Lewandowski and Torre at the double as Barcelona thrash Sevilla 5-1
Robert Lewandowski and substitute Pablo Torre each scored twice to help leaders Barcelona thrash visitors Sevilla 5-1 in LaLiga on Sunday in a confidence boost for Hansi Flick's side ahead of key clashes against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
Barca were dominant throughout the encounter at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium and effectively killed off the game with three goals in 15 first-half minutes starting with a Lewandowski penalty after Raphinha was fouled from behind in the 24th minute.
Pedri fired a bullet strike from the edge of the box into the top corner to double their lead four minutes later and Lewandowski slotted home a first-time effort from close range to net the third for the Catalan side in the 39th minute.
It was another superb performance from Barca's attacking trio of Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski and captain Raphinha who have scored 21 of Barca’s 33 LaLiga goals this season.
Polish striker Lewandowski has reached 12 league goals in 10 games, double the amount of Kylian Mbappe and Ayoze Perez who are the joint second highest scorers in LaLiga.
In the second half, Torre climbed off the bench to score the fourth with a shot from inside the box in the 82nd minute and, right after Stanis Idumbo netted a consolation for Sevilla in the 87th, he wrapped up the scoring with a free kick into the far corner.
Barcelona are on top of the LaLiga standings on 27 points, three ahead Real Madrid in second and seven clear of Atletico Madrid in third. Sevilla are 13th on 12 points.
"Winning like this is very important for the games to come," Pedri told Movistar Plus.
"Today we had to leave with more than just the three points, we needed that good feeling we got. The coach told us that there was going to be spaces at the edge of the box and we took advantage of that."
Following a disappointing first LaLiga defeat at Osasuna, Barca have earned back-to-back league wins.
Their victory over Sevilla was their ninth in 10 LaLiga games this season, as they prepare for a difficult week when they will host Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday before travelling to face rivals Real Madrid in LaLiga on Saturday.
They were missing several key players on Sunday who were sidelined by injuries, including Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Ferran Torres and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Yet they had a big reason to celebrate as talisman midfielder Gavi came off the bench in the second half to play his first minutes after 348 days out with a torn knee ligament.
Sorloth double helps Atletico Madrid to 3-1 win over Leganes
Atletico Madrid forward Alexander Sorloth scored twice in the second half as they fought back to earn a 3-1 victory against visitors Leganes in LaLiga on Sunday.
Winless in their previous three games in all competitions with a series of lacklustre performances, Atletico had to recover from a goal down after Cameroon midfielder Yvan Neyou gave Leganes the lead in the 34th minute with a superb strike into the top corner.
Atletico's Metropolitano stadium was partially closed as a punishment after their Sept. 29 home match against Real Madrid was suspended due to items being thrown onto the pitch.
Atletico dominated possession throughout the match but were toothless as half-chances went begging for Rodrigo Riquelme, Angel Correa and Sorloth.
They were lucky Leganes didn't extend their lead as the visitors wasted two great opportunities from counters early in the second half, with Correa missing a sitter from close range in the 52nd minute, striking wide after a bad mistake by the Leganes defence.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone made five substitutions and that gave the home side the spark they seemed to be lacking.
As they piled on the pressure, Sorloth finally equalised with a cheeky back-heel from an Axel Witsel cross in the 69th minute before Antoine Griezmann cleverly chipped a cross past the goalkeeper into the back of the net 11 minutes later.
Rodrigo de Paul almost scored the third with a strike from inside the box in the 77th minute that was almost deflected over the goalline by a defender, but it was Sorloth who wrapped up the win with a close-range strike from a rebound deep in added time.
"It was very important win for us, I think we played a good game," Witsel told Movistar Plus.
"In the first half we lacked intensity with the ball in the final metres. They hadn't created any danger except for the goal. In the second half we fought, we put in more pace and we managed to come back."
Atletico, who will face Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday, climbed to third in the standings on 20 points, four behind Real Madrid in second and leaders Barcelona, who have a game in hand and will host Sevilla later on Sunday.
Martinez strike earns Inter 1-0 win over Roma
Inter Milan secured a 1-0 victory at AS Roma on Sunday, courtesy of a second-half goal from Lautaro Martinez in a tightly contested Serie A match.
Martinez made the breakthrough on the hour mark, controlling the ball on the edge of the area before firing it into the net.
Inter are now second in the table with 17 points, two behind leaders Napoli, while Roma are 10th with 10 points.
There were numerous chances for both sides to break the deadlock in the first half, but Roma keeper Mile Svilar and his Inter counterpart Yann Sommer made several impressive saves to keep an intense opening period goalless.
Inter's Hakan Calhanoglu had to leave the field after 12 minutes with an apparent injury, and he was followed off shortly after by Italy international Francesco Acerbi.
Following Martinez's goal, both sides battled to seize the momentum.
Svilar made a one-handed save to deny Inter's Denzel Dumfries, while Sommer dived to block a powerful snapshot from Matias Soule in the dying moments of the match, securing all three points for Inter.
Roma coach Ivan Juric defended his team's performance despite the loss.
"I think we started too timid, I didn't like the first 15 minutes, but after that we did really well until the goal. The goal was just an accident and you pay a heavy price for that at this level," he told DAZN.
"We had a lot of chances, but we also made too many technical errors and that was a gift to Inter.
"We definitely need to raise the quality level in the final third and that will make us more effective."
Fiorentina cruised to a dominant 6-0 victory at Lecce on Sunday, marking the first time they have scored six goals in an away Serie A match since 1966.
