Barcelona won 3-1 at Alaves in La Liga on Saturday thanks to goals by Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan and substitute Vitor Roque, who was sent off after picking up a second yellow card.
Barcelona opened the scoring thanks to an incisive pass from Gundogan to Lewandowski and the Pole lofted the ball over goalkeeper Antonio Sivera to score his ninth goal of the season.
Gundogan popped up early in the second half with a fine left-foot strike from Pedri's pass to increase Barcelona's lead.
Alaves launched a quick counter-attack two minutes later following a breakaway by Alex Sola who crossed for Samu Omorodion to head home.
"We knew how to compete and we were very solid at the back. The pity is that goal we conceded, because we had the game under control at 2-0 and within minutes they scored. We defended the box badly and that makes me angry, because we worked hard," said Barca coach Xavi Hernandez.
Barcelona increased their lead thanks to a shot from Roque, who had replaced Gundogan in the 63rd minute. The Brazilian was sent off nine minutes later, however, after receiving yellow cards for an elbow on Nahuel Tenaglia and a foul on Rafa Marin.
Surprise packages Girona were held to a goalless home draw by Real Sociedad.
League round-up: Kane finds target, Bayern win
Munich: Champions Bayern Munich came from a goal down to beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday and stay on the heels of leaders Bayer Leverkusen ahead of their league clash next week.
The Bavarians, who scored three times after Gladbach took a first-half lead, moved to 50 points in second place, two behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen ahead of their summit clash next week.
The result also earned a new record for Bayern’s veteran attacking midfielder Thomas Mueller who notched his 500th victory in all competitions for the club, the first Bayern player to reach that mark.
The visitors stunned Bayern by taking a 35th-minute lead through Nico Elvedi. The Bavarians levelled on the stroke of half-time through teenager Aleksandar Pavlovic who scored for the second week in a row.
The hosts’ comeback was complete in the 70th minute when Kane headed in from close range after a mistake by the Gladbach keeper.
Milan survive
A late goal by striker Luka Jovic rescued a 3-2 win for AC Milan at Frosinone on Saturday, helping Stefano Pioli’s side to keep in touching distance of Serie A’s Inter Milan and Juventus.
Reuters
