Robert Lewandowski‘s 26-minute hat-trick steered La Liga leaders Barcelona three points clear of Real Madrid with an emphatic 3-0 win at Alaves on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid‘s bid to bounce back from a heavy Champions League defeat fell short as Real Sociedad rescued a 1-1 draw thanks to Luka Sucic’s brilliant late strike.
Lewandowski reached 10 goals for the season in nine league games, stretching his lead as the division’s top goalscorer with a first-half treble.
Champions Madrid beat Villarreal on Saturday to pull level with Barcelona but the Catalans strolled to a comfortable triumph at Alaves’ Mendizorroza stadium to continue a strong start to the campaign under new coach Hansi Flick.
“I get a lot of good passes and so it’s easier for me to score goals,” Lewandowski told DAZN.
“Today in the first half we played well from the first minute, we wanted to attack and score goals.
“If you score three goals in the first half then in the second you can play with everything under control.”
Barca secured their eighth victory in nine La Liga matches by taking control from the start.
Lewandowski and winger Raphinha, in superb form this season, were Barcelona’s key players in a match they largely dominated.
The Brazil international had a goal disallowed for offside before setting up Lewandowski for the opener with an inviting free-kick, which the striker headed home.
Raphinha burst down the left wing for Barcelona’s second, crossing for the veteran Polish forward to knock in.
Lewandowski completed his hat-trick with a clinical finish across Sivera after collecting Eric Garcia’s pass.
The 36-year-old hitman looks far sharper than last season and has 12 goals in 11 games across all competitions.
“In front of goal (Lewandowski) is the best player, for me,” Flick told reporters.
“It’s amazing to score so many goals over such a period… I’m really happy with him and you can see he’s 100 percent fit, it’s perfect at the moment.
“I’m happy for Lewy but also the other team-mates are really supporting him very (well).”
Alaves had goals from Toni Martinez and Santiago Mourino ruled out for offside as they battled well in the second half but Barca held firm.
– Atletico denied –
Diego Simeone’s Atletico were thrashed 4-0 by Benfica on Wednesday but took a first-minute lead in San Sebastian against Real Sociedad.
Former Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez drilled home after Antoine Griezmann’s cute backheel into his path.
The Rojiblancos battled hard defensively to keep their advantage but Sucic looped a long-range effort over Jan Oblak in the 84th minute to secure the home side a point.
Atletico’s point took them third, level with Villarreal, but they trail leaders Barcelona by seven, while Real Sociedad are 15th.
“We scored the goal, the team worked well defensively, we didn’t allow a team that plays well (to create) much danger,” Simeone told DAZN.
“Look at their goal, a great strike, and that’s about it, I think a draw was fair.”
Sevilla shaded a derby clash against Real Betis 1-0 while Girona snatched a late 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao.
Dodi Lukebakio’s penalty was enough to pull Sevilla up to 12th, level on points with derby rivals Betis.
The winger converted from the spot in the 50th minute after a handball by Diego Llorente, who was furious with the decision.
“I just ask for respect, we work like mad every week and there are referees who lie to our faces,” said Llorente, who said the referee had claimed the defender’s arm was in a raised position.
Veteran Sevilla winger Jesus Navas, 38, played in his 28th and final Seville derby, becoming the player with the most appearances in the fixture — one more than Betis great Joaquin.
Earlier Girona snatched a late win over sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao in an entertaining clash.
Cristhian Stuani converted a late penalty to earn three points for last season’s surprise package, who are currently 11th after a difficult start this season.
Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga saved two penalties, denying Alex Berenguer and then Ander Herrera.
JUVENTUS HELD BY CAGLIARI
Juventus were held to a surprise 1-1 home draw by Cagliari on Sunday after conceding a late penalty which led to the Turin giants conceding second place in Serie A to Inter Milan.
Razvan Marin lashed home the 88th-minute equaliser to give Cagliari a point at the Allianz Stadium after Roberto Piccoli was clumsily brought down by Douglas Luiz, who also gave a penalty away in Wednesday’s thrilling Champions League win at Leipzig.
