25 October 2015
Sevilla 5-0 Getafe
A Kevin Gameiro hat trick helped Sevilla to a convincing 5-0 win over Getafe at the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan on Saturday night, their third in four games in La Liga.
In a game dominated by the hosts, the Frenchman showed fine reactions to prod home the game’s opening goal on the rebound after Getafe keeper Vicente Guaita had palmed away Ever Banega’s dipping effort from distance.
The ex-PSG man soon had his second ten minutes later collecting Banega’s clever quick free-kick to fire high into the roof of the visitors’ net and send his side into the break with a commanding 2-0 advantage.
Two became three moments after the break as Yevhen Konoplyanka was hauled down in the Getafe box by Carlos Martin Vigaray, earning his first of two yellow cards on the night, to give Banega the chance to coolly convert from the spot with 40 minutes still on the clock.
Vigaray was guilty of clumsy defending once again on the hour mark as the Spaniard felled Gameiro to concede his second spot kick of the evening, allowing the Frenchman completing his treble from the resulting penalty.
Remarkably, to round off a profitable encounter in the south of Spain for Juve’s Group D rivals, Konoplyanka slotted home his side’s third and final opportunity from 12 yards to lift the Andalusians up to ninth in the table.
Man United 0-0 Man City
In one of the most anticipated fixtures of the weekend, Manchester United and Manchester City played out an uneventful goalless draw at Old Trafford in the 170th meeting between the two teams.
In front of a capacity crowd at the Theatre of Dreams, the old rivals were unable to create any meaningful opportunities in a game that did not see its first shot on target until the 82nd minute.
Of the few chances there were in Manchester, the best fell to United in the closing stages as substitute Jesse Lingard’s late effort came back off the bar before City goalkeeper Joe Hart saved well from Chris Smalling.
The point was enough to restore Manuel Pellegrini’s men to the Premier League summit ahead of Arsenal with the Red Devils two points back in fourth.
Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 Schalke
There was more action to be found though at Borussia Park, as last Wednesday’s visitors to Juventus Stadium saw off local rivals Schalke by three goals to one, earning their fifth consecutive league win in the process.
Having shown their defensive tenacity in Turin earlier in the week, Andre Schubert’s men showcased their attacking talents in front of their home fans as goals from Lars Stindl, Raffael and Julian Korb rounded off another impressive Bundesliga outing for the Foals.
Starting the game firmly on the front foot, the Borussians got the breakthrough their early play deserved courtesy of Stindl, following in on the rebound after his penalty had been saved by Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann.
The hosts weren’t in front for long though as the visitors struck back shortly afterwards as Chelsea loanee Anders Christensen turned Max Meyer’s precise centre into his own net on the stroke of half time.
Schubert’s charges rallied after the break and twice went close to restoring their lead within ten minutes as the dangerous Stindl fired inches wide before seeing his header cleared off the line by ex-Fulham defender Sascha Reither.
Gladbach’s relentless pressure on Fahrmann’s goal eventually told moments later as Raffael curled home brilliantly to put the home side in front.
From there, things went from bad to worse for Schalke as midfielder Johannes Geis was sent off for a lunge on Andre Hahn minutes before conceding the fourth goal of the game, Julian Korb drilling home from Raffael’s pass.
Two goals to the good and with a numerical advantage in their favour, Schubert’s side eased to the finish line to climb to seventh in the Bundesliga standings, four points behind Schalke who remain in third.
