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DORTMUND, Germany — Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund twice came from a goal down to beat champions Bayern Munich 3-2 with substitute Paco Alcacer’s second-half winner enabling them to move seven points clear of their great rivals at the top.
In a hugely entertaining encounter that lived up to its big-game billing, Dortmund came out on top, earning Bundesliga bragging rights and pulling away from their main title contenders going into the international break.
Robert Lewandowski twice put visitors Bayern ahead only for Dortmund captain Marco Reus to equalize each time before Spaniard Alcacer confirmed his ‘super-sub’ status in the 73rd minute with the decisive goal on the break.
It was Alcacer’s seventh goal in his fourth substitute appearance this season and lifts Dortmund, who remain unbeaten in the league, to 27 points, with Borussia Moenchengladbach second on 24 and Bayern third on 20.
“We paid for the mistakes we made after a decent first half. We struggled with their speed when they charged our backline,” said Bayern captain Manuel Neuer. “We can all read the standings. It was not a bad performance from us but we lacked the cleverness to get a win here, which was possible.”
Bayern’s second league loss of the season also piles more pressure on embattled Bayern coach Niko Kovac, with the Bavarians, so accustomed to domestic success having won the last six league titles, now struggling in their pursuit of vibrant Dortmund. They could drop to fourth on Sunday if RB Leipzig beat Bayer Leverkusen.
Earlier, Gladbach tightened their hold on second place with as 3-1 victory at Werder Bremen courtesy of a hat-trick from forward Alassane Plea, who also took his season’s tally to eight goals.
Napoli splash their way to a 2-1 win at Genoa
Napoli splashed their way to a 2-1 win at Genoa in Serie A on Saturday, defying a pitch made almost unplayable by a torrential downpour early in the second half. Christian Kouame gave Genoa a halftime lead but, after play was halted for around 10 minutes early in the second half until the rain stopped, Fabian Ruiz leveled and Genoa’s Davide Biraschi put through his own net.
It was a morale-boosting win for Napoli who showed tremendous character and adapted impressively to a pitch where the ball repeatedly got stuck in pools of water. Napoli moved into second place with 28 points from 12 games, three behind leaders Juventus who visit AC Milan on Sunday.
Lorenzo Insigne hit the post for Napoli but Genoa went ahead against the run of play in the 20th minute with a header from Kouame, who easily outjumped Elseid Hysaj to meet Romulo’s cross from the right.
The pitch deteriorated rapidly after halftime and, although it seemed the conditions would hamper Napoli’s passing game, the visitors came back stronger from the interruption.
Despite the puddles, they managed to level with a typical slick passing move as Dries Mertens backheeled Allan’s pass into the path of Fabian, who planted a left-foot shot past Ionut Radu in the 62nd minute. Four minutes from the end, Mario Rui fired a low free kick into the area and Biraschi, under pressure, turned the ball into his own net.
Depay shines as Lyon win 4-2 at Guingamp to stay fourth
Dutchman Memphis Depay maintained his excellent form in Ligue 1 when he scored two spectacular goals and set up another to help Olympique Lyonnais get an entertaining 4-2 win at bottom team Guingamp on Saturday.
The result allowed Lyon to stay fourth on 24 points from 13 games, one behind Montpellier and one ahead of St Etienne who beat Reims 2-0 at home. Champions and league leaders Paris St Germain visit second-from-bottom Monaco in the round’s standout fixture on Sunday, aiming to stretch their perfect start to 13 successive wins.
A looping header by Marcus Thuram, the son of former France World Cup winner Lilian Thuram, gave Guingamp a 21st-minute lead before Houssem Aouar equalized in the 62nd with a side-footed finish and Depay lit up the contest.
The former Manchester United forward turned the tide in the 66th minute with a rasping shot from the edge of the penalty area and then unleashed a thunderbolt of a free kick from 30 meters, which went in off the underside of the bar.
Thuram scored his second goal with a penalty kick to rekindle the home side’s hopes of salvaging a point before substitute Maxwel Cornet sealed Lyon’s win with his first touch of the ball after a fine assist by Depay.
Nice ground out a 1-0 win at nine-man Nimes as Youcef Atal swept home a 61st-minute winner after the home side had Faitout Maouassa and Loick Landre sent off in the first half.
Goals by Mathieu Debuchy and Wahbi Khazri in the opening half gave St Etienne a win over Reims while Montpellier went down 1-0 at Angers after Romain Thomas scored in the 69th minute. Amiens climbed out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win at Toulouse, courtesy of a 28th-minute goal by Alexis Bin. — Reuters
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