Romania midfielder Marin’s arrowed penalty levelled Dusan Vlahovic’s 15th-minute spot-kick and moved Cagliari a point above the relegation zone.
It was the first goal conceded by Juve in Serie A this season and left Thiago Motta’s third-placed side three points behind league leaders Napoli after seven fixtures.
“We took out foot off the pedal after our goal, and we can’t do that. We need to keep attacking, and attack well,” said Motta.
“We created a few opportunities but there was always the feeling that Cagliari could get back into the game. What happened today is all our own fault.”
Cagliari could have even snatched a last-gasp win as Adam Obert thumped the post in the fifth minute of stoppage time, with Juve down to 10 men following Francisco Conceicao’s sending off almost immediately after Marin’s equaliser.
Conceicao picked up a second booking after trying to win Juve’s second penalty of the game in a frantic finish to a match which had largely been a drab affair before Luiz was penalised for his challenge following a VAR check.
– Vlahovic howler –
Juventus, who were missing Nico Gonzalez, Arkadiusz Milik, Timothy Weah and Gleison Bremer, who suffered a serious knee injury at Leipzig, would have almost certainly had the full three points had Vlahovic not wasted a huge chance in the 78th minute.
Serbia striker Vlahovic, who is on five Serie A goals for the season, somehow shot wide on the rebound after Douglas Luiz’s shot was parried by Simone Scuffet.
Paul Pogba was in the stands after the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision on Friday to cut his doping ban from four years to 18 months.
France midfielder Pogba can return to action in March but sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli gave the impreesion that the 31-year-old has no future at Juve.
“We’ll make our decision once the CAS decision has been made official. He was a great footballer but he hasn’t played for a long time,” Giuntoli said pre-match.
Juve have been joined on 13 points by their next opponents Lazio, who are fourth after inflicting a first defeat of the season on surprise package Empoli with a 2-1 win in Rome.
Pedro slammed home the winner with four minutes remaining as Lazio who came back from Sebstiano Esposito’s early opener. It was Lazio’s fourth straight win in all competitions.
Lazio, who levelled through Mattia Zaccagni in first-half stoppage time, also had Valentin Castellanos’ penalty saved by Empoli’s impressive goalkeeper Devis Vasquez.
– Roma demand ‘respect’ –
Roma’s sporting director Florent Ghisolfi demanded “respect” for his team after the capital club were denied a late penalty during their 1-1 draw at Monza.
With the teams level following goals from Artem Dovbyk and Dani Mota, Tommaso Baldanzi was left prone on the ground in the 87th minute after his foot was stamped on by Georgios Kyriakopoulos.
The challenge, which was if anything worse than the one which gave Cagliari their penalty earlier in the day, sparked a furious reaction from Roma’s players on the pitch and Ghisolfi later vented his frustration to Sky.
“What happened today was unacceptable, it was a clear penalty. Why did VAR not intervene?” said the Frenchman.
“There is a huge amount of frustration in the dressing room. We demand respect.”
Bologna’s difficult start to life under Vincenzo Italiano continued with a goalless draw with Parma, who had to play most of the second half a man down following Woyo Coulibaly’s sending off seven minutes after the break.
AC MILAN FALL AT FIORENTINA
AC Milan slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Fiorentina on Sunday after having two penalties saved by star man David De Gea, while Juventus fell further behind Serie A leaders Napoli on a day of spot-kick drama.
Albert Gudmundsson lashed home the decisive goal in the 73rd minute of a match in Florence which was packed with drama and featured three failed attempts from the penalty spot.
The 27-year-old’s winner was made possible by De Gea pulling off two incredible stops to deny Theo Hernandez and then Tammy Abraham from scoring penalties in a superb display from the former Spain goalkeeper.
Those saves contributed to Milan missing the chance to move second above champions Inter Milan and Juventus, with the latter held 1-1 by Cagliari due to Razvan Marin’s late penalty.
“We need to work out why we played the way we did because at times we did well but we couldn’t keep it up over the course of the match,” said Milan defender Matteo Gabbia, who received his first Italy call-up on Friday.
Instead Milan, who did level Yacine Aldi’s first-half opener for Fiorentina when Christian Pulisic deftly guided home Hernandez’s cross on the hour, sit sixth and five points behind Napoli.
