Barca win derby to extend lead
LaLiga leaders Barcelona beat Espanyol 3-1 in the Catalan derby thanks to a first-half double from Dani Olmo and a goal from Raphinha to extend their unbeaten run over their local rivals to 27 games. The victory moved Barcelona nine points clear of Real Madrid, who did not play at Valencia this weekend after their match was postponed due to the devastating floods in the region.
Barcelona, who thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 last weekend, could have kept another clean sheet but Javi Puado scored for Espanyol, who were unlucky to have two goals chalked off by VAR for marginal offsides.
“We’re going little by little, it’s very important to keep winning. We’ve come off a good week. Espanyol weren’t going to come here and give us anything but we got the three points, so it’s mission accomplished,” Olmo said. “We’re a side that have a lot of goals, up top and from players in midfield. We decided to play directly and we create a lot of chances in every game.”
Solanke scores double
London: Two second-half goals from Dominic Solanke and a sublime James Maddison free kick helped Tottenham Hotspur to come from behind and overwhelm Aston Villa 4-1, ending the visitors’ seven-match unbeaten run in the Premier League. Spurs climbed to seventh in the table on 16 points, two points behind Villa who slipped to sixth.
Unai Emery’s Villa led at halftime through Morgan Rogers, but Spurs were level soon after the break when Brennan Johnson tapped in at the far post. Solanke’s two goals in four minutes, including a flowing team move finished off with a delightful dink over Emiliano Martinez, secured the win, before Maddison curled in a free kick in stoppage time.
Moises Caicedo cancelled out Bruno Fernandes’ 70th-minute penalty with a spectacular goal four minutes later as Chelsea denied Manchester United victory. The 1-1 draw lifted Chelsea to fourth, while United stayed 13th.
Juve back to winning ways
Milan: Juventus got back to winning ways but needed a lot of help from the post. The Bianconeri won 2-0 at Udinese following an own-goal from home goalkeeper Maduka Okoye and Nicolo Savona’s strike, with the ball bouncing off the right post immediately before both goals. Rafael Leao was on the bench again and Milan managed a narrow win as they prepare for a tough trip to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.
PSG move 6 points clear
Paris: Ousmane Dembele’s early goal was enough as defending champions Paris Saint-Germain beat Lens 1-0 to move six points clear at the top of the French league. Winger Bradley Barcola broke free down the left in the fourth minute and set up Dembele with a low cross to the back post.
