26 September 2015
Unai Emery’s Sevilla provided the pick of the action on a high-scoring afternoon for Juventus’ Group D rivals, resisting a second-half Rayo Vallecano comeback to win 3-2, a first league victory of the campaign.
Andre Schubert’s Borussia Monchengladbach also enjoyed a profitable afternoon, overcoming fellow strugglers Stuttgart 3-1 at the Mercedes Benz Arena to make it six points from six since the departure of Swiss coach Lucien Favre.
It was a different story though over in north London, as strikes from Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Toby Aldeweireld and Erik Lamela earned Tottenham a superb 4-1 reverse over Manchester City.
Sevilla 3-2 Rayo Vallecano
In an end-to-end clash in the south of Spain, Sevilla got off the mark in La Liga, eventually overcoming Rayo Vallecano 3-2 in an exciting tie at the Stadio Roman Sanchez Pizjuan.
Cruising at 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from Frenchmen Kevin Gameiro and Steven N’Nonzi, the Andalusians saw their lead disappear shortly after the break as Dias Correira and Javi Guerra clawed the visitors back into the tie with a quarter of the game still to play.
Following Antonio Amaya’s 83rd minute dismissal though, Juve’s Wednesday night guests in the Champions League pinched a late winner as summer arrival Yevhen Konoplyanka slotted home to lift his side out of the relegation zone and get the Rojoblancos’ season up on its feet.
Stuttgart 1-3 Borussia Monchengladbach
Over in Germany, Borussia Monchengladbach secured a second consecutive victory under caretaker coach Andre Schubert, prevailing 3-1 away over Stuttgart.
Granit Xhaka gave Gladbach a 16th minute lead, which would soon be doubled only four minutes later when opposition captain Cristian Gentner put through his own net.
The hosts found a way back into the match when Daniel Ginczek struck just before the interval and they created plenty of chances to equalise, the best of which fell to Alexandru Maxim, as the Foals were forced to defend the win for long spells.
Yet the visitors soaked up the pressure and added a third with Raffael finishint coolly following a quick counter-attack to seal maximum points for his team, who have entered a timely run of form ahead of their Champions League tie against Manchester City next week.
Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Manchester City
Their visitors on Wednesday night however will go into the meeting at Borussia Park looking to regain their early season momentum.
Having led the Premier League with five wins from as many games, City were knocked off the top of the table today, succumbing to a second consecutive domestic defeat as Tottenham Hotspur ran out 4-1 winners at White Hart Lane.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men started the brighter of the two sides, enjoying the lion’s share of possession and creating the better chances before Kevin Bruyne gave them a deserved lead in the 25th minute, his third in as many games since joining from Wolfsburg.
Raheem Sterling almost doubled the Citizens’ lead with a low drive that Spurs stopper Hugo Lloris did well to tip round the post.
Tottenham, on the backfoot for the majority of the first-half, found an unlikely equaliser just seconds before the break when Eric Dier arrowed in a 25-yard shot.
The strike galvanised the hosts, who came out for the second period with a renewed sense of purpose and quickly got their noses in front in the 50th minute when Toby Alderweireld nodded in Erik Lamela’s free-kick.
Harry Kane added a third for the Londoners on the hour-mark before the busy Lamela capped off a fine all-round display with a goal of his own to make all three points safe for his side.
