PSG continue unbeaten Ligue 1 run with 3-1 win over Rennes
Paris St. Germain's unbeaten start to their Ligue 1 season continued on Friday with a comfortable 3-1 win over Rennes at the Parc des Princes that saw Bradley Barcola score twice to keep them top of the standings.
After a sizzling start to the league campaign that featured 13 goals in their opening three games, PSG’s attack has misfired of late but on Friday they showed signs of a return to form.
PSG moved to 16 points, three clear of Olympique de Marseille and Monaco at the top of the table.
PSG squandered some decent chances but finally made the breakthrough on the half-hour mark, surging forward through the middle before Ousmane Dembele slipped the ball for Barcola to calmly pick his spot and curl it home.
Barcola's battle with Rennes defender Leo Ostigard came to define game and the French attack also lay behind PSG's second in the 58th minute, hitting the woodwork with a rasping shot that South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in reacted quickest to head home the rebound.
Ten minutes later Barcola's run to the far post was expertly picked out by Achraf Hakimi's pinpoint pass, leaving him a simple close-range finish to make it 3-0.
Rennes were thrown a late lifeline through an Arnaud Kalimuendo penalty, who sent Steve Mandanda the wrong way with his spot kick in the 75th minute, and all of a sudden PSG looked shaky again.
The visitors continued to pour forward and Alidu Seidu lashed the ball into the net from close range after his initial shot was blocked in the 87th minute, but the goal was ruled out as the ball struck his hand in the build up.
That effectively ended their short-lived comeback.
Guirassy double sparks Dortmund's inspiring 4-2 comeback win over Bochum
A resilient Borussia Dortmund staged a spectacular comeback to beat VfL Bochum 4-2 in the Bundesliga on Friday thanks to a double from Serhou Guirassy.
The win temporarily lifted Dortmund into second place on 10 points, two behind leaders Bayern Munich who face third-placed Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Matus Bero gave Bochum an early lead in the 16th minute, latching onto Philipp Hofmann's incisive pass and slotting home past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, who five minutes later was guilty of mis-handling a pass to attacker Dani de Wit to double the visitors' advantage.
Nuri Sahin's side looked increasingly desperate for a goal but were denied by a series of fine saves from goalkeeper Patrick Drewes, until new summer arrival Guirassy headed home from the centre of the area just before the break from midfielder Julian Brandt's cross.
Dortmund put their attacking sloppiness behind them in the second half, creating more chances and levelling through Emre Can's second-half penalty after Felix Passlack fouled Guirassy, who later scored his second in the 75th minute with a powerful finish from Karim Adeyemi's through ball.
"We wanted to get off to a good start in the game, but suddenly we were two goals behind. But we all knew that if we scored one goal before halftime, we would be in it," said Can.
"We got hit early but we stayed clear in our minds. I don't know if I can say it, but I think we deserved to win," Dortmund boss Sahin added.
Substitute Felix Nmecha completed the rout with a long-range strike nine minutes from time as the hosts made amends for their first defeat of the season, a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of VfB Stuttgart on Sunday.
Dortmund will host Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday before facing Union Berlin in the German top flight four days later.
Milan ease 3-0 past Lecce with quick-fire goals
AC Milan beat Lecce 3-0 in Serie A on Friday as Alvaro Morata, Theo Hernandez and Christian Pulisic sealed the win just before the break, scoring all goals inside five minutes.
Milan, who travel to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday, provisionally moved up to second in the standings on 11 points, level with leaders Torino who host Lazio on Sunday.
A largely uneventful first half sprung to life when Morata gave Milan the lead in the 38th minute with a towering header, nodding home a Hernandez free kick before the ball bounced in off the inside of the bar.
The Spain striker scored his second goal for Milan after he had netted in their season-opening 2-2 draw against Torino.
Hernandez doubled the advantage three minutes later with a shot into the roof of the net from a precise low cross by Rafael Leao.
With 29 goals to his name, the French left-back equalled Paolo Maldini as the defender with the most goals scored for Milan in Serie A history.
Pulisic added a third two minutes from halftime as he got to the rebound and struck into the middle of the net, moments after Tammy Abraham hit the post.
Lecce looked good throughout the game as they searched for chances on counter-attack and had overall 16 attempts compared to 15 by Milan.
The hosts, however, continued to push and Ruben Loftus-Cheek hit the bar in the second half.
Milan were left with 10 men in the 80th minute after substitute Davide Bartesaghi was sent off for his tackle on Lecce winger Lameck Banda five minutes after coming on in place of Hernandez.
Milan, who beat Venezia 4-0 in their previous home game, have scored three or more first-half goals in two consecutive home games for the first time since 2009.
Lecce, who last beat Milan at San Siro in Serie A in October 1997 (2-1), remained one place above the relegation zone with five points.
They next travel to fourth-placed Udinese on Oct. 5.
Milan, who had secured a hard-fought 2-1 derby win over Inter Milan last weekend, visit Fiorentina in Serie A on Oct. 6.
