Robert Lewandowski’s first-half hat-trick guided the La Liga leaders Barcelona to a 3-0 win away at Alavés on Sunday as the Polish striker extended his lead at the top of the league’s scoring charts.
Barcelona wasted no time in going in front when Lewandowski headed home from a Raphinha free-kick in the seventh minute before the Brazilian winger provided another assist on a counterattack for the 36-year-old striker to grab his second.
Lewandowski completed his hat-trick in the 32nd minute for his 10th La Liga goal in nine games this season, but despite their dominance Barcelona could not score another as Antonio Sivera stood strong in the Alavés goal.
The victory moved Barcelona to 24 points, three points clear of rivals Real Madrid, while Alavés are 12th with 10 points.
The Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga saved two penalties, including one that had to be retaken, before his teammate Cristhian Stuani scored from the spot deep in stoppage time as they beat visitors Athletic Bilbao 2-1.
Álex Berenguer’s penalty was saved in the first half and Athletic’s luck from the spot got worse after the break as Iñaki Williams’s effort was also stopped. It had to be retaken because Gazzaniga’s feet were off the line. Ander Herrera stepped up for that but his effort was also saved by the former Fulham and Tottenham keeper.
The visitors were immediately punished after Berenguer’s poor miss when the Colombian midfielder Yáser Asprilla put Girona ahead in the 39th minute, sending a dangerous left-foot cross from outside the box into the bottom left corner past keeper Álex Padilla.
Oihan Sancet equalised two minutes later, but the substitute Stuani converted his penalty in the 99th minute to seal all three points and end Girona’s four-match winless run in La Liga.
“I’m happy for the three points the team got.” Gazzaniga said. “I don’t remember another match like this. I would like to highlight the work of the team because without them it wouldn’t have been possible. We were studying the penalties with the goalkeeping coach and this time it worked out well.”
Juventus conceded their first Serie A goal as a late Razvan Marin penalty snatched a 1-1 draw for visitors Cagliari. Dusan Vlahovic put Juventus ahead from the spot in the 15th minute but Juve, despite dominating for most of the game, were unable to find a second goal, and were made to pay two minutes from time.
Juventus, playing their seventh league game, had Francisco Conceição sent off in the final minutes, after he received a second booking, for simulation, and Cagliari held on to take an unexpected point.
The draw denied Juventus the chance to move back up to second, and they are third on 13 points, one point behind the defending champions, Inter, and two behind Napoli.
Late on Sunday, Real Betis travel to Sevilla for the derby and Real Sociedad host Atlético Madrid. Fiorentina host Milan in the late Serie A game, while Bayern Munich travel to third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt one point behind RB Leipzig, who went top of the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win at FC Heidenheim thanks to Loïs Openda’s second-half strike. In France, Paris Saint-Germain can return to the top by winning at Nice.
DJ Bien-Aime, ESPNJan 11, 2025, 08:21 PM ETCloseDJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets
Another of Michigan's transfer portal departures has found a new home, this time within the Big Ten Conference.True freshman defensive lineman Owen Wafle, a for
Another longtime member of Florida State's football program has found a new home. 27 members of the Seminoles' roster elected to explore their futures through t
Three-star transfer edge rusher Owen Wafle has committed to Penn State football from Michigan, he announced Saturday. Wafle became the fifth transfer commit to