Lewandowski nets hat-trick in Barcelona win

Robert Lewandowski’s first-half hat-trick guided LaLiga leaders Barcelona to a 3-0 win away at Deportivo Alaves on Sunday as the Polish striker extended his lead at the top of the league’s scoring charts.

Lewandowski’s treble made him the first player to net 10 goals in LaLiga this season and the second in Europe’s top leagues after Manchester City’s Erling Haaland. The victory moved Barcelona to 24 points, three points clear of rivals Real Madrid, while Alaves are 12th with 10 points.

“There were some good passes and they made it easier for me to score. We played very well from the first minute, we wanted to attack and score goals,” Lewandowski said. “Scoring three goals in the first half puts you in more control in the second.”

Barcelona dominated possession and skipper Raphinha had the ball in the net inside four minutes but the goal was ruled out for offside, a minute before the visitors lost Ferran Torres to an injury with Eric Garcia taking his place. But Barcelona wasted no time in taking the lead when Lewandowski scored from a Raphinha free kick in the seventh minute, heading home an inch-perfect cross from the edge of the six-yard box.

Lewandowski has showed no signs of slowing down at 36 and he grabbed his second on a counterattack when he checked his run to latch on to Raphinha’s pass to score.

He completed his hat-trick in the 32nd minute when Garcia slipped a ball through to him and the Polish striker stretched to fire his shot past Antonio Sivera in the Alaves goal to net his 12th goal in 11 games in all competitions.

Alaves thought they had got on the board when Toni Martinez scored with a towering header towards the end of the first half but VAR ruled it out for offside.

United coach Ten Hag shrugs off pressure

London: Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said he remained on the same page as the club’s senior management team despite the team’s worst start in the Premier League era following a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa on Sunday.

United are languishing in 14th place on eight points with two wins from nine games in all competitions and Sunday’s match was clouded by media speculation about Ten Hag’s future.

“We are all on board together, on one page, we know what we are working through it’s a long-term process,” Ten Hag said.