Barcelona suffered a shock 1-0 La Liga defeat at Real Sociedad on Sunday that ended their seven-match winning steak in all competitions as Sheraldo Becker scored for the Basque side in the first half.
Leaders Barcelona got their first taste of defeat in over a month and only their second in their domestic season after they were dominated throughout the match by the home side, who wasted several chances. Becker’s strike in the 33rd minute was enough to secure Real Sociedad the win as he beat the offside trap to race on to a Luka Sucic header before slotting a tidy finish just inside the post.
Elsewhere in Spain, Julián Alvarez scored a tap-in from a second-half counterattack to give Atlético Madrid a 1-0 win at Real Mallorca. It is a fourth consecutive victory in all competitions for Diego Simeone’s side.
Barcelona still lead the standings on 33 points, six ahead Real Madrid who have a game in hand in second place, while Atlético are third on 26 points. Real Sociedad are eighth on 18 points.
In Italy, Roma have sacked Ivan Juric after only 12 matches in charge. The Croatian became the second Roma head coach to be fired this season after the side’s 3-2 home defeat by Bologna on Sunday, their fourth loss in the last five league games which left them 12th in the Serie A table.
“We would like to thank Ivan Juric for his hard work these past weeks,” Roma said in a statement. “He handled a difficult environment with the utmost professionalism, and for that we are grateful. The search for a new head coach has already begun and an announcement will be made in the coming days.”
Roma appointed Juric in September, after sacking the club legend Daniele De Rossi, to become their third coach in the span of eight months. Juric, formerly coach at Torino, Verona and Genoa, started off with home wins against Udinese and Venezia in the league, either side of a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League. His good run, however, ended there and Roma won only once in their next six league games.
Hakan Calhanoglu finally missed a penalty for Inter after scoring a stunning equaliser as they were held to a 1-1 home draw by leaders Napoli in Serie A on Sunday.
The visitors took the lead in the 23rd minute against the run of play when Scott McTominay pounced to poke home from close range after a corner was flicked on.
Two minutes before the break, Calhanoglu equalised with a powerful strike from outside the box.
Calhanoglu then shocked San Siro in the 74th minute, hitting the post with a penalty after Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa fouled Denzel Dumfries to end a streak of 19 successful spot-kicks for Inter.
Napoli are top the table with 26 points from 12 games. Inter are just one point behind, level with Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio, who all won on Sunday.
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Atalanta beat Udinese 2-1 after falling behind in the first half to a goal from Hassane Kamara. They fought back to win courtesy of a Mario Pasalic strike and an Isaak Touré own goal. Fiorentina secured a 3-1 home win over Verona, with Moise Kean scoring a hat-trick for the Viola, the last goal of which came via an assist from goalkeeper David de Gea. Mattia Zaccagni scored the only goal as Lazio triumphed 1-0 away at Monza.
Nantes have reacted with “deep indignation” after Wales international Sorba Thomas was subjected to racist insults on social media. Thomas, who is on loan at the Ligue 1 side from Huddersfield, came on as a late substitute in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Lens, before himself being replaced.
A club statement released on Sunday read: “FC Nantes expresses its deep indignation following the racist insults to which SorbaThomas was subjected following the match against RC Lens on social networks. The club wishes to give its full and unwavering support to its player.”
Thomas has scored one goal in 11 appearances this season for Nantes, who began their campaign by taking seven points from their first three games but have won three from the last eight.
