Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Girona at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday but the reigning champions maintained their unbeaten streak in La Liga and hold a one-point lead over Barcelona.
After a goalless first half, Real opened the scoring through Vinicius Jr in the 70th minute but their lead was cancelled out by a Cristhian Stuani penalty 10 minutes later.
Real were frustrated for more than an hour but finally made the breakthrough when their patient build-up play allowed Federico Valverde to put the ball into the six-yard box where Vinicius was on hand to tap it into the net.
Girona were handed a lifeline when Marco Asensio handled the ball in the box and the referee awarded a penalty following a VAR check, with Stuani stepping up to the spot and sending Thibaut Courtois the wrong way to level the score.
Real’s Rodrygo thought he had won the game at the death when he fought for the ball in a goalmouth scramble with Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, but the referee disallowed his goal as the keeper was in control of the ball when the Brazilian bundled it in.
Real’s match only got worse when midfielder Toni Kroos was sent off in added time after receiving a second yellow card. Girona, who are 16th in the standings, came away with a precious point as their players sank to the ground in relief.
Union score stoppage time winner to stay top
Union Berlin returned to the Bundesliga summit
Union Berlin scored a stoppage-time winner through Danilho Doekhi on Sunday to snatch a 2-1 win over visiting Borussia Monchengladbach and remain top of the Bundesliga, one point ahead of Bayern Munich.
Kevin Behrens’s powerful header levelled the score in the 79th for Union, avoiding a second consecutive loss for the club, who have surprisingly led the title race for more than a month, before Doekhi’s last-gasp winner.
Union are on 26 with Bayern on 25 points following their 6-2 win over Mainz 05 on Saturday.
Gladbach’s Nico Elvedi headed in for the lead in the 33rd minute from a Lars Stindl corner, with the visitors controlling possession in the first half.
The hosts, who lost last week to VfL Bochum, pushed forward after the break and earned the equaliser when Behrens beat keeper Tobias Sippel 11 minutes from the end.
Union then put the ball in the net again but Christopher Trimmel’s 87th-minute header was overruled by the VAR before Doekhi got the winner with the last move of the game.
AC Milan shocked by Torino
Torino’s player celebrate after scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Torino and AC Milan at the Turin Olympic stadium, Italy, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)
Struggling Torino grabbed a 2-1 home win against AC Milan on Sunday, condemning the defending champions to their second Serie A loss this season.
Milan are third in the standings on 26 points from 12 games, one point below second-placed Atalanta and six adrift of leaders Napoli, who both won their games this weekend and face each other in the next round.
Forward Rafael Leao should have put Milan ahead inside the opening 10 minutes when he received two great passes in or just outside the opponents’ box, but missed the target badly on both occasions.
While Stefano Pioli’s men dominated possession and looked to settle into the game as the half wore on, Torino took a surprise lead in the 35th minute through defender Koffi Djidji.
The 29-year-old nodded home a free-kick by Valentino Lazaro awarded after Pierre Kalulu’s foul on Torino midfielder Nikola Vlasic.
Aleksey Miranchuk doubled Torino’s advantage two minutes later when goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic sent a long ball up the field which landed just in front of Milan’s area, and the midfielder fired a low shot inside the right post.
Defender Sergino Dest had a chance to score for Milan shortly after the break when he found space just outside Torino’s box and struck powerfully, seeing the ball go just over the crossbar.
Milan hit back through midfielder Junior Messias who unleashed their first shot on target in the 67th minute, after an error by Milinkovic-Savic who left the goal uncovered and allowed the Brazilian to shoot into the empty net.
Milan lacked clear chances to draw level, allowing Torino to end their unbeaten run of 17 Serie A away matches, the longest across Europe’s top five leagues.
Sarri laments Lazio collapse against Salernitana
Matteo Cancellieri and Boulaye Dia scuffle
Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri said his team lost their heads in their 3-1 loss at home against Salernitana on Sunday in Serie A.
Sarri’s side went into the game with six consecutive clean sheets in the league and were only one game away from equalling the club’s record streak of seven in a row from 1998.
“We had the game completely in hand until the equaliser, which caught us unprepared. We probably assumed the game was won and that made us lose all our balance and shape,” Sarri told DAZN.
Lazio scored the first goal with Mattia Zaccagni in the 41st minute but saw the visitors score three after the break.
“The game changed after it went to 1-1, the referee did not help keep the situation calm, but we still should have had the strength to overcome all of that,” Sarri said.
Lazio ended a lousy day with midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic getting a yellow card in the 72nd minute, suspending him for the upcoming derby against AS Roma.
“Not only was it not a yellow card, it wasn’t even a foul, Milinkovic-Savic had already passed the ball, the other player was late and there was no way to avoid the collision,” Sarri said.
“In 50 years of football I have never seen this type of yellow card given for a team that is attacking and in possession. If I say what I really think, they will give me a six-month ban.”
Lazio play at Dutch side Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday before facing Roma away on Sunday.
“We need to get ourselves back in order and start again, beginning with the trip to Holland, then we can think about the derby after that,” Sarri said.
Lazio are fourth in the standings on 24 points, eight behind leaders Napoli. Salernitana are 10th.