Adli’s opener came in the 35th minute, after Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan made the first penalty save of the evening, easily keeping out Moise Kean’s weak effort after Hernandez was penalised for kicking Dodo.
Italy international Kean had a tough night, missing a series of chances, having two goals rightly ruled out for offside and thumping the crossbar with a rocket in stoppage time, but he did provide the knockdown from which Gudmundsson won a thrilling contest.
– Juve slip up –
Marin lashed home the 88th-minute penalty which gave Cagliari a point at the Allianz Stadium after Roberto Piccoli was clumsily brought down by Douglas Luiz.
Romania midfielder Marin’s arrowed penalty levelled Dusan Vlahovic’s 15th-minute spot-kick and moved Cagliari a point above the relegation zone.
It was the first goal conceded by Juve in Serie A this season and left Thiago Motta’s third-placed side three points behind Napoli.
“We created a few opportunities but there was always the feeling that Cagliari could get back into the game,” said Motta.
“What happened today is all our own fault.”
Cagliari could have even snatched a last-gasp win as Adam Obert thumped the post in the fifth minute of stoppage time, with Juve down to 10 men following Francisco Conceicao’s sending off almost immediately after Marin’s equaliser for trying to win a penalty by simulating a foul.
Juventus would have almost certainly had the full three points had Vlahovic not wasted a huge chance in the 78th minute in front of Paul Pogba, who was in the stands after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided on Friday to cut his doping ban from four years to 18 months.
France midfielder Pogba can return to action in March but sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli gave the impression that the 31-year-old has no future at Juve.
“We’ll make our decision once the CAS decision has been made official. He was a great footballer but he hasn’t played for a long time,” Giuntoli said pre-match.
– Roma demand ‘respect’ –
Juve have been joined on 13 points by their next opponents Lazio, who are fourth after winning their fourth straight match in all competitions, 2-1 over Empoli.
Roma’s sporting director Florent Ghisolfi meanwhile demanded “respect” for his team after the capital club were denied a late penalty during their 1-1 draw at Monza.
Georgios Kyriakopoulos’ 87th-minute challenge on Tommaso Baldanzi, which was if anything worse than Douglas Luiz’s on Piccoli, sparked a furious reaction from Roma’s players on the pitch and Ghisolfi later vented his frustration to Sky.
“What happened today was unacceptable, it was a clear penalty. Why did VAR not intervene?” said the Frenchman.
“There is a huge amount of frustration in the dressing room. We demand respect.”
Bologna’s difficult start to life under Vincenzo Italiano continued with a goalless draw against 10-man Parma.
SUCIC STUNNER EARNS REAL SOCIEDAD DRAW
Atletico Madrid’s bid to bounce back from a Champions League thrashing was foiled by Luka Sucic’s sensational strike to earn Real Sociedad a 1-1 draw in La Liga on Sunday.
Diego Simeone’s side were thrashed 4-0 by Benfica on Wednesday but took an instant lead in San Sebastian through Julian Alvarez.
The Rojiblancos fought hard to keep their advantage but Sucic looped a long-range effort over Jan Oblak in the 84th minute to secure the home side a point.
Atletico’s point took them third, level with Villarreal, but they trail leaders Barcelona by seven, while Real Sociedad are 15th.
“It’s a bad feeling because we wanted to win the game,” Atletico defender Axel Witsel said.
“We let in a late goal and it hurts, we had a good game defensively… everyone was working hard.
“The goal we let in was a great strike but I think we could have avoided it.”
Former Manchester City striker Alvarez sent Atletico ahead inside the first minute after Antoine Griezmann backheeled the ball into his path.
Griezmann, who recently retired from international duty with France, made his 400th appearance for the club.
Oblak made a superb save to keep out Nayef Aguerd’s close-range effort and also denied Takefusa Kubo.
Atletico looked set to claim three points before Sucic’s late intervention.
Rodrigo de Paul gave the ball away cheaply in his own half and Sucic hit a first-time shot that spun over Oblak and into the net.
Kubo fired narrowly off-target in the final minutes as the hosts tried to snatch all three points.