Ten man Manchester City maintained a two point cushion over Liverpool with a straight forward 2-0 victory at home to Nottingham Forest but the straight red card received by Cityzens midfield metronome Rodrigo Cascante Hernandez ‘Rodri’ had manager Pep Guardiola fuming as it has ruled him out of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup date with Newcastle United and Premier League games at Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal.
Liverpool took sole possession of second positive by subduing West Ham United 3-1 at Anfield. The 19-time champions have now accumulated 16 points from 6 games, a point more than Brighton and Hove Albion, who fought back from a goal down to subdue Bournemouth 3-1 at the American Express Stadium courtesy of two goals from Japanese winger Kaori Mitoma. Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are joint fourth, having battled to a 2-2 draw at Emirates Stadium.
Bayern Munich clobbered Bochum 7-0 for the third time in two years to wrest control of the Bundesliga title race. Allianz Arena record signing Harry Kane grabbed a hat trick and provided two assists as the eleven time defending champions seized leadership of the standings on goal difference from Bayer Leverkusen. Xabi Alonso’s Bay Arena based outfit were 4-1 winners over Heidenheim thanks to a brace from Nigerian forward Victor Boniface.
Kane has netted an impressive eight goals in just five games but it is Guinean firebrand Serhou Guirassy who leads the scoring charts with ten goals as the Stuttgart striker netted a brace in his club’s 3-1 victory over Darmstadt. Hoffenheim outlasted Union Berlin 2-0 to move into joint third along with RB Leipzig who overcame Borussia Moenchengladbach 1-0. Eternal title bridesmaids Borussia Dortmund continued their recovery with a hard fought 1-0 victory over Wolfsburg.
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In Serie A, bookmakers favourites Inter Milan opened up a three point lead atop the standings by edging basement club Empoli via a Di Marco wonder strike. Simone Inzaghi’s Nerrazzuri are three points clear of Giuseppe Meazza Stadium co-occupants AC Milan, who outlasted Hellas Verona by an identical scoreline. Rank outsiders Lecce moved up to third by toppling Genoa 1-0 but there was a huge upset in Sassuolo where the hosts battered record champions Juventus 4-2.
Across the Alps, Monaco suffered a 0-1 setback at the hands of visiting Nice to surrender Ligue One leadership to surprise package Stade Brest who overcame Olympique Lyon 1-0. Nice are now second in the standings, a point ahead of defending champions Paris Saint Germain who whitewashed Olympique Marseille 4-0 despite a first half injury to star striker Kylian Mbappe Lottin. The Parc des Princes club’s goals were netted by newcomers Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos.
In Spain, Santiago Bernabeu product Alvaro Morata scored two headers as Atletico Madrid subdued Real Madrid 3-1 at the Wanda Metropolitano to end Liga Santander’s only remaining one hundred percent winning record. Champions Barcelona are the new pacesetters following their 3-2 comeback victory at home to Rafa Benitez’s Celta Vigo. Catalan neighbours Girona are surprise second thanks to their 5-3 victory over Mallorca.
