European football: Sancho impresses in Dortmund win as Inter thrash Monza
Fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund eased past the Bundesliga’s bottom side, Darmstadt, 3-0 away for a winning start to the new year as Jadon Sancho set up one goal on his return for the Ruhr valley club after his loan move from Manchester United.
The England international had left Dortmund after four years for United in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and has made just three appearances this season after becoming embroiled in a row with Erik ten Hag. But he looked right at home as Dortmund earned their first win in five league games in the Bundesliga restart following a three-week winter break.
The visitors struck in the 24th minute after a superb solo run from Jamie Bynoe-Gittens as Julian Brandt finished the move with a low shot. Dortmund were made to work hard for more than an hour with Darmstadt carving out chances and coming agonisingly close with a 63rd minute Luca Pfeiffer point-blank header that the goalkeeper Gregor Kobel blocked with a reflex save.
Dortmund killed off the game in the 76th minute when Sancho, who had come on in the 55th, was sent through and set up his fellow substitute Marco Reus for an easy tap-in. Youssoufa Moukoko then made it 3-0 with a fine move in the box deep in stoppage time. Dortmund have 30 points, three behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig, who lost 1-0 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt.
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Exequiel Palacios drilled in a stoppage-time goal to give Bayer Leverkusen a dramatic 1-0 win at Augsburg and keep them top of the Bundesliga with a four-point advantage. Despite Leverkusen having hit the woodwork and missing several chances throughout, the game was heading for a goalless stalemate until Argentina international Palacios stabbed home from close range to lift his team to 45 points at the halfway stage of the season. Bayern Munich, 3-0 winners over Hoffenheim on Friday, are second on 41 and the champions have a game in hand.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen team, who remain unbeaten after 26 matches in all competitions this season, had the upper hand from the start but managed only to hit a post through Alejandro Grimaldo’s left-foot shot in the 28th minute.
Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Bayer Leverkusen 17 35 45
2 Bayern Munich 16 37 41
3 Stuttgart 16 18 34
4 RB Leipzig 17 20 33
5 Borussia Dortmund 17 8 30
In Serie A, Internazionale outclassed Monza to record a 5-1 away win with two goals each from Hakan Calhanoglu and Lautaro Martínez as Simone Inzaghi’s side moved five points clear at the top.
Calhanoglu put Inter in front with a penalty in the 12th minute and Martínez doubled the lead two minutes later from close range before Calhanoglu added a third on the hour, netting a neat backheel from Marcus Thuram. Monza midfielder Matteo Pessina pulled one back with a spot kick but Martínez made it 4-1 with another penalty before Thuram sealed the win for the visitors two minutes from time.
Elsewhere, Amir Rrahmani scored deep in extra time as Napoli came from behind to snatch a 2-1 win at home to bottom-of-the-table Salernitana and ease the pressure on the under-fire defending champions. Napoli move up to sixth on 31 points and Salernitana stay bottom on 12 points.
Amir Rrahmani celebrates his late strike for Napoli against Salernitana. Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/AP
Antonio Candreva scored a stunning goal to give Salernitana the lead in the 29th minute, taking one touch to beat Matteo Politano before curling his shot into the far top corner from well outside the area for his fifth goal this season.
Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Inter Milan 20 37 51
2 Juventus 19 17 46
3 AC Milan 19 15 39
4 Fiorentina 19 8 33
5 Bologna 19 6 32
It looked like the visitors would take their lead into the break, but in added time Napoli were awarded a penalty for a foul by Federico Fazio on Giovanni Simeone and Politano put his spot kick into the bottom corner beyond Guillermo Ochoa.
Napoli emerged for the second half with a different attitude, and Jens Cajuste had two chances at goal in the first four minutes, the second a shot from outside the area that curled just wide of the far post. Napoli poured forward in desperation towards the end, with the crowd at their back, and in the 96th minute a free-kick into the box saw keeper Ochoa collide with his teammate and when the ball fell to Rrahmani he turned and fired in from close range.
In Spain Alex Berenguer scored twice in the first half as Athletic Bilbao moved up to third place in La Liga after a 2-1 home win in the Basque derby against Real Sociedad.
Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Real Madrid 19 29 48
2 Girona 19 22 48
3 Athletic Bilbao 20 18 41
4 Barcelona 19 14 41
5 Atletico Madrid 19 16 38
Bilbao have 41 points, level with Barcelona in fourth and seven points behind leaders Real Madrid and Girona, who all have a game in hand.
Berenguer broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark by tapping in a cross from close range and 12 minutes later he doubled the advantage by capitalising on a rebound. Sociedad attempted a late comeback and Mikel Oyarzabal reduced the deficit two minutes before stoppage time, but Bilbao held out.