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Real Madrid showed why they are Liga champions with a convincing 2-0 home win over Atletico Madrid in the derby on Saturday to end the pacesetters' unbeaten start to the league season.
Real deservedly took the lead in the 15th minute when Casemiro headed home from a corner, leaving Atletico behind for the first time in their 11th league game of the season.
Dani Carvajal put Zinedine Zidane's Real side further at ease with a stunning strike in the 63rd minute which came off the post and into the net off keeper Jan Oblak for an own goal.
Atletico still lead the standings on 26 points, while Real climbed to third and closed the gap on their city rivals to three points, although Diego Simeone's side have a game in hand.
The result also means second-placed Real Sociedad can reclaim top spot if they beat Eibar on Sunday.
Atletico were utterly outplayed by champions Real and did not have any attempts on goal in the first half, while they failed to even manage a shot on target until the 80th minute, when Saul Niguez's header was saved by Thibaut Courtois.
"We went all out to win the game from the start, we drowned them in their own half," said Carvajal.
Atletico captain Koke added: "They played much better than us, they were more intense and we were not ourselves in the first half.
"We took a step forward in the second half and had a great chance to score but football is all about the little details.
"Now we need to move on, it's a long season and we need to stay near the top of the season."
The home side were boosted by the return of first-choice right back Carvajal but Zidane also rewarded Lucas Vazquez for his outstanding efforts in deputising for the defender and deployed him as a right winger.
The move gave Real extra intensity and work rate and Atletico could barely cope with their whirlwind start, as Karim Benzema forced Oblak to tip a stinging shot onto the post and moments latter narrowly failed to connect with a cross.
The hosts continued to dominate the first half and Simeone sprung a triple change at the interval in a bid to give his side some control of a match that was slipping from their grasp.
The move almost bore fruit as substitute Thomas Lemar ghosted in unmarked at the far post from close range to meet a cross but somehow hit the side-netting, Simeone howling in disbelief on the sidelines at a glorious chance gone to waste.
Carvajal then delivered an emphatic counter punch to put the game out of Atletico's reach and although the visitors reacted well they never looked like staging a comeback.
In other results on the night, Sevilla edged Getafe 1-0 with a late own-goal by defender Xabier Etxeita. Manu Vallejo also scored late to salvage a point for Valencia in a 2-2 draw with Athletic Bilbao, which had overcome an early deficit at Mestalla Stadium.
Bayern's Lewandowski salvages 1-1 draw at Union Berlin
Champions Bayern Munich again had Robert Lewandowski to thank as they came from a goal behind for the fifth straight Bundesliga game to rescue a 1-1 draw at Union Berlin on Saturday as they held on to top spot ahead of RB Leipzig on goal difference.
Union stunned the visitors in the sixth minute with Grischa Proemel's glancing header from a corner.
It was a familiar scenario for the Bavarians, whose 17 goals conceded equals their record after the 11th matchday from the 2008/9 season under Juergen Klinsmann.
However, Bundesliga top scorer Lewandowski rescued a point in the 67th, tapping in a Kingsley Coman assist for his 13th goal of the campaign on his 200th appearance for the club.
Bayern, who have won only one of their last four league games, are now level on 24 points with Leipzig, who beat visitors Werder Bremen 2-0. Bayer Leverkusen, who have 22, can go top with a home victory over Hoffenheim on Sunday.
"We can definitely play better than that," said Bayern coach Hansi Flick, who led them to five titles in 2020.
"We knew in advance it would be a very difficult season. Now we have to see what positives we can draw for this situation and improve on the things that have not worked well."
The hosts were far the better side and twice came close with Taiwo Awoniyi, who forced a superb save from Manuel Neuer in the opening minute and in the 22nd beat the keeper but fired wide.
The Bavarians, who face unbeaten VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen next week, struggled to find their rhythm in the first half while leaving big gaps in defence.
However, after the break, as Union fans outside the stadium chanted and lit fireworks, the visitors connected a bit better and their Poland striker Lewandowski struck the equaliser.
Home keeper Andreas Luthe then made the save of the day in stoppage time, palming away a point-blank Leroy Sane header.
Stuttgart crush hosts Dortmund 5-1 with second-half goal run
Promoted VfB Stuttgart scored three times in 10 minutes to crush hosts Borussia Dortmund 5-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday and maintain their unbeaten run on the road this season.
In their best performance of the season under American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, Stuttgart rode roughshod over the Dortmund defence.
For Dortmund, it was the worst defeat under coach Lucien Favre, who is in his third season at the club.
Stuttgart's strong start earned them a 26th-minute penalty when Emre Can felled Mateo Klimowicz and Silas Wamangituka sent keeper Roman Buerki the wrong way with his spot kick.
