Osasuna shock leaders Barcelona
Croatian forward Ante Budimir scored twice to help Osasuna earn a shock 4-2 home win over leaders Barcelona and hand the visitors their first defeat of the LaLiga season on Saturday.
Barca manager Hansi Flick dropped regular starters Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Inigo Martinez to the bench with an eye on Tuesday’s Champions League match against Young Boys and Osasuna, roared on by a sold-out El Sadar Stadium, started aggressively.
They pressed high relentlessly and threatened with quick counter attacks that hurt their much changed rivals.
Bryan Zaragoza, on-loan from Bayern Munich, crossed to Budimir to open the scoring with a close-range header in the 18th minute and the 23-year-old winger extended Osasuna's lead with a strike from a quick counter-attack 10 minutes later.
Barca reduced the deficit thanks to a massive blunder by Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera who failed to keep out a weak strike by Pau Victor in the 53rd minute, but Budimir extended the hosts' lead from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute, after he was fouled inside the box.
Substitute Abel Bretones scored the fourth with a brilliant strike from long range in the 83rd minute, before substitute Yamal scored Barca's second with a shot from the edge of the box in the 89th.
Barca top the standings on 21 points, four ahead second-placed Real Madrid who have a game in hand and face local rivals Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Osasuna are sixth on 14 points.
"We knew that Barcelona were a tough team, that they had won everything and that we had to go out and bite, and that's how we went out," Zaragoza told Movistar Plus.
"It is a special and beautiful game to play against Barca and I could stay all night here celebrating with the fans."
The pacey Zaragoza was a constant menace running up and down the left channel.
He dribbled past Jules Kounde before crossing for Budimir to score the opener and showed exquisite technique to run past the goalkeeper and tap the ball into the empty net for the second goal.
Barcelona dominated possession but looked out of ideas up-front until Flick brought Yamal and Raphinha off the bench late in the second half, after a double error from Herrera helped them reduce the deficit.
First the Osasuna keeper rolled the ball out to a Barca player then could not get back to keep out Victor’s tame strike from the edge of the box that slipped through his hands and into the net.
Barca started to create more chances but were often exposed on the counter, with one such break leading to Osasuna's third goal.
Zaragoza recovered the ball and fired a long pass through that Jesus Areso took in his stride before sending a low cross to Budimir, who was tackled from behind by defender Sergi Dominguez to concede a penalty in the 71st minute that the Croatian despatched.
Bretones effectively made the game safe but after Yamal scored the visitors' second with a fine curling strike, Barca pushed for another with Ferran Torres hitting the post in added time, but it was too little too late.
Bayern held by resolute Leverkusen
Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen played out a 1-1 draw in a heavyweight Bundesliga clash on Saturday at the Allianz Arena where a long-range strike from Robert Andrich for the visitors was cancelled out by another from Aleksandar Pavlovic.
The result leaves Bayern with 13 points after five games -- two points clear of RB Leipzig at the top of the standings -- while Leverkusen are third with 10 points.
Bayern finished the game with 18 shots compared to three for Leverkusen but in the end Xabi Alonso's determined side saw out the game to take home a point.
Such was their staunch defence that Bundesliga top scorer Harry Kane failed to have a single shot as a starter in a league game for the first time in three years, but Vincent Kompany will be more worried about the striker's injury after a knock.
Bayern dominated possession in the opening stages, with Jamal Musiala regularly finding gaps in the defence to create opportunities while Leverkusen did not get a single chance to test Manuel Neuer in the first half-hour.
But with their first chance in the 31st minute, Granit Xhaka controlled a corner kick with his chest and set up Andrich outside the box, with the German's sweeping low shot drilled through a crowd of players into the bottom corner.
"We deserved more because we were clearly the better team," Neuer told Sky Germany. "We had the better chances. The goal we conceded was very annoying."
Their lead did not last long, however, when a poor clearance fell to Pavlovic and the midfielder pulled the trigger from 25 metres with a half-volley that brushed the fingertips of goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky as it sailed into the top corner.
"We can live with a point, better than Bayern. Defensive work was our top priority today. On a good day, Lukas saves Alex's shot," Andrich said.
But it was redemption for Pavlovic as it was his misplaced pass that led to the Leverkusen corner from which they scored the opener.
"I'm happy with the performance, we dominated them and barely conceded any chances. I was very happy and emotional after my goal," he said.
Serge Gnabry had two golden opportunities to make it 2-1 early in the second half when the unmarked winger received a cross from Harry Kane, but his first shot came off the far post while his second shaved the crossbar as he sank to his knees.
Bayern continued to dominate the game as Leverkusen were pegged back while Musiala was left frustrated when he did not win a penalty while jostling with Xhaka for the ball in the box.
Kane hobbled off in the dying stages after a collision with Amine Adli and he was replaced by Thomas Mueller, who went down in the box under pressure from Edmond Tapsoba but Bayern did not get a penalty as the two teams shared the spoils.
Juventus return to top with Vlahovic double at Genoa
Juventus returned to top of the Serie A standings after a 3-0 win at Genoa on Saturday as striker Dusan Vlahovic found the net twice to help Thiago Motta's side recover their scoring touch.
Juventus, who started their campaign with consecutive 3-0 wins but drew each of their last three league games 0-0, top the table with 12 points from six games.
They are one point ahead of second-placed Torino, who host Lazio on Sunday, as well as rivals AC Milan and Inter Milan, in third and fourth.
The teams - who drew both Serie A encounters last season - started cautiously and a dull first half ended with no shots on target, with Vlahovic sending a free kick just over the bar.
But the game came alive when Juventus were awarded a penalty for Koni De Winter's handball after the break and the Serbia striker made no mistake when he converted from the spot.
He then scored again in the 55th minute, sending a Teun Koopmeiners pass into the far bottom corner from a tight angle, before the Dutch midfielder hit the bar from close range shortly after.
Vlahovic had a chance to seal the win with a hat-trick late in the game but his header missed the target from point-blank range.
Substitute Francisco Conceicao sealed the win with a low, one-touch finish from near the penalty spot one minute from fulltime.
Juve have a perfect record so far of six games with a clean sheet, the first such run in the club's history.
The last side to have managed a similar feat were AC Milan in 1993 under Fabio Capello.
The game in Genoa was played behind closed doors after crowd violence during their Coppa Italia fixture against Serie B side Sampdoria left more than 50 people injured.
Juventus travel to RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday before they host bottom side Cagliari in Serie A on Oct. 6.
Genoa, who were unbeaten in their previous three league games against Juventus, have one win from six games and are 16th on five points.
