Harry Kane laid on both goals as Bayern Munich beat Mainz 2-1 to stay top of the Bundesliga, even though he has now gone four games without scoring. Barcelona kept their LaLiga title hopes firmly alive with a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain extended their winning run to 11 games in all competitions.
Bundesliga: Kane is the assist king
Kane has gone four games without finding the net, something that has happened only once before in his Bayern Munich career. In that stretch he came off at half-time in one match and came on as a second-half substitute in another. It has not mattered much, because the England captain set up both goals at Mainz. His square pass gave Joshua Kimmich the first, and his lay-off left Lennart Karl with a simple finish for the second.
The assist came just days after a lofted pass that helped Konrad Laimer score against Atletico Madrid in midweek. Kane now has eight assists in the Bundesliga, more than any other player in the competition. Only Lamine Yamal can match that across Europe’s major leagues so far. He has already matched his best-ever Bundesliga season for assists, and his willingness to drop deeper and create for others explains why Bayern were confident enough to give him a long-term contract.
Borussia Dortmund kept pace with Bayern at the top with a 2-1 win over Elversberg. Without top scorer Serhou Guirassy, who was absent for the first time in the Bundesliga this season, Felix Nmecha scored twice in the second half. At RB Leipzig, Brajan Gruda provided two assists in a 5-2 win over Augsburg. Niclas Fullkrug‘s eight-game scoring streak ended at Stuttgart, while Patrik Schick was on target again with Leverkusen’s winner in the derby at Cologne.
Bundesliga results: Hamburg 3-1 Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Elversberg, Mainz 1-2 Bayern Munich, Paderborn 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig 5-2 Augsburg, Stuttgart 1-1 Werder Bremen, Cologne 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen, Freiburg 2-0 Union Berlin, Hoffenheim 2-1 Schalke.
LaLiga: A big moment in the title race
Atletico Madrid were moving into top spot when Julian Alvarez set up Giuliano Simeone for the opener against leaders Barcelona at the Metropolitano on Sunday evening. Two goals from Fermin Lopez turned the game around and secured a big win for the visitors.
Atletico started with the kind of intensity that Diego Simeone‘s side are known for. It was enough to revive the debate about whether Hansi Flick‘s Barcelona struggle to assert themselves against the strongest teams, especially after their back-to-back defeats to Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. Flick will be encouraged by the response. The winner was well worked, set up by Lamine Yamal, but the control Barcelona showed to see the game out mattered more. Instead of Atletico overtaking them, Barcelona are now five points ahead.
Real Madrid moved up to second and went back ahead of their city rivals with a convincing 3-0 win away to Valencia, whose struggles continue. Kylian Mbappe scored again despite being booed by the home fans, but Arda Guler was the standout. He scored one and assisted Mbappe’s goal. With Vinicius Junior sidelined, Yan Diomande has covered the left, but Guler’s ability to cut inside brings balance to Madrid’s attack. Pairing two flying wingers on the flanks would cost Madrid a dimension, and Fede Valverde, who scored one of his trademark strikes from right-back, offers further promise for Jose Mourinho.
Newly promoted Racing Santander also deserve attention. They won at Malaga and may be the most entertaining side in the division. They have conceded more goals than anyone else, yet they remain in the top half for possession and, more importantly, for points.
LaLiga results: Sevilla 0-0 Alaves, Malaga 1-2 Racing Santander, Espanyol 0-0 Deportivo A Coruna, Osasuna 1-1 Athletic Club, Valencia 0-3 Real Madrid, Elche 0-2 Real Betis, Real Sociedad 1-0 Rayo Vallecano, Celta Vigo 0-0 Levante, Villarreal 2-0 Getafe, Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona.
Serie A: Inter close the gap on Lazio
Lazio’s run of six straight Serie A wins ended with a draw at Napoli. Still, it was a good result for Gennaro Gattuso‘s surprise leaders, and Kevin De Bruyne came closest to winning it for the hosts.
Inter moved to within one point of Lazio after a 2-0 win over Como at San Siro. Cesc Fabregas‘s side enjoyed plenty of possession but lacked the cutting edge of the reigning champions, who scored twice early to take control.
Roma also closed the gap, extending their unbeaten run and taking over as Italy’s top scorers with a 3-0 win over Sassuolo. Rodrigo Mora, who was substituted with Roma two goals up at Old Trafford on Tuesday, was involved in all three goals and scored the last himself. The Portuguese teenager is a tremendous talent. “Inter are best placed to win,” said coach Gian Piero Gasperini afterwards. “For the rest, all of us are in the mix, us included.”
Elsewhere, Torino and Lecce traded own goals in a 1-1 draw. Milan picked up three points at Genoa to put their alarming European defeat to Ferencvaros behind them. Juventus came from behind twice to draw at Fiorentina, but they remain six points adrift of the top four.
Serie A results: Venezia 2-1 Udinese, Cagliari 1-0 Frosinone, Torino 1-1 Lecce, Parma 1-2 Bologna, Roma 3-0 Sassuolo, Napoli 1-1 Lazio, Genoa 1-2 Milan, Monza 0-1 Atalanta, Inter 2-0 Como, Fiorentina 2-2 Juventus.
Ligue 1: Eleven in a row for PSG
Paris Saint-Germain followed their six-goal demolition of Villarreal in the Champions League with a far less convincing 1-0 home win over Troyes. Still, the run continues. Luis Enrique‘s side have now won 11 games in a row in all competitions. The European champions stay two points clear at the top after Lille and Paris FC both won away from home.
Lassine Sinayoko scored the only goal at Auxerre, taking his Ligue 1 tally for the season to nine, two clear of anyone else in the league.
Monaco dropped points late against Le Mans, and Lyon lost at Brest. Lyon are between coaches, with Carlos Vicens set to replace Paulo Fonseca. Those results allowed Marseille to rise to fourth. Having beaten Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday, Marseille then beat Lens to secure a fifth consecutive domestic win for Bruno Genesio‘s side. They have improved markedly since the transfer window closed, and things have settled at a club where calm is rare.
It helped that Lens were the opposition. Their second-place finish under Pierre Sage already feels a long time ago for club and coach. Sage’s successor, Dino Toppmoller, has also gone, and Yannick Cahuzac oversaw the 9-1 defeat by Como in midweek. Lens were asked to respond, but instead they gave Marseille the opener after 90 seconds through an awful defensive mix-up. Even after they equalised, they contrived to lose late on. That 9-1 hammering will take longer than an international break to forget.
Ligue 1 results: Toulouse 3-1 Strasbourg, Auxerre 0-1 Paris FC, Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Troyes, Rennes 1-2 Lille, Angers 0-2 Nice, Brest 2-0 Lyon, Le Havre 0-2 Lorient, Le Mans 1-1 Monaco, Lens 1-2 Marseille.
Elsewhere: Weghorst denies Ajax
The big three in the Eredivisie all had different results away from home, and each spent time on top of the table. In the end, reigning champions PSV, who started the day in third, finished it back on top. They beat Cambuur 5-2.
Feyenoord led Heerenveen 2-0 but lost 5-3, giving Ajax the chance to move top and confirm their progress under Michel. Instead, Twente came back from two goals down to snatch a point through Wout Weghorst‘s 95th-minute penalty. Weghorst left Ajax over the summer, and his replacement, Tolu Arokodare, who opened the scoring, has been impressive. He now has nine goals in 12 games for Twente.
In Portugal, Benfica also scored in the 95th minute, through Vangelis Pavlidis, but Marco Silva‘s side remain five points behind an unbeaten Porto, who won late again to make it 11 wins from 11.