Lazio flying high in Serie A

AP:

Lazio continued their impressive start to the Serie A season as they beat Monza 3-1 yesterday to share the lead of the Italian league but Roma fell off the top spot after a 0-0 draw at Como.

Freiburg moved top of the Bundesliga with a 2-1 victory over Schalke, while Rennes closed the gap in the French league by beating lowly Auxerre 4-1.

Lazio took up where they had left off before the international break but it was more difficult than it should have been against 10-man Monza languishing near the bottom of the table.

Nuno Tavares and Gustav Isaksen put Lazio 2-0 up within 23 minutes and things went from bad to worse for Monza when Lorenzo Lucchesi was shown a straight red card in the 35th minute for hauling down Tijjani Noslin when the Lazio forward was clean through on goal.

However, Saba Goglichidze pulled one back for Monza right at the start of the second half and the visitors had several chances to equalise before Andrea Pinamonti sealed the match late on.

Lazio stayed joint top on points with defending champions Inter Milan, who beat Parma 3-0 on Saturday. Roma slipped two points behind.

It was nevertheless a good result for Roma, who had to play most of the second half with 10 men and withstand a siege after Donyell Malen was sent off for a dangerous tackle in the 53rd minute.

AC Milan were held to a 1-1 draw by Sassuolo. They are in fifth place, sandwiched between Cagliari and Juventus, which also played out a 1-1 draw.

BUNDESLIGA

A change of coach has not had an immediate effect on Borussia Moenchengladbach, who remain bottom of the Bundesliga and with zero points after a 2-1 loss at Cologne.

Alexander Blessin replaced the fired Eugen Polanski at the start of the international break but his debut saw the team fall to its fifth straight loss.

Freiburg took advantage of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich drawing to move top, snatching the win over Schalke with a late goal despite having Yuito Suzuki sent off for a second yellow card in the 64th.

They are above Dortmund on goal difference and have two more points than Bayern.

DOMINANT BETIS

Real Betis are third in Spain’s La Liga , level with Atletico Madrid and five points below leaders Barcelona, after a dominant 5-2 victory over Osasuna.

Former Mexico coach Javier Aguirre began his time at Valencia with a 2-2 draw at Racing Santander.

Real Sociedad almost gave up a three-goal lead and were reduced to 10 men but clung on to beat Deportivo La Coruna 3-2.