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European football: Leverkusen rocked by Bremen as Napoli stretch Serie A lead

  • Xabi Alonso blames ‘soft defending’ for last-gasp draw
  • Napoli extend unbeaten run and go five points clear

Bayer Leverkusen’s sloppy performance in their 2-2 draw at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday that included conceding a 90th-minute equaliser was down to the German champions’ weak defending, coach Xabi Alonso said.

Werder twice came from a goal down to snatch a point and leave Leverkusen with a third draw in their last four league games. “The fact that Werder could come back was down to both sides,” Alonso, who led his team to an unbeaten domestic league and cup double last season, said. “We were too soft in defending and they used their chances.

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Championship roundup: Sunderland beat Oxford to go five points clear

  • Burnley in second and Leeds in third drop points
  • Drama as Plymouth fight back to draw 3-3 with Preston

Sunderland cemented their position at the top of the Championship with a dominant 2-0 win over Oxford. After back-to-back away victories over Hull and Luton, they made it three wins in six days thanks to Jobe Bellingham’s 16th-minute header and Wilson Isidor’s first-time volley.

Burnley in second and Leeds in third dropped points, allowing Sheffield United to gain ground as they moved on from back-to-back defeats with a 2-0 victory over Stoke. Goals either side of the break from Kieffer Moore and Tyrese Campbell ended Stoke’s four-match unbeaten run. A minute’s silence was observed before kick-off in memory of the former Sheffield United player George Baldock, who died this month at the age of 31.

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Erling Haaland earns Manchester City win over Southampton despite misses

Manchester City keep powering on in a relentless mode that tells Liverpool and Arsenal they must do the same. Pep Guardiola’s champions took top spot with this tight victory and if either Arsenal or Arne Slot’s side can win Sunday’s late kick-off, they will land a bodyblow to the other.

City, with 23 points, lead Liverpool by two and Arsenal by a yawning six, so Mikel Arteta’s team dare not lose. Guardiola’s charges were a touch flat here. Recently, he has preached the need to be patient and though Erling Haaland could have had a hat-trick instead of his solitary winner, injuries meant the manager had scant resources on the bench to change up his team, with only Ilkay Gündogan an attack-minded senior option.

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