29/09/2025

SPORTS MONDAY | SEPT 29, 2025

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Real trashing Atletico end Liga leaders Madrid’s perfect start in gripping derby J ULIAN ALVAREZ struck twice to earn Atletico Madrid an emphatic 5-2 derby vic tory over La Liga leaders Real Madrid yester day, ending their rivals’ perfect start to the then bent home a freekick, with Antoine Griezmann grabbing the fifth late on to seal an important win after a shaky start to the campaign, with Atletico rising provisionally to fourth.

SIDENETTING Dortmund keep heat on Bayern

BORUSSIA DORTMUND striker Karim Adeyemi inspired his side to a comfortable 2-0 win at Mainz in the German Bundesliga on Saturday. Adeyemi was involved in both goals and scored the second as Dortmund cruised to their fourth win of the season to keep the heat on league leaders Bayern Munich. Niko Kovac’s side remain just two points behind Bayern, who beat Werder Bremen 4-0 on Friday. They remain unbeaten this season ahead of their Champions League clash with Spanish side Athletic Bilbao this Thursday (3am Malaysian time). Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen won 2-1 at St Pauli while Wolfsburg’s miserable home form continued with a 1-0 defeat to RB Leipzig. At the bottom of the table, Heidenheim snatched a crucial 2-1 win at home to Augsburg, a result which kept both teams in the bottom three. PSG reclaim Ligue 1 top spot INJURY-HIT Paris Saint-Germain warmed up for a Champions League showdown with Barcelona by easing to a 2-0 win over Auxerre yesterday which took them back to the top of the Ligue 1 table. The result allowed Luis Enrique’s team, after six games this season, to move three points clear at the top of table ahead of a quartet of clubs in Marseille, Monaco, Lyon and Strasbourg. Marseille came from behind to win 2-1 in Strasbourg on Friday to go provisionally top. Monaco slumped to a 3-1 defeat away in Lorient earlier on Saturday. Toulouse and Nantes drew 2-2 in yesterday’s other game in the French top flight. Boro remain unbeaten CHAMPIONSHIP leaders Middlesbrough, came from behind to preserve their unbeaten run as Kaly Sene’s goal sealed a 1-1 draw at Southampton on Saturday. Coventry also remain unbeaten after Frank Lampard’s men closed the gap on Middlesbrough to four points with a 3-0 win against 10 man Birmingham. Third-placed Stoke joined Coventry on 13 points after coming from behind to draw 1-1 against Norwich and Sheffield United bagged their first points of the season following six successive defeats as Callum O’Hare’s strike sealed a 1-0 win at Oxford. The Blades remain bottom of the table, with Sheffield Wednesday moving on to five points after a 1-1 draw against QPR. Ben Brereton Diaz rescued a 1-1 draw for Derby at Wrexham, while Jaden Philogene and George Hirst were on target as Ipswich claimed a 2-1 win over Portsmouth. Watford came from behind to beat Hull 2-1 and Charlton brushed aside Blackburn 3-0. Swansea and Millwall shared a 1 1 draw in south Wales, while Bristol City’s visit to Preston finished goalless.

the league with a 100% record. Although the French superstar scored again to reach eight league goals for the season, Atletico attacked relentlessly and deserved their victory. Alvarez, who had a penalty controversially disallowed in a Champions League shootout the last time these sides met, beat Courtois from the spot, even though the Belgian went the right way. “Each penalty is a new penalty, a new game, a new chance,” said Alvarez. Atletico midfielder Pablo Barrios said: “I’m really happy. “The fans were incredible and we could feel it on the pitch.” – AFP

season. Xabi Alonso’s side had won all six of their opening games but Diego Simeone’s Atletico overran them at the Metropolitano stadium, taking the lead through Robin Le Normand. Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler netted to put Real Madrid in front but Alexander Sorloth levelled for Atletico at the end of a thrilling first half. Alvarez fired home from the penalty spot and

