Late Mbappe double gives Real Madrid nervy win against Betis
Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe's late double, including a penalty, secured a 2-0 home success over Real Betis on Sunday, earning the champions their second LaLiga victory of the season.
France captain Mbappe, who moved to Marid from Paris St Germain in June, did not score in their first three LaLiga games after netting on his debut, a 2-0 win over Europa League champions Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup to start the season.
On Sunday, the Frenchman ended his short drought to help his side claim a second win in four league games, which eases the pressure ahead of the two-week international break as they stand in second spot with eight points, four behind Barcelona.
Following a disappointing 1-1 draw at lowly Las Palmas on Thursday, and still missing attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham due to a leg injury, the hosts had another slow start on Sunday, dominating possession but failing to create clear chances.
The so-called "New Galacticos” Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo misplaced too many passes and struggled to connect.
Betis were well organised in defence and often dangerous on the counter, with forward Abde Ezzalzouli missing two clear chances in the first 15 minutes that could have shocked Real.
With Rodrygo fixed in the right channel, Mbappe and Vinicius struggled to find their mojo as they alternated positions early on, with the same problems from previous games suggesting Madrid must work harder than expected to fit Mbappe into their system.
Mbappe missed a couple of clear chances from crosses by Vinicius and failed to beat defenders for pace in the opening stages but looked more like his old self in a couple of runs from the middle and the left wing as the game progressed.
The home side looked livelier after the break, with Mbappe and Vinicius starting to click, and they kept making progress in the second half, with Vinicius hitting the post in the 50th.
They finally broke the deadlock in the 67th minute through Mbappe's close-range effort after a brilliant back-heel by midfielder Federico Valverde, who showed great vision to beat the offside trap.
Mbappe wrapped up the points in the 75th with a penalty after Vinicius was fouled by goalkeeper Rui Silva.
Girona ease to 2-0 win at Sevilla
Goals in each half by Ivan Martin and Abel Ruiz gave Girona a comfortable 2-0 win at Sevilla in a LaLiga clash on Sunday.
Last season's surprise package Girona dominated proceedings from early on against a tame Sevilla, who are winless in four games to start the season.
Girona dominated possession throughout the match but needed goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga to make a handful of critical saves to deny efforts by Sevilla.
Girona fullback Miguel Gutierrez was a menace running up and down the left channel and almost scored with a strike from long range that Sevilla goalkeeper Orjan Nyland palmed round the post in the 30th minute.
However, Gutierrez created the counter attack that gave Girona the lead in the 41st minute, bursting up the left wing before crossing to the six-yard-box where Martin only had to tap in to the empty net.
Sevilla thought they had the equaliser two minutes later with a strike by Chidera Ejuke but the goal was ruled out for being offside.
Girona kept dominating after the break and Arnaut Danjuma wasted a great chance to extend their lead in the 50th minute, missing a close-range effort from a rebound.
It was forward Ruiz who secured the points in the 73rd minute from the penalty spot following a handball inside the box by Sevilla forward Isaac Romero.
Girona withstood the pressure as the locals desperately tried to make a late run, with boos greeting the final whistle in the scorching Andalusian heat.
Girona moved to fourth in the LaLiga standings on seven points, five behind leaders Barcelona who they face next. Sevilla are second from bottom on two points.
Kane and Muller lift Bayern to win over Freiburg
A Harry Kane penalty and a second-half goal by Thomas Muller was enough to give Bayern Munich all three points in the Bundesliga as they beat Freiburg 2-0 on Sunday and new head coach Vincent Kompany continued his winning start.
Bayern were awarded a penalty for a handball following a VAR review when Kane's header hit the arm of Freiburg captain Christian Gunter.
Kane stepped up to take the penalty himself, and the England striker sent Freiburg goalkeeper Florian Muller the wrong way, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner to give the hosts the lead in the 38th minute.
It was Kane's first goal of the new Bundesliga season, having topped the scoring charts of the German league last campaign with 36 goals.
There was little to separate the two side's in a cautious opening spell at the Allianz Arena but once Bayern got going it quickly turned into a fairly one-sided contest.
Jamal Musiala showed flashes of brilliance, and new signing Michael Olise looked lively, but the duo failed to convert their chances.
