(Reuters) -Robert Lewandowski scored his fifth goal in four LaLiga games for Barcelona and helped his team breeze past Sevilla with a 3-0 win on Saturday, with Raphinha and Eric Garcia both adding a goal each for the visitors.
The win lifts Barcelona to second place in the table on 10 points, two behind leaders Real Madrid.
For Julen Lopetegui’s team, however, it was their third defeat in four games, leaving them with only one point in 17th place.
Roared on by their fans at a sold-out Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, Sevilla enjoyed an impressive start, pressing Barcelona high and cornering their rivals.
But the visitors silenced the crowd in a lightning counter attack in the 21st minute, ending with Raphinha heading in a rebound from a Lewandowski chipped shot that a defender cleared off the line.
Fifteen minutes later, Jules Kounde, playing for the first time against Sevilla after leaving to sign with Barcelona this summer, sent a perfect cross into the box that Lewandowski caught on his chest before striking his volley into the bottom left corner.
The Polish striker, who joined Barca from Bayern Munich in a blockbuster deal this summer, is already LaLiga’s joint top-goalscorer, level with Celta’s forward Iago Aspas.
Barcelona took control of the match and could have won by a much larger margin. Ousmane Dembele missed a golden opportunity to score a third after a great run right before halftime, but his chipped shot over the goalkeeper sailed just past the left post.
Ten minutes into the second half, Kounde provided another assist, heading a corner at the right post on to Garcia, who thumped home from close range to wrap up the three points.
Lewandowski kept trying to lob the goalkeeper and delivered another attempted chip in a counter-attack in the 73rd minute only to be denied by a defender on the goal again, with Frenkie de Jong almost scoring from the rebound.
The Dutch midfielder shot just wide of the post again five minutes later.
“It was a difficult match but we managed to impose our gameplan, the style that we are working hard to establish this new season,” Raphinha told Movistar Plus.
“We need to have the ball and control the matches. That’s our identity. But the season is long and there is still a long way ahead of us.”
Rodrygo winner helps Real Madrid maintain perfect start v Betis
MADRID (Reuters) -Real Madrid preserved their perfect start to the LaLiga season as they beat Betis 2-1 thanks to a second-half winner from Rodrygo at the Bernabeu on Saturday, keeping the defending Spanish and European champions at the top of the table.
Real struck first when David Alaba passed to Vinícius Jr with a magnificent long ball in the 9th minute, and the Brazilian raced forward and lobbed the ball over Betis keeper Rui Silva’s head.
Betis responded eight minutes later when Real Madrid academy alumni Sergio Canales smashed an equalizer in between Thibaut Courtois legs.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team fought back with a vengeance but missed several opportunities until they finally managed to break the deadlock in the 65th minute, when Rodrygo thumped home a close-range finish from a Federico Valverde cross.
Real Madrid now top the table on 12 points, the only team to win all of their first four games.
Sadiq earns Real Sociedad a point against Atletico Madrid
(Reuters) -Substitute Umar Sadiq earned Real Sociedad a point at home against Atletico Madrid in a 1-1 draw on Saturday in a LaLiga match in which the video referee assistant played a key role.
Atletico enjoyed an impressive start and got the opener early when Alvaro Morata scored from a rebound in the fifth minute.
The former Juventus striker had a second goal ruled out later in the half following a lengthy VAR review, due to a handball by Joao Felix in the build-up.
Atletico kept pushing but were repeatedly denied by an inspired Alex Remiro in Real Sociedad’s goal.
Remiro produced a wonderful parry to push a long-range strike from Jose Maria Gimenez onto the bar just before the break.
Sadiq, making his debut at La Real after signing from Almeria on Thursday, thumped home a close-range header in the 55th minute.
Atletico’s staff and players complained that the ball took a deflection off the Nigerian striker’s hand before going in, but referee Cesar Grado confirmed the goal without checking the VAR footage.
“It’s hard to understand the referee’s criteria – or the lack of it,” frustrated Atletico captain Koke told Movistar Plus.
“The referee called off our goal but didn’t even go to check the image of their goal.
“It’s frustrating because we had a similar issue the last game and things just don’t change. We never know when the referees will or will not use the VAR.”
Remiro went on to make at least three more top-class stops from close range and was largely to thank for his team’s valuable point against a better Atletico side.
There was more bad news for Atletico when they lost their star goalkeeper Jan Oblak to an injury after a collision with Sadiq late in the second half.
“I think we deserved more, we deserved to win,” Koke said.
“We played a great game at a very difficult stadium but the ball just refused to go in. It’s very frustrating but we have to keep grinding on.”
Atletico and Real Sociedad sit sixth and eighth in the LaLiga standings on seven points each, five behind leaders Real Madrid.
Reuters
