European football round-up: Raphinha scores first Barcelona goal in win over Sevilla, while AC Milan beat Inter
European football round-up: Raphinha scores first Barcelona goal in win over Sevilla, while AC Milan beat Inter: Raphinha scored as Barcelona defeated Sevilla 3-0 to maintain pressure on Real Madrid, which remained in first place in La Liga after defeating Real Betis. Olivier Giroud helped AC Milan defeat rival Inter in the Milan derby, and Bayern Munich drew at Union Berlin to give up the Bundesliga’s top spot.
The Catalans defeated Sevilla 3-0 to pull within two points of the league’s top spot thanks to Raphinha’s debut goal for Barcelona.
In the first half, a former Leeds winger gave Barcelona the lead, and Robert Lewandowski doubled it just before halftime. It was the Polish striker’s sixth goal in four league games for his new team.
Five minutes after the break, Eric Garcia, a former Manchester City defender, ensured that Barcelona would remain unbeaten for the remainder of the season with three victories and a tie in four games.
In the meanwhile, Real Madrid kept up their unblemished start to the LaLiga season by defeating Betis 2-1 at the Bernabeu on Saturday. Rodrygo’s second-half winner kept the reigning Spanish and European champions at the top of the standings.
In the ninth minute, Vinicius Jr. received a beautiful long pass from David Alaba, who then ran forward and floated the ball over Rui Silvas, the Betis goalkeeper, to give Real the lead.
Eight minutes later, Sergio Canales, a graduate of the Real Madrid school, equalized for Betis by smashing the ball between Thibaut Courtois’ legs.
The goal was ultimately scored in the 65th minute by Rodrygo, who banged home a close-range finish from a Federico Valverde cross. Carlo Ancelotti’s squad rallied back with fury but squandered multiple opportunities. Real Madrid, the only side to win all four of its first games, now sits atop the standings with 12 points.
Milan wins the derby thanks to Giroud and Leao
The reigning champions of AC Milan defeated their local rivals Inter on Saturday in their fifth Serie A game, 3-2, thanks to two goals from striker Rafael Leao.
After receiving a helper from striker Joaquin Correa, Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic scored his first Serie A goal of the year in the 21st minute.
Seven minutes later, though, Milan equalized thanks to striker Leao, who finished past Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic after receiving a feed from Sandro Tonali.
Leao added his second shortly after by blasting home in the 60th minute to increase the advantage. Milan forward Olivier Giroud completed the comeback in the 54th minute with a feeble but efficient drive that caught Handanovic off guard.
Edin Dzeko, a forward for Inter, scored after just seven minutes when his shot deflected off the post and went in. Inter would not give up easily.
After five games, Milan is in first place with 11 points and will visit Sampdoria next Saturday. Inter is in fifth place with 9 points and will host Torino on the same day.
Bayern draws, giving up the top place
Bayern Munich, the defending Bundesliga champions, crashed to a second consecutive 1-1 draw on Saturday, leaving Union Berlin with only one point and falling off the top of the standings.
The Bavarians sit third with 11 points, equal to Union, having also drawn 1-1 with Borussia Moenchengladbach the previous week and traveling to Inter for their Champions League group start the following week.
The hosts, who are off to their best Bundesliga start ever and are seeking their first victory over Bayern, didn’t let the league’s top scorer Sheraldo Becker’s flawless volley at the far post intimidate them. Their advantage was short-lived, though, with Joshua Kimmich thumping a low shot into the far corner three minutes later.
Leroy Sane was sent through by Jamal Musiala in the 37th minute, but his effort was saved by goalkeeper Riis Ronnow. Bayern came agonizingly close to scoring a second goal at that point.
The visitors tried to get past Union’s strong back line in the second half, but it held firm. Union’s back line is the second best in the league after Bayern.
With a stunning save of his own in stoppage time, Union’s Ronnow preserved their draw by tipping a looping Sadio Mane header over the crossbar.
Mbappe defeats Nantes with two goals for PSG
PSG defeated Nantes with 10 men, 3-0, behind goals from Kylian Mbappe to maintain first place in Ligue 1.
Midway through the first half, the France attacker gave the visiting champions the lead. This came just six minutes before the home team’s former Manchester United full-back Fabio was dismissed for a risky charge on Vitinha.
Nine minutes after the break, Mbappe increased the advantage, and Nuno Mendes rounded up the scoring. PSG and Marseille are tied for first place, although PSG has a higher goal differential.