The second half was a much quieter affair until Serge Gnabry's cross found Muller, who beautifully controlled the ball and smashed it past the goalkeeper.
The 34-year-old Muller made history for Bayern, making a club record of 710 appearances for the Bavarians. It was also his 150th goal in the Bundesliga.
"A brutally beautiful goal! I told the fans on the fence after the game that they should work hard this year because they need a few days off. We've got big plans this year," Muller said.
Freiburg were awarded a penalty in the dying moments of injury time after Ritsu Doan's volley struck the hand of Joao Palhinha at close range, but Lucas Holer failed to convert it.
The victory marked Kompany's first win at home, with Bayern having won 3-2 at VfL Wolfsburg in their Bundesliga opener last weekend.
The record German champions, who were upstaged last season by Bayer Leverkusen, appointed former Burnley manager Kompany to succeed Thomas Tuchel after their disappointing third-place finish last campaign.
Gunter, meanwhile, was left furious after Bayern were awarded a soft penalty. "It really was an insane penalty," Gunter told DAZN.
"One thing is that it's probably from 50 centimetres, the other is that when you make a move, when you jump, your arms naturally go up a bit... so if that's a handball, then I'd prefer to stop playing football... I really don't understand it."
Juventus held to goalless home draw by Roma
Thiago Motta's Juventus dropped their first points of the campaign as they were held to a goalless draw by visiting AS Roma in Serie A on Sunday.
After back-to-back 3-0 victories against Como and Hellas Verona, Juventus are second in the standings, level on seven points with leaders Inter Milan as well as Torino and Udinese.
They were the only team in the Italian top flight with a maximum points tally after the previous round of games.
Both sides started with an initial spark but made mistakes and led to no clear chances.
The most promising opportunity arrived just before the break when Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic struck with first touch from around the penalty spot but Roma keeper Mile Svilar did well to thwart his effort.
The shot remained Juve's only attempt on target throughout the game while Roma managed to stand up to the hosts.
Motta tried to shake things up at halftime as he made two offensive changes, introducing new arrival Teun Koopmeiners for his debut alongside striker Francisco Conceicao.
Roma coach Daniele De Rossi also made some substitutions after the hour mark by letting striker Paulo Dybala in place of midfielder Matias Soule and Nicola Zalewski for Alexis Saelemaekers.
But the clash only got more lively in the closing minutes, with both sides desperately seeking a last-minute winner.
Angelino fired from a distance just wide for Roma and Juve's Kenan Yildiz sent his effort above the bar in stoppage time.
Roma moved out of the drop zone to 17th with two points, after they picked up a point in a goalless stalemate at Cagliari followed by last week's 2-1 home loss to Empoli.
They failed to win any of their first three Serie A games for two seasons in a row for only the second time in club's history, the first taking place between 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Juventus travel to Empoli after the international break before they host PSV Eindhoven on Sept. 17 in their return to the Champions League following a one-year absence. Roma next visit 10th-placed Genoa.
PSG cruise to win at Lille to maintain perfect start
First-half strikes from Vitinha and Bradley Barcola and a late Randal Kolo Muani goal earned Paris St Germain a 3-1 win at Lille on Sunday to maintain their perfect start to the Ligue 1 season.
Vitinha opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute following a foul by Lille's Alexsandro Ribeiro on Ousmane Dembele.
Barcola doubled the lead just three minutes later, striking at the far post after a counter attack to continue his fine form with his fourth goal of the season.
Lille improved after the break and Edon Zhegrova pulled one back with a long-range effort 12 minutes from time before Tiago Santos thought he had equalised, his goal disallowed for offside.
The hosts kept pushing for a late equaliser but Kolo Muani sealed the win for the reigning champions with a towering header in added time.
PSG reached nine points to lead the standings with an early two-point gap over Marseille, second on goal difference level on points with Nantes, AS Monaco and Lens.
"It was a very important game for us against a team who play at the top of the table," PSG captain Marquinhos told DAZN.
"They really push the team here. At 2-0 up they kept pushing forward, they never gave up. It was a good test for us because it was between two teams who are playing in Europe.
"Points like that make all the difference at the end of a league campaign," the defender added.
