Juventus move top of Serie A with 2-1 win over Cagliari
Juventus moved top of the Serie A standings with a 2-1 home win over lowly Cagliari on Saturday as defenders Gleison Bremer and Daniele Rugani scored in the second half to secure a fifth consecutive victory for their side.
Juventus, who are unbeaten in Serie A since the end of September, top the standings with 29 points, one ahead of Inter Milan who host mid-table Frosinone on Sunday.
After six consecutive clean sheets, Juventus conceded their first goal since the 4-2 loss at Sassuolo on Sept. 23.
Juve host Inter in a top-of-the-table clash on Nov. 26, following the international break.
“Inter are favourites for the Scudetto with AC Milan and Napoli a little behind,” Allegri added.
“They are a team that has been built for years to win the championship and this year they are the number one favourite. Today’s victory is useful for us to stretch the lead over those behind.”
Cagliari, who last weekend climbed out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win over Genoa, are 17th on nine points.
Vinicius and Rodrygo score twice as Real thrash Valencia 5-1
Brazilian duo Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo put on a show at the Bernabeu Stadium as they both scored twice to lead Real Madrid to a 5-1 thrashing of Valencia in LaLiga on Saturday.
Real are second in the standings on 32 points, two behind surprise leaders Girona, who beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1 earlier on Saturday.
Barcelona are third on 27 points and face lowly Alaves on Sunday.
Kane stretches record scoring run in Bayern’s 4-2 win over Heidenheim
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane scored twice in their 4-2 victory over Heidenheim on Saturday to lift them provisionally into top spot in the Bundesliga while extending his own record-breaking scoring run in Germany.
Kane, who has now bagged 21 goals in 15 matches in the Bundesliga and the Champions League for Bayern, opened his account in the 14th minute with a superb turn and shot in the box from a Leroy Sane pass.
The England captain, who became the league’s most expensive transfer with his 100-million-euro ($106.81 million) move from Tottenham Hotspur this season, then struck again with a powerful header a minute before the break after yet another Sane assist.
He is now the first player in Bundesliga history to score 17 goals in the first 11 matchdays of a season.
He now has more league goals after 11 league matches than last season’s top Bundesliga scorers had in the entire 2022-23 campaign, with questions about whether he can break the league record of 41 goals now almost inevitable.
Mbappe hat-trick lifts PSG to the top
Kylian Mbappe grabbed a hat-trick as Paris St Germain moved top of Ligue 1 with a 3-0 victory at fourth-placed Reims on Saturday.
Champions PSG top the standings with 27 points, one ahead of Nice who played out a goalless draw at Montpellier on Friday.
Mbappe scored after three minutes, receiving a cross unmarked at the back post and calmly slotting a low volley into the bottom corner of the net.
Reims thought they had equalised minutes later when Junya Ito converted a cross, but the offside flag was up.
Mbappe doubled the advantage for the visitors in the 59th minute, eluding his marker to tap in a low cross at the far post.
Eight minutes from time, the 24-year-old France forward notched his third with a first-time shot from inside the area.
PSG manager Luis Enrique believed Mbappe could have done even better.
“Kylian was the best in terms of goals. But I think there’s still room for improvement, and we can still ask a lot more of our best players,” he said.
Reims enjoyed good spells of possession and made chances but were unable to beat PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The Italian keeper thwarted Amir Richardson from close range and saved Joseph Okumu’s header shortly after the break.
“I’m very happy. It was a very difficult match,” Luis Enrique said.
“Gigio (Donnarumma) saved us several times, but I think we deserved to win. We suffered, but we were alert and we defended well when we needed to.”
Lindelof lifts the gloom at Man United
Defender Victor Lindelof scored in the second half as struggling Manchester United breathed a collective sigh of relief with a 1-0 victory over Luton Town in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Erik ten Hag’s team, who have won two successive league games after stumbling to their worst start since 1962, provisionally climbed two spots to sixth in the table on 21 points after 12 games.
“It is a good day,” Ten Hag told the BBC. “We needed the win and we got it but we could make life more easy by scoring early on and getting a second. We created the chances but we didn’t score apart from one. I am happy with that and I am happy with the clean sheet.”
One negative was Ten Hag picking up his third yellow card of the season, meaning a one-match suspension for the Dutch manager when United travel to Everton on Nov. 26, after the international break.
Luton, who have just one league victory in their debut season in the top flight, are 17th.
Victory in Ten Hag’s 50th game as United boss was a welcome boost for a team who have lost nine of their last 18 games in all competitions, have been eliminated from the League Cup and are struggling in the Champions League after a 4-3 loss at Copenhagen on Wednesday.
Luton, promoted to the Premier League this season having climbed from non-league football a decade ago, could have snatched a draw but left empty-handed and face a long battle to retain their top-flight status.