“It’s a very special day, we knew how important this game was, being a derby of course but also because we needed the three points,” Alvarez told DAZN . “We have to stay on this path, improve the things that need to be improved … we weren’t getting the results, but we were playing well.” Led by a flying Mbappe, Real came into Alonso’s first derby at the helm as the only side in

Juve miss out on Serie A summit

JUVENTUS missed the chance to move top of Serie A yesterday after a 1-1

had looked good for a win at the Allianz Stadium as Ivan Juric’s team played well after Kamaldeen Sulemana lashed in his second goal in as many games in first half stop page time. But Odilon Kossounou made a hash of a Joao Mario cross, allowing Cabal to level the scores against Atalanta, who played the final 10 minutes with 10 men following Marten de Roon’s sending off. Atalanta go fifth, level on nine points with four other clubs includ ing AC Milan ahead of Napoli match. Napoli lead the pack with a perfect 12 points from their first four matches of the league cam paign. Among the quintet on nine points are Inter Milan who beat Cagliari 1-0 thanks to an early header from Lautaro Martinez and Pio Esposito’s first Serie A goal eight minutes from time. Inter up to sixth ahead of their Champions League fixture against Slavia Prague on Wednesday (3am). Inter youth product Esposito sealed the points when the 20 year-old met Federico Dimarco’s drilled cross with a smart low finish and opened his account in the top flight. “He’s a smart boy. He works hard, listens and does a lot for the team. “He’s showing what he’s worth even at his young age,” said Martinez. “He still needs to develop but he’ll definitely be a help for us this season.” Promoted Cremonese are, like Juve, Atalanta and Napoli, unbeaten after drawing 1-1 at Lombardy rivals Como in the weekend’s first match. – AFP

draw with Atalanta in Turin left them a point behind league leaders and reigning champions Napoli. Juan Cabal bun dled in his first goal in Italy’s top flight with 12 minutes remaining, shortly after replacing injured Gleison Bremer, to preserve Juve’s unbeaten start to the cam paign. “My glass is half full

because in my opinion we played really well, the first half was one of the best since I’ve been here,” said Igor Tudor, who takes his team to Villarreal on Thursday (3am Malaysian time). “It was a tough match between two teams in the Champions League, and the draw was a fair result.” Atalanta, who host Club

Juventus’ Vasilije Adzic (left) in action with Atalanta’s Kamaldeen Sulemana. – REUTERSPIC

Brugge on Wednesday (12.45am),

Maresca blasts careless Chelsea after Brighton defeat ENZO MARESCA warned Chelsea to stop “giving away presents” after their latest red card played a key role in a shock 3-1 defeat by Brighton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Ayari’s cross back into the area. Welbeck added the third goal in the final seconds to condemn Chelsea to a second successive Premier League loss.

game completely changed.” Chelsea slipped to eighth place and were booed off at the final whistle, with Premier League leaders Liverpool next up for the spluttering Blues on Oct 4. “It’s a tough one because we were in control of the game,”Maresca said.“We scored one, we could have scored more. We had so many shots first half, 70 per cent of possession – everything was fine. “Then suddenly because of our mistake, with the red card the plan completely changed. We played two games - first half, then unfortunately after the red card. “For sure you cannot continue to make mistakes. “They are big mistakes, game changing, red card against United and today.” – AFP

Last weekend Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was sent off after four minutes of a 2-1 defeat at Manchester United. For the second time in seven days, Maresca was left searching in vain for answers to Chelsea’s habit of gifting opponents the advantage with their lack of discipline and poor defending. “The message (in the dressing room) was clear,” said Maresca. “Against any team in the Premier League you cannot continue to give away presents. “We are giving away presents. “The red card is a big mistake because the

Maresca’s side were leading through Enzo Fernandez’s 24th-minute header when Blues defender Trevoh Chalobah was dismissed for a poor tackle on Diego Gomez. Chalobah’s 53rd-minute red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity put Chelsea in an awkward position and they collapsed in the final stages as Brighton struck three times. Danny Welbeck equalised in the 77th minute and Maxim De Cuyper’s header put Brighton in front in stoppage time. The substitute was left unmarked to nod the ball home after Mats Wieffer had turned Yasin