Atalanta BC brought Serie A leaders SSC Napoli down to earth with a bump with a 3-0 victory on Sunday as Ademola Lookman grabbed two goals.
Napoli were hoping to open up a substantial lead at the top before, but Atalanta stunned the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium as they decisively ended the home side’s unbeaten run that stretched back to Aug. 18.
Inter then closed the gap with a 1-0 victory over Venezia to end the weekend just a point behind Napoli.
Photo: Reuters
Lookman pounced first in the 10th minute when Marten de Roon’s header fell for the London-born Nigerian international who beat Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret from close range.
He doubled Atalanta’s lead with a superb curling shot just after the half-hour mark. Napoli manager Antonio Conte was furious that his defense gave Lookman the space to shoot.
Mateo Retegui added a third goal for Atalanta in injury time, his 11th of the season, and the visitors were able to celebrate as they moved onto 22 points, just three behind Napoli.
Photo: Reuters
“We had a great match, bringing three points back from the league leaders is a great source of pride,” Lookman told DAZN.
Champions Inter and Napoli are to clash at the San Siro on Sunday.
LA LIGA
Photo: Reuters
AP, MADRID
Dani Olmo on Sunday made the most out of his return as a starter with Barcelona, scoring twice to lead the Catalan club to a 3-1 win over RCD Espanyol in the city derby in La Liga.
Raphinha also scored for Barcelona, which a week ago had routed Real Madrid 4-0 in El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Barcelona is now nine points ahead of Madrid, whose game at Valencia on Saturday was postponed because of the deadly floods that killed more than 200 people in southern Spain last week.
The victory extended Barcelona’s 27-match unbeaten streak against Espanyol in the league.
Olmo scored his double in his return as a starter after hurting his right hamstring on Sept. 15 against Girona.
He put Barcelona ahead in the 12th minute from close range after a neat cross by Lamine Yamal with the outside of his left foot. Olmo’s second goal came with a strike from outside the area in the 31st.
Raphinha added to the lead in the 23rd by redirecting the ball into the net with one touch after Marc Casado’s long cross into the area.
Espanyol thought they had moved closer in the 27th but Jofre Carrera’s goal was called off after video review because of offside. They also had a goal by Alvaro Tejero disallowed for offside in the 58th, then Javi Puado finally scored a goal that counted in the 63rd.
Barcelona also had a goal called off in stoppage time.
Elsewhere, Giuliano Simeone, son of Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, scored his first goal with the club in the team’s 2-0 win against Las Palmas.
Alexander Sorloth netted Atletico’s second goal on Sunday, helping move the club back to third place, 10 points behind Barcelona.
PREMIER LEAGUE
AP, MANCHESTER, England
Moises Caicedo’s stunning long-range volley on Sunday secured a 1-1 draw for Chelsea against Manchester United in the English Premier League.
Bruno Fernandes’ 70th-minute penalty had put United ahead at Old Trafford as interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy looked for back-to-back wins since taking temporary charge.
However, Caicedo’s effort from the edge of the box four minutes later ensured the points were shared.
Chelsea moved up to fourth in the standings, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference.
Dominic Solanke scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur thrashed Aston Villa 4-1.
The forward struck two goals in the space of four second-half minutes at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after Villa had led at the break.
Solanke scored in the 75th and 79th as Spurs produced a stunning second-half performance to follow up their victory against Manchester City in the League Cup on Wednesday last week.
Morgan Rogers had given UEFA Champions League-chasing Villa the lead in the 32nd minute, but Brennan Johnson leveled the game four minutes after the break.
Solanke’s double put Spurs 3-1 ahead and James Maddison curled a free-kick into the top corner in the sixth minute of added time.
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CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
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