KYLIAN MBAPPE AND Rodryo’s goals earned Real Madrid a tense 2-1 win at Alaves in La Liga on Sunday to potentially keep coach Xabi Alonso in his job.
Madrid, second, reeled league leaders Barcelona’s advantage back to four points and recorded only their third victory in the last nine games across all competitions.
After a home defeat by Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday, Spanish media reported anything but a victory would cost Alonso his position.
After Mbappe’s superb opener, Carlos Vicente pulled Alaves level in the second half, but Rodrygo secured the visitors a much-needed victory at Mendizorroza stadium.
In Italy, Inter Milan climbed to the top of Serie A on Sunday after a 2-1 win at Genoa and a little help from their closest rivals.
The Italian summit was there for the taking after AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw by Sassuolo before champions Napoli were beaten 1-0 at Udinese earlier in the day.
That left the door open for Inter, who grabbed their opportunity at Genoa courtesy of goals in either half from German defender Yann Bisseck and captain Lautaro Martinez.
Genoa’s Portuguese forward Vitinha scored in the 68th minute to set up a nervy ending but Inter held on to go one point clear of Milan with Napoli a point further back in third.
Earlier, Napoli squandered the chance to move to the top of the table when their three-match winning run in the league came to a halt.
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Despite having two goals disallowed, Udinese still stole the show thanks to Jurgen Ekkelenkamp’s decisive 73rd minute goal.
But coach Antonio Conte said he had “nothing to reproach my players for”.
“In our emergency situation, they’re giving everything. They just need to show more character, and some spite.”
In the day’s late match, Juan Cabal scored the only goal of the game as Juventus moved up to fifth with a 1-0 win at Bologna, who finished with 10 men after Norwegian centre-back Torbjorn Heggem was dismissed.
Victory brought Juve just a point behind Roma, who host Como on Monday night, in the final Champions League qualifying position.
Kane makes no mistake. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
In Germany, Harry Kane converted a penalty with three minutes remaining to save Bayern Munich’s blushes in a 2-2 home draw against last-placed Mainz in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Mainz came from a goal down to snatch the lead midway through the second half thanks to an excellent Lee Jae-sung header, putting Bayern on track for a first league defeat since March.
So often Bayern’s saviour this season, Kane won and converted the penalty to keep Vincent Kompany’s side undefeated and extend their lead atop the table to nine points.
Borussia Dortmund missed a chance to climb past RB Leipzig into second, conceding an equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Freiburg after Jobe Bellingham saw red.
Ramy Bensebaini’s 31st-minute goal had Dortmund in front but Bellingham was sent off for a professional foul shortly after half-time.
The hosts made the most of their one-man advantage, camping out in Dortmund’s half and levelling things up thanks to an acrobatic Lucas Hoeler strike.
In France, Lens leapfrogged reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1 with an Odsonne Edouard-inspired 2-0 win over crisis-club Nice on Sunday.
Pierre Sage’s upstarts have been the surprise packages of the season so far in France and entered the weekend top of the pile until PSG’s nervy 3-2 victory over lowly Metz on Saturday provisionally returned the Qatari-backed club to the summit of the table.
But Lens once again took over top spot with their sixth consecutive win in the league to move to 37 points, one ahead of PSG, and ensure that they will sit atop the Ligue 1 tree over the winter break.
Marseille moved back into third with a 1-0 win over Monaco at the Stade Velodrome.
Mason Greenwood scored the winner in the 82nd minute after Monaco had earlier had two goals disallowed in controversial fashion.
Lamine Camara netted early in the second period only for the goal to be disallowed for an offside against Folarin Balogun in the build-up, although the American did not touch the ball.
Balogun then had his deft finish on 80 minutes cancelled out for a tight offside call, minutes before Greenwood netted his 11th goal of the season at the other end.
Lille, five points adrift of arch-rivals Lens in fourth place, won a 4-3 thriller at struggling Auxerre with both sides finishing with nine men.
A chaotic final 10 minutes threw up three goals and two red cards as Benjamin Andre’s 86th-minute winner edged Bruno Genesio’s side over the line.
