A second-half header by Chris Smalling helped Roma to seal a 2-1 victory at Inter in Serie A on Saturday. The England international headed home in the 75th minute after a brilliant free kick by Lorenzo Pellegrini from about 45 yards.
Federico Dimarco opened the scoring for Inter in the 30th minute when Nicolò Barella met him with a pass in the middle of the box, with his low strike taking a deflection off Rui Patrício but still reaching the corner of the net. Edin Dzeko had scored in the 11th minute as Roma’s defence faltered but his goal was chalked off by VAR for offside.
Roma’s Leonardo Spinazzola had an attempt on goal eight minutes later from the edge of the box but was denied by Samir Handanovic. That was quickly followed up by Paulo Dybala’s effort on a rebound which was also saved by the Inter goalkeeper. Roma eventually netted an equaliser through Dybala in the 39th minute, his fourth goal in Serie A this season, following a superb cross by Spinazzola. Smalling then wrapped up the points late on.
Meanwhile, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa scored the first two goals as Napoli beat Torino 3-1 to move three points clear at the top of the league. Atalanta can move back level with Napoli by beating visiting Fiorentina on Sunday.
Borussia Dortmund conceded two goals in three minutes and slumped to a 3-2 loss at Cologne, missing their chance to go top of the Bundesliga at the expense of Union Berlin.
The visitors, who face Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday, were in complete control in the first half and squandered a bagful of chances through Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi before Julian Brandt slotted in for the lead in the 31st minute. They eased off, however, after the break, allowing Cologne too much space to come forward and score three times in the second half.
The hosts launched their comeback in the 53rd with Florian Kainz turning a cutback from Linton Maina into the Dortmund goal. Before Dortmund had any time to recover Cologne struck again three minutes later with former Dortmund player Steffen Tigges beating Nico Schlotterbeck at the near post to score with a glancing header and turn the game around.
Florian Dietz hit the woodwork a little later as Cologne kept the pressure on, and they got a third goal in the 71st minute when Dejan Ljubicic was given too much space by a struggling Dortmund backline and curled a superb shot into the far corner.
Dortmund dropped to fourth place on 15 points, two behind Union Berlin, who lost 2-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt, and Freiburg, 2-1 winners over Mainz. Bayern Munich, who crushed Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 on Friday for their first win in five league games, are also on 15 in third place.
Mario Götze and Jesper Lindstrøm scored the goals that moved Frankfurt into the top five. Randal Kolo Muani skilfully beat the Union defenders Diogo Leite and Timo Baumgartl to cut back the ball for Götze, who sent it into the net in the 12th minute to put his side ahead. Three minutes before the break, Lindstrøm seized on Paul Jaeckel’s sloppy clearance and moved past the defender with ease before dummying Baumgartl to bury a smart finish past Frederik Rønnow. Kolo Muani was sent off midway through the second half, but Frankfurt held on.
Over in La Liga, Sevilla succumbed to a 2-0 home defeat by Atlético Madrid to continue their poor start to the campaign having won only one match in all competitions so far this season. The record six-time Europa League winners are 15th in the league standings on five points, one above the relegation zone. It’s Sevilla’s worst start to a league season since being promoted back to the top flight in 2001.
Marcos Llorente scored Atlético’s first goal in the 29th minute, lashing a shot to the right of Yassine Bounou, the Sevilla keeper, and into the back of the net. Álvaro Morata secured the points in the 57th minute, lobbing Bounou with a brilliant effort. Atlético’s win lifted them to fifth on 13 points, five behind city rivals and leaders Real Madrid.
This story will be updated.