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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Guardian sport and Reuters

European roundup: Union Berlin back on top of Bundesliga after late drama

Danilho Doekhi of Union Berlin celebrates after scoring the winning goal
Danilho Doekhi (left) of Union Berlin celebrates after scoring the winning goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Photograph: Oliver Hardt/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection/Getty Images

Union Berlin scored a stoppage-time winner through Danilho Doekhi to snatch a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach to go back to the top of the Bundesliga, one point ahead of Bayern Munich.

Kevin Behrens’s powerful header levelled the score in the 79th minute for Union, avoiding a second consecutive loss for the club, who have surprisingly led the title race for more than a month, before Doekhi’s last-gasp winner.

Gladbach’s Nico Elvedi headed in for the lead in the 33rd minute from a Lars Stindl corner, with the visitors controlling possession in the first half. The hosts pushed forward after the break and earned the equaliser when Behrens beat goalkeeper Tobias Sippel 11 minutes from the end.

Union then put the ball in the net again but Christopher Trimmel’s 87th-minute header was overruled by the VAR before Doekhi got the winner in the eighth minute of stoppage time with the last move of the game.

In Italy, Torino grabbed a 2-1 home win against Milan, condemning the defending champions to their second Serie A loss this season. Torino took a surprise lead in the 35th minute through defender Koffi Djidji, who nodded home a free-kick by Valentino Lazaro awarded after Pierre Kalulu’s foul on Torino midfielder Nikola Vlasic. Aleksey Miranchuk doubled Torino’s advantage two minutes later when goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic sent a long ball up the field which landed just in front of Milan’s area.

Milan hit back only through midfielder Junior Messias and
are third one point below second-placed Atalanta and six adrift of leaders Napoli.

Atalanta’s Duvan Zapata celebrates with fans
Atalanta’s Duvan Zapata celebrates with fans after the 2-0 win at Empoli. Photograph: Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters

Atalanta regained their second place with goals from defender Hans Hateboer and Ademola Lookman giving them a 2-0 away win over Empoli.

In La Liga, Real Madrid finished with 10 men and were held to a 1-1 draw by Girona at the Bernabéu but the reigning champions maintained their unbeaten streakand hold a one-point lead over Barcelona.

Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos is shown a red card by referee Mario Melero López
Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos is shown a red card by referee Mario Melero López in the 1-1 draw with Girona. Photograph: Jose Breton/AP

After a goalless first half, Madrid opened the scoring through Vinícius Jr in the 70th minute but their lead was cancelled out by a Cristhian Stuani penalty 10 minutes later.

Madrid’s afternoon only got worse when midfielder Toni Kroos was sent off in added time after receiving a second yellow card. Girona, who are 16th in the standings, came away with a precious point as their players sank to the ground in relief. Elsewhere in La Liga, sixth-placed Osasuna continued their fine start to the season with a 2-0 home win over Valladolid.

Breel Embolo and Aleksandr Golovin scored in the second half as Monaco beat bottom side Angers 2-0 at home in Ligue 1 to move up one spot to sixth in the standings. Elsewhere in France, Auxerre beat Ajaccio 1-0, Nantes and Clermont Foot drew 1-1, Rennes moved up to third with a 3-0 home win over Montpellier while fourth-placed Lorient were beaten 2-1 at home by Nice. Brest and Reims played out a goalless draw. Alexandre Lacazette grabbed the only goal as Lyon beat Lille 1-0 to climb to eighth, a place behind Lille.

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