LONDON: Serie A leaders Juventus went three points clear at the top after they beat Palermo 2-0 on Sunday, while Olympique de Marseille and Bayern Munich saw their winning runs come to an end.

Marseille missed the chance to notch a club record ninth straight Ligue 1 win when they lost 1-0 at Olympique Lyon who continued their hold over their rivals at the Stade Gerland courtesy Yoann Gourcuff’s third goal in two games.

Bundesliga leaders Bayern, meanwhile, saw their four-game winning streak in the league come to an end when they were held to a goalless draw at undefeated Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Sevilla scored twice in the final minutes to stun visiting Villarreal 2-1 and move level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

LLORENTE BREAKS DUCK

Goals in each half from Arturo Vidal and Fernando Llorente, the Spanish forward’s first of the season, helped Juve to a comfortable win at home to a tame Palermo and move three points clear of AS Roma.

The defending champions, who won their 23rd home league game in a row, have 22 points from eight games.

Gonzalo Higuain also ended his league drought for Napoli with a hat-trick, including a late penalty, in an entertaining 6-2 win over Verona in which Marek Hamsik also scored a brace to open his Napoli account this season.

Jose Callejon grabbed Napoli’s other goal for his seventh of the campaign as Rafael Benitez’s side moved up to seventh, eight points adrift of Juve and only two off Udinese who are joint-third with Sampdoria after a 2-0 win over Atalanta.

Ex-Germany forward Miroslav Klose gave Lazio a 2-1 win over Torino, his first goal of the season, that moved the Biancocelesti up to fifth on 15 points, level with sixth-placed AC Milan who drew 1-1 at home to Fiorentina.

Inter Milan scrambled a 1-0 win at Cesena thanks to a controversial first-half penalty converted by Mauro Icardi and are in eighth place on 12 points.

GOURCUFF STRIKES

Gourcuff, once hailed as the natural successor to famed France midfielder Zinedine Zidane, has been beset by loss of form and injuries since joining Lyon four years ago.

But he followed up his brace against Montpellier last weekend with an accomplished finish in the 65th minute to break Marseille’s resistance as Lyon moved to 20 points, five behind the Ligue 1 leaders and one behind second-placed Paris St Germain at the end of week 11.

Lyon are ahead of St Etienne, who recorded a late 1-0 victory over Metz, on goal difference. Ivory Coast winger Max Gradel grabbed St Etienne’s winner when he hit the target with 16 minutes remaining.

Brazilian midfielder Carlos Eduardo became the first player in 30 years to score five goals in a Ligue 1 game to lead Nice to a record 7-2 victory at bottom-club Guingamp.

Striker Habib Habibou and midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure scored second-half goals as Rennes beat Lille 2-0 at their Stade de la route de L’orient to move into ninth place.

Seventh-placed Nice have 17 points, while Rennes have 15 points and lead Metz and Lille on goal difference.

PLUCKY GLADBACH

Moenchengladbach held Bayern to an exciting draw as the Bundesliga’s top two teams remained unbeaten.

Bayern, looking to extend their lead at the top of the table, had goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to thank for keeping the game scoreless and their closest rivals four points at bay after nine games.

Pep Guardiola’s team lacked the sharpness up front that they showed in the 7-1 demolition of AS Roma in the Champions League in midweek but the point gained puts the leaders on 21 points.

“In the first half we controlled the game but we were a bit tired in the second half,” Guardiola told reporters. “That’s where we lost some of our discipline. But I am satisfied with our performance and the one point.”

VfL Wolfsburg in third, level on 17 points, after handing Mainz 05 their first defeat of the season with a 3-0 home win. Goals by Naldo, Ivan Perisic and Daniel Caliguri gave the hosts the three points.

SEVILLA CLIMB TO SUMMIT

Sevilla drew level on points with Barca at the top of La Liga when they snatched a comeback victory at home to Villarreal.

Villarreal substitute Luciano Vietto appeared to have grabbed the winner at Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium with a goal in the 79th minute but Denis Suarez swept in the equaliser in the 88th, and striker Carlos Bacca converted a penalty kick two minutes into injury time.

Barca lead Sevilla on goal difference after nine matches with both teams on 22 points.

Champions Atletico Madrid, in fifth, moved to within two points of the leaders after they won an ill-tempered clash at 10-man Getafe 1-0 thanks to Mario Mandzukic’s first-half goal.

Malaga moved up to seventh with a 4-0 thrashing of Rayo Vallecano, whilst Espanyol and Deportivo la Coruna played out a 0-0 draw.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2014