Euro roundup: Girona reclaim top spot in La Liga with win at Barcelona

  • 12/10/2023
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High-flying Girona reclaimed top spot in La Liga after beating champions Barcelona 4-2 away on Sunday, condemning Xavi Hernández’s side to their second league defeat of the season. Artem Dovbyk put Girona in front in the 12th minute with a shot that bounced in off the bottom of the post before Robert Lewandowski equalised seven minutes later, heading home following a corner. Miguel Gutiérrez restored Girona’s lead before half-time and Valery Fernández made it 3-1 in the 80th minute. Ilkay Gündogan pulled another goal back for Barça before Cristhian Stuani scored their fourth in stoppage time. Girona top the table with 41 points from 16 games. Barcelona are fourth on 34 points, level with third-placed Atletico Madrid. The La Liga game between Granada and Athletic Bilbao was abandoned after a supporter died having suffered a cardiac arrest in the stands, both clubs said. The game was initially suspended in the 17th minute as paramedics tried to resuscitate the fan and it was eventually abandoned an hour later. The date for the resumption of the match, in which Bilbao were leading 1-0 following a goal by Iñaki Williams in the sixth minute, will be announced soon, La Liga said. Atlético Madrid beat Almería 2-1 with first-half goals from Álvaro Morata and Ángel Correa, extending the bottom side’s winless league streak to 16 games. The victory moved Atlético to third, level with Barcelona on 34 points. Antoine Griezmann had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR but he helped his side take the lead in the 17th minute when he won the ball high up the pitch before he found Morata, who dribbled into the box and rounded the goalkeeper to score. Correa doubled the lead five minutes later when Marcos Llorente provided the cross from out wide for the forward to tap in from close range, another goalscoring move that was orchestrated by Griezmann. Almería halved the deficit through Léo Baptistão, who scored just after the hour-mark when the Brazilian forward pounced on a loose ball after Atlético’s Jan Oblak made a save. Almería, the only La Liga side yet to win a game this season, had their chances in the second half to steal a point, but Oblak stood firm to deny the visitors as Diego Simeone’s side returned to winning ways after losing to Barcelona last weekend. The Bundesliga leaders, Bayer Leverkusen, stumbled to a 1-1 draw at third-placed Stuttgart for their second draw in succession but still increased their lead at the top to four points. Xabi Alonso’s team, the last unbeaten team in the Bundesliga this season, move up to 36 points, with second-placed Bayern Munich, who suffered a 5-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, on 32 with a game in hand. Stuttgart remain third on 31. It was Leverkusen’s 22nd consecutive game across all competitions without defeat this season. Stuttgart took the lead five minutes before the break when Chris Führich tapped in from close range. Leverkusen levelled two minutes after the restart with Granit Xhaka sending Victor Boniface down the left and his cutback was volleyed in by the Germany international Florian Wirtz. In Serie A, Roma drew 1-1 at home against Fiorentina on Sunday despite playing much of the second half with a reduced team after Nicola Zalewski and then Romelu Lukaku were sent off. Lukaku had opened the scoring after five minutes with a precise diving header from close range, courtesy of Paulo Dybala’s perfectly placed cross. In the 64th minute, midfielder Zalewski received his second yellow, only for Fiorentina to equalise two minutes later when Lucas Quarta headed in a cross. Three minutes before time, Lukaku flew into a sliding tackle on Fiorentina’s Christian Kouamé and was shown a straight red card. Roma are in fourth place with 25 points, trailing the league leaders, Internazionale, by 13. Fiorentina are in seventh with 24 points. Jeremie Boga scored the winner as Nice moved back up to second in Ligue 1 after a 2-1 home win over Reims. Nice had dropped to third in the standings after Monaco’s 2-1 win at Stade Rennes on Saturday, but are now on 32 points, two ahead of Monaco and four behind the leaders, Paris Saint-Germain. Lille were held to a 0-0 draw at Clermont, but had their goalkeeper, Lucas Chevalier, to thank for keeping the home side at bay. After weathering the early pressure from the visitors, Clermont created the best chances as Chevalier pulled off a string of fine saves, while Jim Allevinah hit the post from a difficult angle in the 50th minute.

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