Lewandowski double as Barcelona fight back to beat Valencia
Poland striker Robert Lewandowski's brace earned depleted Barcelona a 2-1 comeback win at Valencia in their opening game of the LaLiga season on Saturday.
Barca were dominated by their hosts early in the match and fell behind when Valencia's Hugo Duro netted a close-range header in the 44th minute.
The visitors hit back quickly, however, scoring either side of halftime through Lewandowski who tapped home Lamine Yamal's cross deep into added time before the break and fired an unstoppable penalty into the top corner after Raphinha was fouled just after the interval.
Thanks to his strikes, the Hansi Flick era began with a gritty win against a tough side at a sold-out Mestalla stadium despite Barcelona missing several key players and featuring three 17-year-olds from the start of the game.
With Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri, Gavi, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie De Jong and Ansu Fati all out with injuries and new signing Dani Olmo yet to be registered with LaLiga due to Barca's breach of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, the German manager was forced to be creative in his selection.
Marc Bernal, Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi - all still 17 - were on the starting list in the scorching heat and humidity on the east coast of Spain.
Valencia dominated proceedings early and Rafa Mir was inches from scoring for the locals with two diving headers in the first few minutes, while Cubarsi almost netted two own goals while trying to deflect efforts by Andre Almeida and Diego Lopez.
One minute after Duro gave Valencia the lead, however, Cubarsi made an astonishing goalline clearance to deny Valencia a quick second when Mir had already beaten goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen. That kept Barca in the game, paving the way for Lewandowski's double.
The Pole's first goal was a result of a fine collective effort with Alejandro Balde delivering a long cross from the left touchline to the back post to meet 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, who turned the ball back along the six-yard box with a single touch, leaving Lewandowski with a simple tap-in.
In the second minute of the second half, defender Cristhian Mosquera tripped Raphinha inside the box, gifting a penalty to Barcelona which Lewandowski fired into the top corner.
With Barca in front, the momentum of the game changed completely and the visitors had several chances to extend their lead against a Valencia side who appeared unable to find the spark to fight back.
Morata, Okafor rescue Milan in 2-2 draw with Torino
Alvaro Morata and Noah Okafor scored in the final minutes for AC Milan to claim a 2-2 draw at home against Torino in their Serie A opener on Saturday, sparing Milan's new manager Paulo Fonseca a loss on his competitive debut.
Milan started aggressively, with a Malick Thiaw header cleared off the line in the opening minutes, but Torino gradually took over.
They took the lead on the half-hour mark when Raoul Bellanova's header hit the post and rebounded onto the line, and Thiaw’s attempted clearance ended in an own goal.
Milan had keeper Mike Maignan to thank several times for preventing the visitors from doubling their lead in the first half.
Just after the hour mark Morata was sent through into the box, but Saul Coco stopped him with a perfectly timed sliding tackle.
Torino broke through again in the 68th minute with Duvan Zapata heading in Valentino Lazaro’s cross from close range.
As the boos from the supporters grew louder a minute before stoppage time, Morata gave the home fans hope by deflecting Tijjani Reijnders' long-range shot into the net.
Milan then launched a frantic final push, roared on by their fans, and Okafor scored with a volley deep into stoppage time to secure a point for the home side.
Ten-man Leverkusen beat Stuttgart on penalties to lift Supercup
Bayer Leverkusen, playing with 10 men for more than a half, beat VfB Stuttgart 4-3 on penalties after scoring a late equaliser to snatch a 2-2 draw over 90 minutes and win the German Supercup on Saturday.
Leverkusen, domestic double winners Leverkusen who lost only once in all competitions last season, needed only 11 minutes to take the lead with Edmond Tapsoba heading towards goal at the far post and Victor Boniface pushing the ball over the line.
Stuttgart struck back four minutes later thanks to Enzo Millot's shot in the first German season curtain-raiser not to feature Bayern Munich for 13 years.
Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen were reduced to 10 men when Martin Terrier was dismissed with a straight red card following a studs-up challenge in the 37th minute and Stuttgart quickly took control.
The visitors hit the woodwork three times and went in front in the 63rd minute when substitute Deniz Undav connected with a Frans Kraetzig cutback seconds after coming on.
But Leverkusen's never-say-die attitude that brought them many late goals last season en route to an undefeated league and German Cup run that earned them the nickname 'Neverlusen', was evident again as Patrik Schick latched onto an Alejandro Grimaldo through ball to level two minutes from time.
They kept their cool from the spot and scored all four penalties as Stuttgart's Silas missed the decisive one for his team.
