European round-up: Isco caps win as Real Madrid brush aside Las Palmas
Real Madrid returned to winning ways with a convincing 3-0 victory over Las Palmas, thanks to goals by Casemiro, Marco Asensio and Isco. Zinedine Zidane’s side, beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League on Wednesday, were largely frustrated in the first half, with Cristiano Ronaldo rattling the post, until Casemiro’s opener four minutes before the interval. After the break Asensio rifled an effort into the top corner before Isco made sure of the victory, slotting home Ronaldo’s low cross.
In Serie A Juventus were given an almighty scare by table-propping Benevento before the champions came from behind to win 2-1 and hand the league’s newcomers their 12th straight defeat of the season on Sunday.
Gonzalo Higuaín and Juan Cuadrado scored in a 10-minute spell after half-time for Juventus after Amato Ciciretti gave Benevento a 19th-minute lead with a stunning free-kick – only their fifth goal of the campaign.
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Juve’s win closed the gap on Napoli to one point after the leaders were held 0-0 at Chievo, dropping points for only the second time this season, and moved them into second place above Internazionale, who came back to draw 1-1 at home against Torino. Iago Falque silenced the crowd of more than 71,000, who braved the wet conditions for the lunchtime kick-off when he burst past two defenders to fire Torino ahead on the hour.
Joel Obi then headed wide from Adem Ljajic’s free-kick, missing a chance to put Torino further ahead, and Inter made the most of the let-off when Eder turned in Mauro Icardi’s header from close range in the 79th minute.
Roma clocked up a 12th consecutive away win in the league by beating Fiorentina 4-2 while Lazio’s match at home to Udinese was postponed after heavy rain left the Stadio Olimpico pitch waterlogged.
Napoli, who, like Inter, are unbeaten, have 32 points from 12 games, followed by Juventus (31), Inter (30), Lazio (28) and Roma (27). Elsewhere Milan breezed past Sassuolo to record their first Serie A win in four matches. Goals by Alessio Romagnoli and Suso ensured a routine 2-0 victory for Vincenzo Montella’s side in Reggio Emilia.
Juan Cuadrado celebrates after scoring as Juventus fought back from a goal down to win 2-1. Photograph: Alessandro Di Marco/EPA
In Spain Girona followed up their memorable win over Real Madrid with victory at Levante, rising into the top half of La Liga in the process. After upsetting the defending champions last weekend the Catalan side were 2-1 winners at Estadi Ciutat de València.
Christian Stuani was on the scoresheet again, as he was against Real, with Borja García opening the scoring for Girona and Enes Ünal claiming the hosts’ late reply.
At Balaidos Celta Vigo swept aside Athletic Bilbao 3-1. The sides were level on 11 points at kick-off but it was the hosts who made the move towards mid-table with a decisive spell of three goals in 10 minutes.
Sergi Gómez got the ball rolling just after the quarter-hour before the Spain striker Iago Aspas scored twice in quick succession and all but killed the game.
Raúl García pulled one back before the break but that was as good as it got for Athletic, who have now lost four in a row.
The Germany international Sandro Wagner scored twice as Hoffenheim recorded a first Bundesliga victory in five games by beating the bottom club Köln 3-0.
The teenage midfielder Dennis Geiger set the visitors on course to a comfortable victory with a composed 10th-minute finish past the Köln goalkeeper Timo Horn. Wagner doubled the advantage from the penalty spot early in the second half after Mark Uth was brought down in the box, before compounding winless Köln’s misery by volleying in Andrej Kramaric’s centre with 10 minutes to play to lifs Hoffenheim to fifth.
In France Mario Balotelli scored the winner and was later sent off as struggling Nice ended their four-match losing streak in Ligue 1 by beating Dijon 1-0. The former Manchester City and Liverpool man converted a 39th-minute penalty into the bottom-right corner to claim his sixth league goal of the campaign after Alassane Pléa was pulled down in the area by Jordan Marie.
Balotelli’s afternoon ended on a sour note, however, as he was shown a straight red card in the closing minutes for a tackle from behind on the Dijon defender Cédric Yambéré.
Later in the day, Florian Thauvin scored twice as Marseille extended their unbeaten league run to seven matches by thrashing Caen 5-0. The Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo fired in the first before Thauvin doubled the advantage early in the second period with a simple finish.
The midfielder Morgan Sanson quickly made it three with a deflected shot before the Greece striker Kostas Mitroglou and France international Thauvin completed the rout.
Tempers flared as Lyon cemented third place in Ligue 1 with a record 5-0 win at 10-man St Étienne in a hostile atmosphere against their bitter rivals on Sunday evening. The game was interrupted twice because of flares in the first half and the home fans also invaded the pitch in the closing stages as Memphis Depay, Nabil Fekir, with a double, Mariano Díaz and Bertrand Traoré all got on the scoresheet.
St Étienne played almost half of the game with 10 men after Leo Lacroix was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Fekir two minutes into the second half. The win put Lyon on 25 points from 12 games, seven adrift of leaders Paris St-Germain, who themselves won 5-0 at Angers, and three points off second-placed Monaco who went one better by beating visitors Guingamp 6-0 also on Saturday. Marseille are fourth on 24 points after a 5-0 thrashing of Caen earlier on Sunday.
Police enter onto the pitch at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Sunday evening. Photograph: Romain Lafabregue/Icon Sport via Getty Images