European roundup: Milan fight back to sink Inter in derby, Napoli win at Lazio

Two goals by Rafael Leão helped Milan fight back from a goal down and earn a 3-2 win over the champions and local rivals Internazionale in their fifth Serie A match of the season.

Tensions were running high as Milan defender Theo Hernández and Inter midfielder Denzel Dumfries were handed yellow cards in the ninth minute after arguing following a collision. Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic scored his first Serie A goal of the season in the 21st minute after an assist by forward Joaquín Correa following a brilliant counterattack orchestrated by forward Lautaro Martínez.

Milan, however, levelled seven minutes later through Leão, who slotted home past Samir Handanovic after collecting a pass from Sandro Tonali. Stefano Pioli’s side kept pressing but spurned a host of chances before the half-time whistle.

The Milan forward Olivier Giroud completed the comeback in the 54th minute with a weak but effective strike as it caught Handanovic unprepared. Leão scored his second goal after swiftly moving past the Inter defence and firing home in the 61st minute to extend the lead.

Inter did not go down without a fight, however, and scored just seven minutes later through Edin Dzeko, whose strike bounced off the post and slipped in.

Milan keeper Mike Maignan delivered a superb performance, keeping out further efforts by Inter who kept pressing until the end but were denied an equaliser. Milan have 11 points after five games. Inter are fifth with nine points.

In the evening game, Napoli regained top spot from Milan thanks to their Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who scored the decisive goal in their 2-1 win at Lazio. Mattia Zaccagni had given the Rome club the lead after only four minutes but Kim Min-jae equalised seven minutes before the break and Kvaratskhelia then gave Napoli their third win of the season, as they held out for the final half hour.

In Spain, Real Madrid preserved their perfect start to the La Liga season as they beat Betis 2-1 thanks to a second-half winner from Rodrygo at the Bernabéu, keeping the defending Spanish and European champions at the top of the table.

Real struck first when David Alaba passed to Vinícius Jr with a magnificent long ball in the ninth minute, and the Brazilian raced forward and lobbed the ball over Betis keeper Rui Silva’s head. Betis responded eight minutes later when Real Madrid academy alumnus Sergio Canales smashed an equaliser between Thibaut Courtois’s legs.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team fought back with a vengeance but missed several opportunities until they finally managed to break the deadlock in the 65th minute, when Rodrygo thumped home a close-range finish from a Federico Valverde cross. Real Madrid now top the table on 12 points, the only team to win all of their first four games.

Barcelona moved up to second place after an impressive 3-0 win at Sevilla. Summer signing Raphinha, who joined from Leeds, scored after 21 minutes and Robert Lewandowski doubled the lead 15 minutes later. Sevilla, who have made a slow start to the season, were killed off by Eric García’s goal five minutes after half-time.

Umar Sadiq earned Real Sociedad a point at home against Atlético Madrid in a 1-1 draw in which VAR played a key role. Álvaro Morata scored from a rebound in the fifth minute of the first half but had a second goal ruled out following a lengthy review, due to a handball by João Félix in the build-up.

Sadiq, who was making his debut at La Real after signing from Almería on Thursday, thumped home a close-range header in the 55th minute. Atlético’s staff and players complained that the ball took a deflection from the Nigerian striker’s hand before going in, but referee Cesar Grado confirmed the goal without checking the VAR footage.

Bayern Munich stumbled to their second 1-1 draw in a row on Saturday, coming away from Union Berlin with only the one point and dropping off the top of the Bundesliga table. Sheraldo Becker fired the hosts in front after 12 minutes, and although Joshua Kimmich hit back only three minutes later, Bayern could not find a winner.

The Bavarians, who also drew 1-1 against Borussia Mönchengladbach last week and travel to Inter for their Champions League group opener next week, dropped to third on 11 points, the same as Union but above them on goal difference.

Freiburg moved into top spot on 12 points thanks to a 3-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen. Borussia Dortmund are behind on goal difference after their 1-0 win over Hoffenheim on Friday, while Eintracht Frankfurt moved into ninth place thanks to their 4-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig.

In Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain reclaimed top spot with a 3-0 win over Nantes, who saw Fábio sent off for a rash challenge on Vitinha midway through the first half. That came moments after Lionel Messi had set up Kylian Mbappé for the opener, and the duo linked up again early in the second half for Mbappé to tap home.

Mbappé was then replaced by Neymar, who struck the post from close range with the rebound falling to Nuno Mendes to make it three. PSG move back above Marseille on goal difference, after Igor Tudor’s side briefly moved to the summit with a 2-0 win at Auxerre, sealed by a late goal from Alexis Sánchez.

Lyon are in third after a 5-0 home win over winless Angers, with Karl Toko Ekambi scoring twice and Alexandre Lacazette also on the scoresheet.

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