Real Madrid were forced to come from behind to continue their perfect start to the new LaLiga season with a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad.
Jude Bellingham was presented with the player of the month award for August before kick-off, but the Santiago Bernabeu went silent after five minutes when Ander Barrenetxea put Sociedad in front.
It remained 1-0 until half-time, but Carlo Ancelotti’s men levelled immediately after the break with Federico Valverde side-footing home 40 seconds into the second half.
Madrid’s winner arrived on the hour mark when Joselu headed home Fran Garcia’s cross to earn the LaLiga leaders a fifth consecutive win.
Earlier in the day, Mason Greenwood made his first appearance in 20 months and helped Getafe to a late 3-2 win over Osasuna.
Greenwood signed for Getafe on loan on transfer deadline day after Manchester United made the decision last month for the forward to continue his career away from Old Trafford after he was suspended by the club on January 30, 2022 over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online.
One-time England forward Greenwood faced charges which included attempted rape and assault, but after the Crown Prosecution Service announced in February that the case had been discontinued, following the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material coming to light, he resumed his career in Madrid with a cameo in a five-goal thriller.
View this post on InstagramIntroduced with 13 minutes left at Coliseum Alfonso Perez, Greenwood’s blocked shot forced a corner which resulted in Nemanja Maksimovic’s 86th-minute winner after the Serbian headed home Carles Alena’s cross.
It was later reported Greenwood received chants urging him to “die” by the visiting Osasuna supporters.
Europa League winners Sevilla claimed a first win of the new season after Dodi Lukebakio’s 71st-minute effort earned them a 1-0 victory at home to Las Palmas.
Villarreal required a stoppage-time header to beat Almeria after former Crystal Palace forward Alexander Sorloth nodded home from close range in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Sergio Akieme had put Almeria ahead a minute before half-time, but Gerard Moreno levelled on the stroke of the interval before Sorloth headed in a last-gasp winner.
Roma put their poor start to the campaign behind them with Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku scoring in a 7-0 thrashing of Empoli.
Jose Mourinho’s side had lost two of their opening three Serie A fixtures, but Paulo Dybala and Renato Sanches put them 2-0 up inside eight minutes.
Empoli, the division’s bottom club, trailed 3-0 at the break thanks to Alberto Grassi’s own goal before Roma upped the ante after half-time with Dybala completing his brace before Lukaku fired home with eight minutes left following a quick break after Andrea Belotti’s pass. Bryan Cristante and Gianluca Mancini were also on the scoresheet.
Fiorentina edged out Atalanta in a five-goal thriller with Christian Kouama firing the winner in the 76th-minute after Ademola Lookman looked to have salvaged a point for the visitors.
Teun Koopmeiners put Atalanta ahead before Giacomo Bonaventura and Lucas Martinez Quarta put the home side ahead at half-time.
Luca Mazzitelli’s brace inspired Frosinone to a 4-2 home victory over Sassuolo despite Andrea Pinamonti’s early double giving the visitors a two-goal advantage.
Walid Cheddira halved the deficit on the stroke of half-time before Mazzitelli’s double and Pol Lirola wrapped up the impressive comeback win.
Monza and Lecce finished with 10 men after Luca Caldirola and Federico Baschirotto received their marching orders respectively in a 1-1 draw. Nikola Krstovic’s third-minute penalty was cancelled out by Andrea Colpani.
There was also a red card in the goalless stalemate between Cagliari and Udinese after Mateusz Wieteska received a second yellow card late on.
Heidenheim capped a historic day for manager Frank Schmidt with a thrilling 4-2 win over Werder Bremen after Eren Dinkci’s double.
Schmidt became the longest-serving manager in German history on Sunday having taken over the club back in 2007 when they were in the fifth tier and his landmark occasion was marked with Heidenheim’s claiming a first-ever Bundesliga win.
Eren Dinkci’s brace against his parent club downed Werder Bremen at Voith Arena in Schmidt’s 591st match in charge of the newly-promoted outfit.
An early Tim Kleindienst penalty abd Dinkci’s first set them on their way, only for Marvin Ducksch and Mitchell Weiser to level for Bremen. However, Dinkci and Jan-Niklas Beste won it for the hosts.
Darmstadt and Borussia Monchengladbach shared the spoils after an entertaining 3-3 draw where the home side threw away a three-goal lead.
Marvin Mehlem, Matej Maglica, who was later sent off, and Tim Sharke put Darmstadt into a 3-0 lead at half-time, but Jordan Siebatcheu started the comeback before further efforts by Florian Neuhaus and Tomas Cvancara salvaged a point for Monchengladbach.
Folarin Balogun scored for Ligue 1 leaders Monaco but they were pegged back by a stoppage-time leveller by Romain Faivre in Lorient.
