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Kylian Mbappé netted twice as Real Madrid eased to a 4-0 victory over struggling Valencia, with Jude Bellingham and Alvaro Carreras also scoring to help the La Liga leaders claim their 13th win from 14 matches in all competitions.
The victory extended Real’s commanding lead, putting them seven points clear of second-placed Villarreal and eight ahead of third-placed Barcelona, who sit level with Atlético Madrid on 22 points but have a game in hand.
Mbappé gave the home side a two-goal lead with goals in the 19th and 31st minutes, first converting a penalty that was awarded for a handball by César Tárrega and, 12 minutes later, firing home a volley from close range.
In the 44th minute, right after the Valencia keeper Julen Agirrezabala denied Vinícius Júnior from the penalty spot, Bellingham struck a sublime low shot from the edge of the box into the bottom corner to make it 3-0, while Carreras unleashed an unstoppable angled shot in the 82nd to wrap up the thrashing.
Bayern Munich scored three goals in 19 minutes in a rampant first half to power past visitors Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 and stretch their record-extending run to 15 wins from 15 matches across all competitions this season.
Goals from Serge Gnabry and Nicolas Jackson and an own goal from Loic Bade gave Bayern, who rested Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Díaz in the first half for their midweek trip to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, an easy victory.
They extended their record run in Europe’s top five leagues to 15 wins on the trot after setting a record on Wednesday with a 4-1 win over Cologne in the German Cup second round, improving on Milan’s 13 straight wins from 1992-93. Bayern are in top spot on 27 points, five ahead of RB Leipzig.
Leverkusen suffered their first league loss under Kasper Hjulmand and saw their record-breaking undefeated run on the road end after 37 league matches and more than two seasons, with their previous away defeat in the league dating back to 27 May 27 2023.
The hosts opened their account with a textbook three-touch attack from the goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, to Gnabry, who finished the move with a low shot in the 25th minute.
Before Leverkusen had time to regroup, the hosts struck again with Jackson bagging his first Bundesliga goal with a header from a Konrad Laimer cross in the 31st. Bade’s own goal from a Raphaël Guerreiro cutback crowned a dominant first half for the hosts and killed off the game.
Jackson headed over the bar from close range in the 50th and Guerreiro fired just wide a little later, with Bayern introducing Kane, Diaz and Olise on the hour but failing to score again.
Genoa, Serie A’s bottom side, have parted company with Patrick Vieira by mutual agreement after a winless start to their campaign, with three draws and six losses.
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The former France midfielder took over last November when Genoa were 17th and helped the club avoid relegation, finishing 13th. However, they made a dismal start to the new season, scoring four goals in nine matches.
“Genoa CFC announces that Patrick Vieira is no longer the coach of the first team … the technical leadership of the first team has been entrusted on an interim basis to Roberto Murgita, assisted by Domenico Criscito,” the club said on Saturday.
Genoa, who are two points below the last safe spot, visit Sassuolo on Monday.
Napoli’s Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saved a penalty from Álvaro Morata as the defending champions and leaders played out a goalless draw with Como, unable to break the visitors’ unbeaten run since August.
Napoli, who failed to score in a league game for only the second time this season, are on 22 points. They are a point above Roma, who visit Milan on Sunday. Fifth-placed Como, unbeaten in their last nine competitive matches, are five points below Napoli.
