*Man City Flying, Now Sit Alone Atop EPL, But Cracks Remain At Back
*Liverpool, PSG Win
Atletico Madrid today won the first capital derby of the season in the Spanish league, La Liga, with a 2-1 win against 10-man Real Madrid, while Manchester City prevailed in an eight-goal thriller against Sunderland to move clear at the top of the English Premier League (EPL).
Alejandro Grimaldo and Jonathan David scored second-half goals for Atletico, which moved to second place behind Barcelona.
Atletico scored twice to beat its city rival, which played a man down nearly the entire second half at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium.
Dean Huijsen was sent off in the 52nd for a foul that prompted the penalty kick converted by Grimaldo.
David added to the lead in the 59th, before Antonio Rüdiger scored for Madrid in the 89th.
Madrid wanted a red card for Atletico’s Cristian “Cuti” Romero in the first half after he stepped on the leg of Jude Bellingham. The play was reviewed by the VAR but Romero was only shown a yellow card.
Atletico Takes Advantage Of 10-Man Madrid
The result moved Atletico within five points of Barcelona, which won 3-1 at Sevilla on Saturday with a hat-trick by Raphinha.
Real Madrid dropped to third. It’s six points behind Barcelona, which has won seven matches out of seven to start the season.
Vinícius Júnior had a lackluster performance and was substituted in the 54th by Yan Diomande.
Man City Flying, Now Sit Alone Atop EPL, But Cracks Remain At Back
Manchester City will head into the three-week international break three points clear atop the Premier League after today’s 5-3 victory over Sunderland, but manager Enzo Maresca is unlikely to spend the hiatus dwelling on the positives.
City’s attack once again proved irresistible, rescuing them on an afternoon when their defence repeatedly unravelled.
They went ahead three times before finally pulling clear, with Erling Haaland’s late fifth goal providing breathing space at the Etihad Stadium.
“To be honest, I prefer to win 1-nil than 5-3,” Maresca said. “I’m always concerned. I’m always trying to see what we can do better. For sure, two of the three goals that we concede, they have been too easy.
“But also, we score five, (and) we could have scored probably two or three more.”
Antoine Semenyo struck twice, while Rayan Cherki and Enzo Fernandez — who curled a beautiful free kick inside the near post for his first City goal — also found joy, ensuring the hosts repeatedly regained the initiative in a game packed with attacking quality.
At the other end, however, City looked alarmingly vulnerable.
Josko Gvardiol endured a difficult afternoon at left back, while Ruben Dias struggled against Brian Brobbey, who completed a hat-trick and left the pitch with the match ball tucked under his shirt.
Dias was also fortunate to avoid an embarrassing own goal when he raced back to hook the ball off the line after almost diverting it into his own net.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was also caught out by several dangerous
moments as City’s defensive unit lacked cohesion.
For all of City’s attacking brilliance, they rarely looked in complete control.
Sunderland had 17 shots to City’s 16 and nine on target, three more than Maresca’s men.
Sunderland’s Daniel Ballard hit the post on the stroke of fulltime after yet another defensive breakdown.
Stronger opponents will feel encouraged if City continue to concede opportunities so readily.
“For sure we can control better, keeping the ball, no doubt,” Maresca said. “But there is also another team and they don’t want to allow us to control the game.”
The positive for the Italian is that his side boast firepower few teams can match. Haaland’s late strike meant he has now scored against all 25 Premier League clubs he has faced.
Sitting at the top of the standings with a 100% record five games into his first season in charge is exactly where Maresca would have wanted his side to be, but he now has three weeks to find solutions for their defensive shortcomings before the title race resumes.
“The international break is good because we can review what we have done and what we can do better,” he said. “But at the same time, we can relax a little bit more.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: Some Real Madrid players … crestfallen.
RESULTS OF MATCHES PLAYED IN MAJOR EUROPEAN LEAGUES TODAY, SUNDAY, 20 SEPT, 2026:
ENGLAND: Premier League
Bournemouth – Liverpool 0-1
Leeds – Crystal Palace 0-0
Manchester City – Sunderland 5-3
Fulham – Manchester Utd 1-1
FRANCE: Ligue 1
Auxerre – Brest 2-1
Nice – Lille 2-1
Marseille – PSG 1-2
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen – RB Leipzig 2-0
Schalke – Elversberg 0-0
Paderborn – Hoffenheim 3-1
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina – Napoli 1-1
Frosinone – Como 2-0
Parma – Genoa 2-1
Juventus – Atalanta 2-0
AC Milan – Lecce 3-0
NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie
Feyenoord – Utrecht 5-0
AZ Alkmaar – Telstar 1-0
Twente – PSV 3-2
Nijmegen – G.A. Eagles 1-1
SPAIN: LaLiga
Getafe – Malaga 1-0
Atl. Madrid – Real Madrid 2-1
Dep. A Coruna – Betis 1-1
Villarreal – Levante 3-1
Valencia – Real Sociedad 2-3
