Álex Baena struck in the 89th minute to snatch Atlético Madrid a 1-0 win at Espanyol and put pressure on the La Liga leaders, Barcelona. Diego Simeone’s side are second, two points behind Hansi Flick’s champions, who visit third-placed Real Betis later on.
Baena smashed home from the edge of the box to claim the Rojiblancos an important late victory from a tight game in Cornella. Atlético have now won six consecutive games across all competitions.
Both sides had chances in the first half, but Espanyol came closest as Leandro Cabrera struck the crossbar. Marcos Llorente hit the same woodwork after an hour with a long-range effort for Atlético.
Espanyol brought on Javi Puado after a long-term knee injury, as the captain made his first appearance since January. Julián Álvarez was bright for Atlético as a substitute as he continues to find his form after trying to force a move away in the summer.
Atlético have left it late several times this season to claim points and did so again, with Baena thumping home from Alvarez’s pass to earn his team’s victory. Jan Oblak made a good save in stoppage time from Pol Lozano to ensure his team kept the three points.
On Sunday Real Madrid, fourth, host Sevilla among other fixtures. In the buildup to that game, the Real Madrid coach, José Mourinho, said on Saturday that if he were Vinícius Júnior he would have left the club this summer. The Brazilian was sent off during Madrid’s win over Villarreal last weekend for hair pulling and was banned for four matches, meaning he will miss the clásico against Barcelona on 25 October.
Vinícius, who signed a new contract tying him to Real Madrid until 2032, has also been targeted regularly by opposition fans and been racially abused on many occasions since joining Madrid in 2018.
José Mourinho with Ferlan Mendy (left) and Kylian Mbappé at the Bernabéu as Real Madrid prepare to face Sevilla. Photograph: Daniel Gonzalez/EPA
“He’s a spectacular kid who it’s easy to have a good relationship with,” Mourinho said. “He’s a fantastic boy, tremendous credit to him for the fact that he keeps living and surviving and still having a smile…
“If it were me in his place, probably I wouldn’t be here. In this last summer I would have forced an exit to a league, a country, to somewhere there are rival clubs and stadiums that respect him.”
Mourinho took Vinícius off during the 4-3 Champions League win at Roma on Wednesday, with the winger still struggling to return to the form that helped him win the competition twice under Carlo Ancelotti. Mourinho said he was happy that Vinícius’s ban was four matches, saying he thought some hidden figures at the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee “would give him one or two more”.
Dortmund’s Julian Ryerson bows his head after the goalless draw with Union Berlin. Photograph: Clemens Bilan/EPA
In Germany, Borussia Dortmund returned to the top of the Bundesliga table despite a stodgy 0-0 draw away to Union Berlin. Serhou Guirassy had a golden chance to snatch all three points for his side at the end of a match of few opportunities, but headed just wide with 11 minutes remaining to cap a poor game up front for the Dortmund striker.
Bayern Munich host RB Leipzig in Saturday’s final match and can leapfrog Dortmund into top spot with victory.
After starting the season strongly with six wins in a row in all competitions, Dortmund have stalled of late, drawing two and losing one of their last three matches. Compounding Dortmund’s woes was a serious-looking ankle injury to Konstantinos Karetsas, who was helped from the pitch just eight minutes after coming on.
Stuttgart were handed a blow just days out from Tuesday’s home Champions League clash with Atlético Madrid, going down 1-0 at Hamburg after an 88th-minute Miro Muheim goal. Stuttgart are languishing in 13th in the Bundesliga with two wins and four defeats but have impressed in Europe this season to sit in fourth spot in the 36-team Champions League table after two matches.
Elsewhere, Elversberg continued their impressive debut season in the top flight, winning 4-3 at home to Augsburg. Lukas Petkov, Lasse Guenther, Maximilian Rohr and Frederik Schmahl got on the scoresheet as Elversberg, from the smallest town to host a Bundesliga side, climbed to sixth in the table.
Niclas Füllkrug scored for the fifth straight Bundesliga match as his brace helped Werder Bremen come from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home against Paderborn. The Germany striker returned to Bremen on loan after an unhappy spell at West Ham but now has seven goals in seven games in all competitions. A first-half goal for Phillip Tietz was enough for Mainz to win 1-0 at Schalke and climb to fifth in the standings.
In Italy, Napoli’s torrid start to the season continued when Venezia’s head coach, Davide Nicola, masterminded a shock 1-0 win in his first game as Kevin De Bruyne had a penalty saved. Nicola was appointed during the week to replace Giovanni Stroppa after last season’s Serie B champions failed to pick up a single point in their opening six games. He made an instant impact as Akor Adams struck the winner early in the second half to seal Venezia’s first Serie A win over Napoli since 1942.
It marked a second defeat in a row for Massimiliano Allegri’s side after their midweek Champions League loss at Villarreal, and their fifth defeat in nine games in all competitions this season. A flat game came to life early in the second half when Adams latched on to a long ball and beat Alex Meret with a deflected strike in the 49th minute. Allegri responded by bringing on Rasmus Hojlund and De Bruyne and the Danish striker immediately threatened when Juan Jesus denied him a tap-in with a goalline block.
Venezia’s Filip Stankovic saves the penalty from Napoli’s Kevin De Bruyne. Photograph: Matteo Ciambelli/Reuters
Hojlund won a penalty for Napoli midway through the second half when he was hauled down in the box by Matias Moreno, but De Bruyne’s spot-kick was well saved by Filip Stankovic low to his right. The Venezia goalkeeper, the son of the former Inter midfielder Dejan Stankovic, was decisive in the closing stages with a string of saves, including spectacular stops to deny Stanislav Lobotka and Alisson Santos.
Later on Saturday, the league leaders, Inter, travel to Bologna before Roma host Genoa. In France, Paris Saint-Germain are at Strasbourg and Lille have a chance to go top overnight when they host Brest.