had a goal chalked off for offside in the second half, failed to score.
Gladbach’s Jens Castrop sunk his studs into Luis Diaz’s shin with 19 minutes gone and was sent off when his yellow card was upgraded to red after a VAR review.
Despite the one-man advantage, Bayern — who made six changes including Jonas Urbig replacing captain Manuel Neuer in goal — lacked fluidity against their last-placed opponents.
Kimmich put the visitors ahead after 64 minutes, blasting through a crowded penalty box and Guerreiro added another five minutes later, sweeping in to finish off a lovely team move.
Gladbach’s hopes of getting something out of the match were dashed further when Kevin Stoeger hit a penalty at the post with 15 minutes left.
With nine minutes remaining, 17-year-old Karl produced a stunning curling strike to wrap up the match for the defending champions.
RB Leipzig romped to a 6-0 win at Augsburg with six different goalscorers, tightening their grip on second spot, four points ahead of third-placed Stuttgart.
Yan Diomande, Romulo, Antonio Nusa, Christoph Baumgartner, Assan Ouedraogo and Castello Lukeba all netted as Leipzig inflicted Augsburg’s worst home defeat in league history.
Since losing 6-0 to Bayern in the season opener, Leipzig have claimed 19 of a possible 21 points in seven games, conceding just three goals.
Eintracht Frankfurt bounced back from Wednesday’s 5-1 Champions League thumping by Liverpool to beat St Pauli 2-0 at home thanks to a double from Jonathan Burkardt.
Germany striker Burkardt, who also scored a double last week against Freiburg, has six goals in seven league games this season.
Elsewhere, Wolfsburg won their first match since August with a 1-0 victory at Hamburg, with Adam Daghim scoring the only goal.
Hamburg winger Ransford-Yeboah Koenigsdoerffer missed a first-half penalty, the third time in a row he has failed to convert from the spot.
Hoffenheim beat lowly Heidenheim 3-1.
In Saturday’s late game, Borussia Dortmund can jump up to third with a win at home against Cologne.
Ligue 1
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Paris Saint-Germain won their first Ligue 1 game in three attempts as they beat Brest 3-0 on Saturday thanks to two goals from Achraf Hakimi.
The reigning French and European champions regained top spot but Marseille can replace them if they win at Lens in the late kickoff.
Vitinha’s deft chipped pass behind the Brest defence set up Morocco international Hakimi to score with a low shot after 29 minutes.
Ten minutes later Hakimi exchanged passes with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and fired into the roof of the net at the Stade Francis-Le Ble.
Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele replaced Hakimi halfway through the second half for his first Ligue 1 appearance since he was injured in late September.
Romain Del Castillo missed a penalty for Brest in the 59th minute before Desire Doue wrapped up the three points for PSG with a goal late in stoppage time.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Napoli go top with slump-ending win over Inter but lose De Bruyne
LAST UPDATE | 25 Oct
Serie A
KEVIN DE BRUYNE injured himself hitting his fourth Serie A goal but Napoli went on to beat visiting Inter 3-1 on Saturday, halting their slide and moving to the top of Serie A.
AC Milan left the leadership door ajar when they drew with Pisa on Friday night to move onto 17 points. Napoli are now one point clear at the top after a timely win at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Napoli had been struggling, losing two of their last three Serie A games, including a defeat at AC Milan, before suffering a 6-2 humiliation at PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
They responded in front of their home crowd.
Napoli won a penalty after 33 minutes when Henrikh Mkhitaryan brought down Napoli right back Giovanni Di Lorenzo
Mkhitaryan injured himself making the challenge and went off before De Bruyne stepped up to convert the penalty. It was the Belgian’s fourth league goal of his first Italian season. He had already scored twice from the penalty spot and once with a free kick.
But the 34-year-old Belgian clutched a hamstring after scoring and was helped off the field before play resumed.
Scott McTominay doubled the home lead when he smashed the ball from the edge of the box after 54 minutes.
Hakan Calhanoglu hit back from the spot five minutes later after Alessandro Buongiorno blocked a Lautaro Martinez strike with an arm.
Andre-Frank Anguissa drove home a third for Napoli after 67 minutes to finish the scoring.
Inter are fourth behind Roma who visit Sassuolo on Sunday and could draw level with Napoli.
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich scored three goals in the last half-hour to win 3-0 at a 10-man Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday, staying five points clear at the top of the table.
Joshua Kimmich, Raphael Guerreiro and teenager Lennart Karl all got on the scoresheet as Bayern made it 13 wins from 13 games in all competitions this season.
It was only the second time this season Harry Kane, who had a goal chalked off for offside in the second half, failed to score.
Gladbach’s Jens Castrop sunk his studs into Luis Diaz’s shin with 19 minutes gone and was sent off when his yellow card was upgraded to red after a VAR review.
Despite the one-man advantage, Bayern — who made six changes including Jonas Urbig replacing captain Manuel Neuer in goal — lacked fluidity against their last-placed opponents.
Kimmich put the visitors ahead after 64 minutes, blasting through a crowded penalty box and Guerreiro added another five minutes later, sweeping in to finish off a lovely team move.
Gladbach’s hopes of getting something out of the match were dashed further when Kevin Stoeger hit a penalty at the post with 15 minutes left.
With nine minutes remaining, 17-year-old Karl produced a stunning curling strike to wrap up the match for the defending champions.
RB Leipzig romped to a 6-0 win at Augsburg with six different goalscorers, tightening their grip on second spot, four points ahead of third-placed Stuttgart.
Yan Diomande, Romulo, Antonio Nusa, Christoph Baumgartner, Assan Ouedraogo and Castello Lukeba all netted as Leipzig inflicted Augsburg’s worst home defeat in league history.
Since losing 6-0 to Bayern in the season opener, Leipzig have claimed 19 of a possible 21 points in seven games, conceding just three goals.
Eintracht Frankfurt bounced back from Wednesday’s 5-1 Champions League thumping by Liverpool to beat St Pauli 2-0 at home thanks to a double from Jonathan Burkardt.
Germany striker Burkardt, who also scored a double last week against Freiburg, has six goals in seven league games this season.
Elsewhere, Wolfsburg won their first match since August with a 1-0 victory at Hamburg, with Adam Daghim scoring the only goal.
Hamburg winger Ransford-Yeboah Koenigsdoerffer missed a first-half penalty, the third time in a row he has failed to convert from the spot.
Hoffenheim beat lowly Heidenheim 3-1.
In Saturday’s late game, Borussia Dortmund can jump up to third with a win at home against Cologne.
Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain won their first Ligue 1 game in three attempts as they beat Brest 3-0 on Saturday thanks to two goals from Achraf Hakimi.
The reigning French and European champions regained top spot but Marseille can replace them if they win at Lens in the late kickoff.
Vitinha’s deft chipped pass behind the Brest defence set up Morocco international Hakimi to score with a low shot after 29 minutes.
Ten minutes later Hakimi exchanged passes with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and fired into the roof of the net at the Stade Francis-Le Ble.
Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele replaced Hakimi halfway through the second half for his first Ligue 1 appearance since he was injured in late September.
Romain Del Castillo missed a penalty for Brest in the 59th minute before Desire Doue wrapped up the three points for PSG with a goal late in stoppage time.
– © AFP 2025
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Bayern Munich Borussia Moenchengladbach Bundesliga in control on the continent Soccer