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Madrid ease the pressure on Xabi Alonso, Inter go top of Serie A
La Liga
Serie A
Bundesliga
Lige Un
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KYLIAN MBAPPE AND Rodryo’s goals earned Real Madrid a tense 2-1 win at Alaves in La Liga on Sunday to potentially keep coach Xabi Alonso in his job.
Madrid, second, reeled league leaders Barcelona’s advantage back to four points and recorded only their third victory in the last nine games across all competitions.
After a home defeat by Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday, Spanish media reported anything but a victory would cost Alonso his position.
After Mbappe’s superb opener, Carlos Vicente pulled Alaves level in the second half, but Rodrygo secured the visitors a much-needed victory at Mendizorroza stadium.
In Italy, Inter Milan climbed to the top of Serie A on Sunday after a 2-1 win at Genoa and a little help from their closest rivals.
The Italian summit was there for the taking after AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw by Sassuolo before champions Napoli were beaten 1-0 at Udinese earlier in the day.
That left the door open for Inter, who grabbed their opportunity at Genoa courtesy of goals in either half from German defender Yann Bisseck and captain Lautaro Martinez.
Genoa’s Portuguese forward Vitinha scored in the 68th minute to set up a nervy ending but Inter held on to go one point clear of Milan with Napoli a point further back in third.
Earlier, Napoli squandered the chance to move to the top of the table when their three-match winning run in the league came to a halt.
Despite having two goals disallowed, Udinese still stole the show thanks to Jurgen Ekkelenkamp’s decisive 73rd minute goal.
But coach Antonio Conte said he had “nothing to reproach my players for”.
“In our emergency situation, they’re giving everything. They just need to show more character, and some spite.”
In the day’s late match, Juan Cabal scored the only goal of the game as Juventus moved up to fifth with a 1-0 win at Bologna, who finished with 10 men after Norwegian centre-back Torbjorn Heggem was dismissed.
Victory brought Juve just a point behind Roma, who host Como on Monday night, in the final Champions League qualifying position.
In Germany, Harry Kane converted a penalty with three minutes remaining to save Bayern Munich’s blushes in a 2-2 home draw against last-placed Mainz in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Mainz came from a goal down to snatch the lead midway through the second half thanks to an excellent Lee Jae-sung header, putting Bayern on track for a first league defeat since March.
So often Bayern’s saviour this season, Kane won and converted the penalty to keep Vincent Kompany’s side undefeated and extend their lead atop the table to nine points.
Borussia Dortmund missed a chance to climb past RB Leipzig into second, conceding an equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Freiburg after Jobe Bellingham saw red.
Ramy Bensebaini’s 31st-minute goal had Dortmund in front but Bellingham was sent off for a professional foul shortly after half-time.
The hosts made the most of their one-man advantage, camping out in Dortmund’s half and levelling things up thanks to an acrobatic Lucas Hoeler strike.
In France, Lens leapfrogged reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1 with an Odsonne Edouard-inspired 2-0 win over crisis-club Nice on Sunday.
Pierre Sage’s upstarts have been the surprise packages of the season so far in France and entered the weekend top of the pile until PSG’s nervy 3-2 victory over lowly Metz on Saturday provisionally returned the Qatari-backed club to the summit of the table.
But Lens once again took over top spot with their sixth consecutive win in the league to move to 37 points, one ahead of PSG, and ensure that they will sit atop the Ligue 1 tree over the winter break.
Marseille moved back into third with a 1-0 win over Monaco at the Stade Velodrome.
Mason Greenwood scored the winner in the 82nd minute after Monaco had earlier had two goals disallowed in controversial fashion.
Lamine Camara netted early in the second period only for the goal to be disallowed for an offside against Folarin Balogun in the build-up, although the American did not touch the ball.
Balogun then had his deft finish on 80 minutes cancelled out for a tight offside call, minutes before Greenwood netted his 11th goal of the season at the other end.
Lille, five points adrift of arch-rivals Lens in fourth place, won a 4-3 thriller at struggling Auxerre with both sides finishing with nine men.
A chaotic final 10 minutes threw up three goals and two red cards as Benjamin Andre’s 86th-minute winner edged Bruno Genesio’s side over the line.
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