European roundup: Inter remain top, Barça earn late win at Real Sociedad

  • 11/4/2023
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Internazionale’s Hakan Calhanoglu and Lautaro Martínez scored either side of half-time for a 2-1 win at Atalanta in Serie A on Saturday, securing Simone Inzaghi’s side top spot for another week. Calhanoglu scored a penalty before the break and Martínez doubled Internazionale’s advantage with a shot inside the far post before Gianluca Scamacca pulled one back after an hour. Inter, on 28 points from 11 games, extended their lead to five points over second-placed Juventus, who travel to Fiorentina on Sunday. The visitors bided their time in the first half but Calhanoglu put them in front from the spot after they were awarded a penalty for a challenge by goalkeeper Juan Musso on Matteo Darmian. Martínez thought he had made it 2-0 with a header in the 54th minute but his strike was ruled out for offside. But the Argentinean made no mistake with his effort three minutes later for his 12th league goal this season. Scamacca gave the home side hope when he netted a low shot, profiting from a neat pass by Ademola Lookman, but they failed to find an equaliser. Atalanta went down to 10 men in stoppage time as substitute Rafael Toloi got a second booking for a foul on Alexis Sánchez. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side are fifth with 19 points, two points behind fourth-placed Napoli, who beat bottom side Salernitana 2-0 with goals from Giacomo Raspadori and Elif Elmas. Salernitana set a club record of 12 consecutive Serie A games without a win. Lacklustre Milan lost 1-0 to lowly Udinese at San Siro, extending Stefano Pioli’s side’s winless run to four games in all competitions. Roberto Pereyra scored the winning penalty in the 62nd minute after Milan dominated the first half but failed to put away their chances. Milan are in third on 22 points, six points adrift of Internazionale and one point behind Juventus. Udinese are 16th with 10 points, three points above the relegation zone, after their first league win of the season. Álex Grimaldo scored twice as Bayer Leverkusen stayed top of the Bundesliga with a 3-2 win at Hoffenheim, although Xabi Alonso’s team had to work hard after squandering a two-goal lead. Florian Wirtz scored in the ninth minute after combining with Victor Boniface and Grimaldo added another with a fine strike from distance. But Hoffenheim’s Anton Stach pulled one back in the 56th minute and Wout Weghorst equalised two minutes later after Maximilian Beier’s initial effort struck a post. However, Grimaldo had the final say in the 70th minute when Boniface sent the ball back to him to unleash another fierce shot into the top corner. Union Berlin slumped to their 12th consecutive defeat with a 3-0 loss at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, while Vincenzo Grifo’s injury-time penalty earned Freiburg a 3-3 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach. Cologne drew with Augsburg 1-1, and Mainz defeated Leipzig 2-0. Harry Kane scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich triumphed 4-0 against Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker. Barcelona’s Ronald Araújo headed a stoppage-time goal to snatch a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad in La Liga despite being outplayed by the hosts. Real Sociedad had chances in the first half but were foiled by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, while Barça’s best opportunity came from Fermín López after a foul on João Félix before the break. The Sociedad keeper Álex Remiro made a brilliant save to deny Gavi and Araújo had an effort disallowed for offside before he popped up with the winner in the 92nd minute. The victory puts Barcelona in third place on 27 points from 12 games, four points off the leaders, Girona, who won 4-2 at Osasuna after Artem Dovbyk scored one and created two to move them three points clear of Real Madrid. Girona took the lead through a beautifully constructed counterattack that was launched near their corner flag by Savio and ended with Dovbyk crossing for Ivan Martin to score. Osasuna levelled when Ante Budimir pounced on a loose ball and fired home. He scored his second 10 minutes after the restart with a well-directed header. But Dovbyk headed home the equaliser before setting up Viktor Tsygankov in the 80th minute. Aleix García sealed victory in the 90th minute. Real Madrid, who beat Girona earlier this season to hold the advantage in their head-to-head record, can return to top spot if they beat Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. Celta Vigo were held 1-1 at home by Sevilla. Carl Starfelt opened the scoring for the hosts in the 22nd minute but they had Renato Tapia sent off in the second half before Youssef En-Nesyri struck an 84th-minute equaliser. Celta were awarded a late penalty but the decision was overturned by VAR – much to the fury of the striker Iago Aspas, who knocked over the VAR monitor in disgust. Lille were held to a goalless stalemate by Marseille in Ligue 1 at the Stade Velodrome. Yusuf Yazici’s lob from the edge of the centre circle struck the crossbar in the first half, while Marseille’s Amine Harit missed an opportunity just before the break. In a lacklustre second half neither side appeared eager to make a decisive move and the match ended with the home fans booing.

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