 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Kane scores twice on league home debut
Bundesliga record signing Harry Kane scored twice in his first league appearance in front of a home crowd on Sunday to steer champions Bayern Munich to a 3-1 victory over Augsburg and make it two wins out of two matches.
Kane, who joined for a league record 100 million euros ($108 million) from Tottenham Hotspur and also scored in last week's league-opening 4-0 win at Werder Bremen as well as setting up another, got on the scoresheet with a 40th-minute penalty before adding their third goal in the 69th.
Kane, whose wife had their fourth child this week, has hit the ground running since his arrival in Munich just over two weeks ago and has now become only the third Bayern player to score three times in his first two league games and the first since Adolfo Valencia in 1993.
The striker was brought in to improve Bayern's scoring after struggling since the departure of Robert Lewandowski last year, and allow them to challenge for the Champions League once more.
Despite their second straight league win coach Thomas Tuchel was not happy with his team's overall performance, especially after a sluggish first half.
"Here on home soil we have not played as freely as we know we are capable of," Tuchel told a press conference. "We are still not producing the level of performances that we are producing in training."
"We have problems with our pace and the way we are fighting on home soil. Sometimes you need a bit of a lucky goal like the first."
"Once we scored a second we were calmer. In the second half we were more precise and more clinical."
Bayern had their opponents on the backfoot from the start but chances were few and far between.
It was not until Augsburg's Felix Uduokhai deflected a save by his own keeper onto the post and over the line for an own goal in the 32nd that the Bavarians went in front.
They doubled their lead with Kane's well-struck penalty, awarded for an Augsburg hand ball, and upped the pressure after the break, hitting the woodwork with Leroy Sane.
The England captain then completed a lightning quick passing move with a fine finish to take his league tally to three goals and put the game to bed.
Man-of-the-match Kane came close to a hat-trick when left unmarked in the box but his header shortly before the final whistle flew wide.
Augsburg did manage to cut the deficit in the 86th when they caught the Bayern defence napping and Dion Beljo rounded keeper Sven Ulreich.
Bayern are on six points, as many as Union Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen, VfL Wolfsburg and Freiburg.
Barcelona fight back to win seven-goal thriller at Villarreal
Barcelona fought back to secure a barnstorming 4-3 win at Villarreal on Sunday, with last year's LaLiga top scorer Robert Lewandowski bagging the winner late in the second half.
Villarreal were arguably the better side throughout the match, but a clinical Barca scored at key moments, helped by a brilliant performance from 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who created most of their opportunities, including an assist, and had two shots off the woodwork.
Villarreal's Alexander Sorloth and Alex Baena wasted golden opportunities in the first minutes and Sorloth had an effort ruled out after a VAR check showed he was marginally offside in the build-up.
Barca, however, took an early two-goal lead thanks to a perfectly placed cross by Yamal that allowed Gavi to open the scoring in the 12th minute with a close-range header and three minutes later, they doubled their advantage with a shot by Frenkie De Jong following a defensive mistake.
But the hosts kept up their relentless pace and recovered with first-half goals by Juan Foyth and Alexander Sorloth, and from Alex Baena five minutes after the break.
After a string of saves by Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Foyth's bullet header from a corner in the 26th minute fired up the home crowd.
Sorloth scored the equaliser from close range 14 minutes later after a fine team move involving Gerard Moreno and Alfonso Pedraza, who delivered a cross for the Norway forward to level.
Pedraza was involved in another fine build-up to Villarreal's third in the 50th minute, powering up the left channel in a fast counter-attack and putting it on a plate for Baena to cut inside and finish with a curling shot into the top corner.
However, last year's LaLiga champions woke up with Yamal creating all types of trouble for the hosts' defence. He almost levelled the game in the 56th minute, but his thunderous strike from the edge of the box smashed against the crossbar.
Substitute Ferran Torres struck from close range to level the match again in the 68th minute for the visitors, with Yamal striking another bullet against the woodwork, only this time the ball bounced to Lewandowski, who tapped in the rebound off the post to score his first goal of the season and give Barca a hard-fought win in a pulsating affair.
It was Barca's second win in three games this season. They are third in the LaLiga standings on seven points, level with Girona, trailing leaders Real Madrid by two points.
Napoli comfortably beat Sassuolo
Napoli comfortably sealed a 2-0 home victory against Sassuolo on Sunday through goals from Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo, while Lazio were unexpectedly beaten 1-0 at home by Serie A newcomers Genoa.
Osimhen opened the scoring after 16 minutes when he converted a penalty after Sassuolo's Daniel Boloca brought down Matteo Politano.
Maxime Lopez made things worse for the visiting team when he was sent off in the 51st minute for verbally abusing the referee.
Napoli were awarded another penalty around the hour mark when Jeremy Toljan handled the ball, yet Giacomo Raspadori's effort sailed over the bar.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's perfectly timed through ball in the 64th minute sent Di Lorenzo on a clear path to score as he doubled Napoli's lead.
The Georgian midfielder was making his first appearance of the season as a substitute after recovering from a muscle issue, and within just three minutes of coming on, he provided an assist.
"Kvara only had two weeks or so of training out of five from pre-season, so it was better for him to come on when the opponents were tired and he could really make the difference," Napoli coach Rudi Garcia said.
"He is back and that is great news for Napoli."
Lazio's Serie A struggles continued as Genoa secured the only goal through Mateo Retegui's header from a rebound in the 16th minute. Lazio have now lost both of their Serie A matches this season.
Retegui was in the right place at the right time inside the box when Lazio's keeper Ivan Provedel had to parry out a volley from Morten Frendrup.
Genoa showed little respect for last season's runners-up and had multiple opportunities in the early minutes.
Lazio had chances to level but were unlucky, notably when Ciro Immobile struck the crossbar shortly after the hour mark.
On a scorching Rome night, Lazio were sluggish moving the ball and ultimately faded as the match neared the end.
"There were steps forward, not enough, even though the result tonight feels rather unfair. It means we need more steps forward," Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri told Sky Sports Italia.