Aiyegun Tosin put Lorient ahead after two minutes but Aleksandr Golovin equalised for Adi Hutter’s Monaco before Balogun struck with 21 minutes left.
View this post on InstagramFaivre had the final say on proceedings when he fired into the bottom corner in the eighth minute of stoppage time in a match where former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy, who was cleared of rape and attempted rape charges in July, made his first competitive appearance in two years.
Elsewhere, Marseille were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Toulouse and Lyon played out a goalless stalemate with visiting Le Havre.
Moses Simon’s solitary goal earned Nantes a first win of the season at Clermont, while Brest won 2-1 at Reims and Strasbourg came back to draw 2-2 with Montpellier.
Kurzawa to follow Mbappe through PSG exit door
Defender Layvin Kurzawa will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season after nine years with the Ligue 1 giants, he announced on Monday.
Left-back Kurzawa joined PSG from Monaco in 2015 for €23million and has made 154 appearances for the Parisiens.
However, the 31-year-old has fallen out of favour in recent years and has played just eight minutes in one match throughout the 2023-24 campaign.
Kurzawa was loaned out to Premier League club Fulham in the 2022-23 season after not playing for the French side for more than 11 months, but he made just six appearances for the English outfit.
"I've had some great times, as well as some tough ones," he wrote in a post on X. "But I want you to know that my love for Paris Saint-Germain is sincere.
"I know that our relationship has sometimes been complicated, but I want you to know that I can only take back the positive and that I have been privileged to have called the Parc des Princes my home for all these years."
Kurzawa's announcement comes after Kylian Mbappe played his final home game for PSG on Sunday, a 3-1 defeat to Toulouse.
Mbappe is widely expected to join Champions League finalists Real Madrid after opting not to activate a one-year extension clause in the big-money deal he signed with PSG in 2022.
Manchester City's success is "not boring" or purely determined by financial reasons, head coach Pep Guardiola insists.
The Citizens are on the hunt for an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title, and could become the first team to win back-to-back doubles should they also prevail in the FA Cup final later this month.
Once again, City appear to be hitting form at just the right time, winning each of their last four matches by an aggregate scoreline of 15-1.
Guardiola's side are a point behind leaders Arsenal heading into the final week of the campaign, and will leapfrog the Gunners should they win their game in hand against Tottenham.
But the Spaniard rejected the claim City's success is becoming too predictable - or that it is down to the money they have spent - believing other teams would have lifted more silverware than his side had that been the case.
"It's not boring," he said. "It's difficult. Before, it was the money. For that reason, Manchester United should have won all the titles, Chelsea - all the titles, Arsenal - all the titles.
"They spent as much money in the last five years as us. They should be there. They are not there.
"For that reason, Girona shouldn’t be in the Champions League [next season] and Leicester should win the Premier League."
City will take a giant step towards that fourth straight Premier League crown with victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday.
While Guardiola admits the achievement was not at the forefront of his squad's intentions at the beginning of the campaign, he is well aware of it's significance.
"In the beginning of the season, we didn't think about it," he added. "But then we were in February, March and April, we were still there [in the title race]. After that, it ignites something in all our heads.
"No team has done it. That shows how hard it is. Liverpool in the 1980s, Alex Ferguson's [Manchester] United in the 1990s. Chelsea with [Roman] Abramovich and Jose [Mourinho], Arsenal with [Arsene] Wenger didn't do it."
Barcelona pleased to have second-place battle with Girona in their own hands
Barcelona face a tough battle to secure a second-place finish in LaLiga but are pleased to have their fate in their own hands with three games remaining, says defender Inigo Martinez.
Barca leapfrogged Girona into second with Monday's 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad, going one point clear of their Catalan rivals after they drew 2-2 with Alaves on Friday.
Lamine Yamal put Xavi's team ahead in the 40th minute when he coolly slotted home from Ilkay Gundogan's pass after a quick breakaway, then Raphinha's stoppage-time penalty made certain of the win.
The Blaugrana go to Almeria on Thursday before hosting Rayo Vallecano in their final home game of the season on Sunday. They then bring their campaign to a close at Sevilla on May 25.
"There is still a long way to go. It will be a battle to the end. Girona are very strong," Martinez told Movistar after Monday's game.
"It's in our hands now. I think the team is very good. It's three valuable points. We had some mistakes in the first half, but in the second half I think we could have finished it off earlier."
Teenage winger Yamal believes Xavi's side – who are some 14 points adrift of champions Real Madrid – may need maximum points to hold off Girona.
"It was an important game to regain second place and we have to try to make it a nine-point week," the 16-year-old said.
"La Real did very well in the first half but then we were able to improve. There was a good feeling in the whole team."
Xavi, meanwhile, was pleased to see his team pass a difficult test, saying: "La Real always make it difficult for us.
"They are always very organised, aggressive, you don't create danger for them. It's an important victory for us. We played a good game in general."
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