With the visitors pushing for a second goal, the hosts, without injured top striker Erling Haaland, struck against the run of play when Giovanni Reyna latched on to a pinpoint Raphael Guerreiro cross to chip the ball over the Stuttgart keeper.
But a mistake by Guerreiro on the edge of the box in the 53rd sent Wamangituka through for his seventh goal of the campaign.
Philipp Foerster, in his second start for Stuttgart, made it 3-1 on the hour before teenager Tanguy Coulibaly added another goal three minutes later from a Jude Bellingham mistake, with Dortmund's defence in complete disarray.
Nicolas Gonzalez, who should have been awarded a penalty earlier, got on to the score sheet by adding the fifth goal in stoppage time after yet another Dortmund error.
Dortmund have now lost six of their eight games at home without fans. They had lost just one in 32 at home under Favre with fans in the stands.
"Stuttgart were better than us in every area," said Dortmund's Marco Reus.
"We are not a team that defends well, we have to say that. Overall it was a deserved win for Stuttgart and for us it was disgraceful."
The Ruhr valley club, who have now gone three league games without a win, slip to fifth place on 19 points, while Stuttgart move up to sixth on 17.
Leipzig ease past Werder to provisionally top standings
RB Leipzig provisionally moved top of the Bundesliga as a 2-0 victory over Werder Bremen on Saturday lifted them a point ahead of Bayern Munich.
Buoyed by their 3-2 midweek win over Manchester United that earned them a place in the Champions League last 16, the hosts dominated Werder from the start.
Leipzig, who have now won all six of their home games this season, earned a penalty in the 26th minute and Marcel Sabitzer converted it.
Dani Olmo completed a quick Leipzig passing move with a clever dribble on the edge of the box and his low shot in the 41st gave them a two-goal cushion.
Leipzig moved top on 24 points with Bayern, who play Union Berlin later on Saturday, on 23.
Belotti's 100th Torino goal in vain as Udinese win five-goal thriller
Torino forward Andrea Belotti scored his 100th goal for the club in all competitions but it turned out to be in vain as they lost 3-2 at home to Udinese in Serie A on Saturday despite clawing back a two-goal deficit.
The defeat continued a miserable season for Torino who have made a habit off throwing away matches from promising positions and are second-bottom with six points after 11 matches.
Torino, who have gone eight home games without a win, have conceded three or more goals in six league matches this season.
Ignacio Pussetto put 10th-placed Udinese ahead in the 24th minute after he was sent clean through by Gerard Deulofeu and fellow Argentine Rodrigo De Paul added a second nine minutes after halftime.
The game then took a dramatic turn with three goals in four minutes.
Torino's Federico Bonazzoli dispossessed Samir in the Udinese penalty area and laid the ball off for Belotti to score in the 66th minute and reach the century mark in just over five seasons.
Belotti then returned the compliment as his back-heeled flick set up Bonazzoli to equalise one minute later.
But two minutes afterthat Ilija Nestorovski put Udinese back in front from close range after Roberto Pereyra pulled the ball back.
Earlier, bottom side Crotone won their first match of the season when they thumped Serie A newcomers Spezia 4-1 in a battle between two promoted teams.
Crotone had not even scored in their previous four games but Junior Messias ended the drought when he curled in a shot from the edge of the area in the seventh minute.
Diego Farias equalised 11 minutes later, taking advantage of a poor back pass, and Roberto Piccoli nearly put the visitors ahead, forcing Alex Cordaz to save at close range.
Instead, Crotone ran away with the second half as goals from Arkadiusz Reca, Eduardo Henrique and Messias completed an impressive win.
Zelarayan double as Columbus thump Seattle 3-0 to win MLS Cup
Argentine midfielder Lucas Zelarayan struck in either half to help Columbus Crew seal their second MLS Cup title with a 3-0 victory over Seattle Sounders at the Mapfre Stadium on Saturday.
The 1,500 fans in attendance were treated to a breathtaking display of attacking soccer from the hosts, who took the lead in the 25th minute when Seattle keeper Stefan Frei failed to keep out Argentine midfielder Zelarayan's sweetly struck volley.
Zelarayan turned provider for the second, bringing the ball down on the edge of the box and finding Derrick Etienne Jr., who unleashed a curling effort past Frei into the far corner.
Seattle had mounted a spectacular comeback from two goals down in the Western Conference Final against Minnesota but there were no similar heroics on Saturday as Zelarayan netted his second in the 82nd minute to seal the victory.
Crew became the seventh team to win multiple MLS Cups following their triumph in 2008, while Seattle failed to add to their championships of 2016 and 2019.
