Arsenal target Thomas Partey starts in Atletico Madrid’s 0-0 draw against Villarreal; Roma secure first win of Serie A season
Saturday 3 October 2020 22:57, UK
Borussia Dortmund shrugged off the absence of Jadon Sancho as they returned to winning ways in the Bundesliga with a 4-0 win over Freiburg.
The Manchester United transfer target was laid low by an infection and the home side went into the game on the back of successive defeats to Augsburg and Bayern Munich.
But Erling Haaland scored a double either side of Emre Can's 47th-minute strike, before Haaland turned provider to set up Felix Passlack to seal the win in added time in front of 11,500 socially-distanced spectators.
RB Leipzig moved to the top of the table as they also claimed a 4-0 win over Schalke, whose club-record run without a win was extended to 18 games.
A Can Bozdogan own goal opened Leipzig's account before headers from Angelino and Willi Orban put the game out of reach of the visitors. Marcel Halstenberg completed the scoring from the penalty spot.
Eintracht Frankfurt came from behind to beat Hoffenheim 2-1, with second-half goals from Daichi Kamada and Bas Dost cancelling out Andrej Kramaric's 18th-minute opener.
Goals from Alassane Plea, Stefan Lainer and Lars Stindl gave Borussia Monchengladbach a comfortable 3-1 win at Cologne, who replied late through Elvis Rexhbecaj.
Leonardo Bittencourt grabbed the only goal as Werder Bremen beat Arminia Bielefeld 1-0, while Sasa Kalajdzic grabbed a point for Stuttgart in a 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen, who led through Patrik Schick.
Atletico Madrid drew 0-0 at home to Villarreal on Saturday in La Liga for a second consecutive goalless draw which further punctured the euphoria from their excellent start to the campaign.
Luis Suarez had a quiet first home start after his star performance from the bench in last week's 6-1 win over Granada and Atletico only really started to create some danger when the Uruguayan came off and was replaced by Diego Costa.
Costa twice came close to snatching a late winner but failed to connect with dangerous crosses from Yannick Carrasco, while Villarreal could also have found a late goal in an end-to-end finish, as forward Gerard Moreno volleyed narrowly wide.
Villarreal played the better football for most of the game and could have taken the lead in either half through right-back Mario Gaspar, who was thwarted on both occasions by excellent saves from 'keeper Jan Oblak.
Unai Emery's Villarreal provisionally lead the standings with eight points from five games, while Atletico, who started the campaign two weeks later, have taken five from three.
Atletico went into the game looking for a response after being cancelled out by Huesca in Wednesday's goalless draw but again struggled to break down their opponents, and Oblak was critical with his side.
"We were too static in the first half and the more space we found the better we played but we need to play like that from the start. We should have got down the wings more and played more crosses," said the goalkeeper.
"Villarreal planned the game well, they closed us down well in the first half and didn't give us any space. They played well, we could have done more but we didn't do enough to win. We leave here with a draw which we were not looking for."
Meanwhile, a 90th-minute goal by Kevin Rodrigues gave 10-man Eibar a 2-1 victory over Valladolid.
Eibar earned the points despite playing with a man down from the 73rd minute due to a red card for midfielder Pape Diop. The visitors opened the scoring with Esteban Burgos converting a penalty kick, but Toni Villa equalised for Valladolid.
Manuel Pellegrini's Real Betis held their spot at the top of the standings with a 2-0 win at Valencia thanks to goals by Sergio Canales in the first half and Cristian Tello in the second.
The victory ended Betis' two-game losing streak after they had opened with a consecutive victories.
Real Sociedad moved behind Betis in the standings after defeating Getafe 3-0 at home for their second win in five matches. Mikel Oyarzabal, Mikel Merino and Cristian Portugus scored for Sociedad. Real Madrid visit Levante on Sunday, while Barcelona host Sevilla.
Spain international Pedro scored his first goal for his new club AS Roma as they beat Udinese 1-0 away on Saturday to register their first win of the Serie A season.
The 33-year-old, who moved from Chelsea in July, picked up a loose defensive clearance well outside the penalty area before unleashing a thunderous strike that went in off the upright after 55 minutes.
Roma had collected only one point from their opening two matches but were catapulted into the top half of the standings after Saturday's success.
It was a third loss for Udinese, still seeking their first points of the new campaign.
But there were plenty of chances for the home team at the Friuli Stadium as they forced several key saves out of veteran Roma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante.
Kevin Lasagna, in particular, had a host of chances but failed to convert for Udinese.
Rainy conditions did not hinder a free-flowing game with Roma also squandering opportunities to win by a bigger margin.
Earlier, Francesco Caputo scored twice as Sassuolo went top of the table with a 4-1 home win over promoted Crotone, who have now lost their opening three games back in the top flight.
The scheduled game between Genoa and Torino was called off earlier this week after Genoa said 11 players plus four members of staff tested positive for COVID-19.
Lens secured a 2-0 win over nine-man Saint Etienne and moved up to second place in Ligue 1 thanks to goals from Gael Kakuta and Florian Sotoca after the visitors were hit with red cards for Timothee Kolodziejczak and Wahbi Khazri on Saturday.
Kolo was the first to be sent off after conceding an early penalty with a clumsy tackle that injured Ignatius Ganago. Referee Bastein Dechepy viewed a replay of the incident before brandishing the red card at the 29-year-old defender, with Kakuta firing Lens into the lead with the spot kick.
Saint Etienne sent Khazri on in the second half but his first appearance of the season was a short-lived affair as he was dismissed in the 64th minute for a lunging tackle on Jonathan Gradit as the two raced for a long ball.
Sotoca settled the game with a towering header from a corner in the 81st minute to wrap up the victory that sent Lens up to second spot on 13 points behind leaders Stade Rennes, who have a game in hand, on goal difference. Saint Etienne are seventh on 10. Meanwhile, Nice beat 10-man Nantes 2-1.
