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Atletico Madrid twice came from behind to pull off a thrilling 3-2 win at home to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, completing their comeback with a stoppage-time header from limping captain Diego Godin.
Struggling Bilbao, who have held Real Madrid and Barcelona to draws this season but have not won since the opening day, took the lead in the 36th minute when Inaki Williams nudged the ball across the line after team mate Mikel San Jose had rattled the underside of the crossbar.
Williams missed a glaring chance to double Athletic’s lead early in the second half and was left ruing it when Thomas Partey sent a long range pile-driver into the net to level in the 61st minute.
Williams quickly replied again to restore Athletic’s lead, producing an ice-cool finish after racing on to a through ball by close friend Iker Muniain but Atletico midfielder Rodri levelled in the 80th minute by scoring his first goal for the club with a glancing header from a corner.
Godin, who remained on the pitch only because Atletico had made the maximum three substitutes, hobbled into the box to contest a late free kick and sent the home fans wild by heading in the winning goal, initially ruled out for offside then awarded after consulting the video assistant referee (VAR).
The win follows Atletico’s impressive 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and takes Diego Simeone’s side second in the La Liga standings, one point behind Barcelona who host Real Betis on Sunday.
“We could still feel the effects of our efforts from the other day (against Dortmund); they pressed us well but we battled until the end, we put up a fight and we got our reward,” said Godin, who scored the goal which clinched the La Liga title for Atletico in 2014.
“I hurt myself in Athletic’s second goal, I couldn’t keep running. I was going to go off but there were no changes left so I stayed on. Simeone told me to stay up front as a striker.”
Athletic’s double goalscorer Williams added: “We feel terrible, we had the win in our hands but we go home feeling empty.”
Valencia built on Wednesday’s vital Champions League win over Young Boys by grabbing only their second victory in La Liga this season, beating Getafe 1-0 with a penalty from captain Dani Parejo.
Napoli splash their way to a 2-1 win at Genoa
Napoli splashed their way to a 2-1 win at Genoa in Serie A on Saturday, defying a pitch made almost unplayable by a torrential downpour early in the second half.
Christian Kouame gave Genoa a halftime lead but, after play was halted for around 10 minutes early in the second half until the rain stopped, Fabian Ruiz levelled and Genoa's Davide Biraschi put through his own net.
It was a morale-boosting win for Napoli who showed tremendous character and adapted impressively to a pitch where the ball repeatedly got stuck in pools of water.
Napoli moved into second place with 28 points from 12 games, three behind leaders Juventus who visit AC Milan on Sunday.
Lorenzo Insigne hit the post for Napoli but Genoa went ahead against the run of play in the 20th minute with a header from Kouame, who easily outjumped Elseid Hysaj to meet Romulo's cross from the right.
The pitch deteriorated rapidly after halftime and, although it seemed the conditions would hamper Napoli's passing game, the visitors came back stronger from the interruption.
Despite the puddles, they managed to level with a typical slick passing move as Dries Mertens backheeled Allan's pass into the path of Fabian, who planted a left-foot shot past Ionut Radu in the 62nd minute.
Four minutes from the end, Mario Rui fired a low free kick into the area and Biraschi, under pressure, turned the ball into his own net.
Genoa, who suffered their third straight defeat and remained winless in five games under new coach Ivan Juric, protested furiously, claiming Biraschi was pushed, but the referee confirmed the goal after a VAR check.
Depay shines as Lyon win 4-2 at Guingamp to stay fourth
Dutchman Memphis Depay maintained his excellent form in Ligue 1 when he scored two spectacular goals and set up another to help Olympique Lyonnais get an entertaining 4-2 win at bottom team Guingamp on Saturday.
The result allowed Lyon to stay fourth on 24 points from 13 games, one behind Montpellier and one ahead of St Etienne who beat Reims 2-0 at home.
Champions and league leaders Paris St Germain visit second-from-bottom Monaco in the round's standout fixture on Sunday, aiming to stretch their perfect start to 13 successive wins.
A looping header by Marcus Thuram, the son of former France World Cup winner Lilian Thuram, gave Guingamp a 21st-minute lead before Houssem Aouar equalised in the 62nd with a side-footed finish and Depay lit up the contest.
The former Manchester United forward turned the tide in the 66th minute with a rasping shot from the edge of the penalty area and then unleashed a thunderbolt of a free kick from 30 metres which went in off the underside of the bar.
Thuram scored his second goal with a penalty kick to rekindle the home side's hopes of salvaging a point before substitute Maxwel Cornet sealed Lyon's win with his first touch of the ball after a fine assist by Depay.
Nice ground out a 1-0 win at nine-man Nimes as Youcef Atal swept home a 61st-minute winner after the home side had Faitout Maouassa and Loick Landre sent off in the first half.
Goals by Mathieu Debuchy and Wahbi Khazri in the opening half gave St Etienne a win over Reims while Montpellier went down 1-0 at Angers after Romain Thomas scored in the 69th minute.
Amiens climbed out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win at Toulouse, courtesy of a 28th-minute goal by Alexis Bin.
