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Saturday European Rewind: Juventus downs Lazio, Bayern defeats Hoffenheim, and more

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Juventus needed some late help to grab a victory in their season opener last weekend but that today it was smooth sailing in their home opener.

The Old Lady was able to keep their first clean sheet of the new season, edging Lazio 2-0 at home. Cristiano Ronaldo made his home debut in Turin, registering an assist in the triumph. Miralem Pjanic’s beautiful struck strike in the 30th minute gave Juventus a first-half lead which they would not let go. Mario Mandzukic added an insurance goal in the 75th minute as he finished Ronaldo’s assist in for his first goal of the season. Lazio only recorded two shots on goal in their second straight defeat to start the campaign.

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich began their title defense with a win on Friday while Borussia Monchengladbach defeated Bayer Leverkusen. Manchester City had to settle for a point at Wolves in the early EPL showdown of the day. Barcelona traveled to Valladolid in La Liga play, while PSG rolled to another Ligue 1 win.

Here’s a closer look at all of Saturday’s European action:

English Premier League

Arsenal claimed their first win of the new Premier League season with a 3-1 triumph against West Ham United. The Gunners overcame an early deficitĀ  and used a pair of second-half goals to pull away for a victory. Nacho Monreal’s goal in the 30th-minute canceled out Marko Arnautovic’s opener for West Ham. An own goal by Issa Diop in the 70th-minute gave the Gunners a lead before Danny Welbeck iced the result in stoppage time. West Ham remains winless on the season, while Arsenal ended a two-match losing run.

Wolverhampton Wanderers got a huge result at Molineux as they drew Manchester City 1-1. Following a scoreless first-half, Willy Boly’s header in the 57th-minute gave Wolves a lead. After review, the cross looked to have deflected in off of Boly’s hand but the goal stood regardless. Aymeric Laporte’s powerful header in the 69th-minute leveled the score for City, who also had a penalty claim wiped away by referee Martin Atkinson. City also hit the woodwork three times and had to settle for just one point.

Here’s all of Saturday’s EPL results:

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 – Manchester City 1

AFC Bournemouth 2 – Everton 2

Arsenal 3 – West Ham United 1

Huddersfield Town 0 – Cardiff City 0

Southampton 1 – Leicester City 2

Liverpool 1 – Brighton & Hove Albion 0

Spanish La Liga

Atletico Madrid used a second-half goal from their star striker to down Rayo Vallecano 1-0 at home. Antoine Griezmann’s close-range finish in the 63rd-minute was all Diego Simeone’s side needed to claim their first win of the La Liga season. Both teams struggled for good looks toward goal, and finished the match with five shots on goal combined. After being hammered by Sevilla in their league opener, Rayo will feel a little better knowing they only allowed one goal to Atletico.

Here’s all of Friday and Saturday’s La Liga results:

Getafe 2 – Eibar 0

Leganes 2 – Real Sociedad 2

Alaves 0 – Real Betis 0

Atletico Madrid 1 – Rayo Vallecano 0

Valladolid 0 – Barcelona 1

German Bundesliga

Bayern Munich opened their defense of the Bundesliga title with a 3-1 home win over Hoffenheim on Friday. Thomas Muller’s first-half finish gave Niko Kovac’s side a 1-0 lead entering the halftime break. Adam Szalai leveled the score for Hoffenheim in the 57th-minute but that was the closest Julian Nagelsmann’s side would get to a point. Robert Lewandoski’s penalty kick goal in the 82nd-minute put Bayern in front before Arjen Robben added a third prior to stoppage time. Hoffenheim return home to face Freiburg next weekend, while Bayern travels to Stuttgart.

Borussia Monchengladbach opened their season with a win on Saturday, shutting out Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 at home. Thorgan Hazard’s 38th-minute penalty kick was saved by Ramazan Ozcan as the Leverkusen keeper made a great save. Jonas Hofmann’s penalty kick in the 55th-minute broke the deadlock at Borussia Park before Fabian Johnson doubled Gladbach’s lead in the 58th-minute. Yann Sommer made three saves in the home clean sheet for Gladbach.

Here’s all of Friday and Saturday’s Bundesliga results:

Bayern Munich 3 – Hoffenheim 1

Hertha Berlin 1 – Nurnberg 0

Werder Bremen 1 – Hannover 1

Freiburg 0 – Eintracht Frankfurt 2

Wolfsburg 2 – Schalke 1

Fortuna Dusseldorf 1 – Augsburg 2

Borussia Monchengladbach 2 – Bayer Leverkusen 0

Italian Serie A

Napoli continued their impressive start to Serie A play with a comeback 3-2 home win over AC Milan. Giacomo Bonaventura’s 15th-minute finish gave the visitors an early advantage at the San Paolo. Davide Calabria doubled Milan’s lead in the 48th-minute but it would only wake up Napoli in front of their home fans. Piotr Zielinski’s left-footed finish in the 51st-minute began the comeback for Napoli before the Polish attacker leveled the score from long-range later in the half. Dries Mertens completed the feat for Napoli in the 80th-minute, registering his first goal of the 2018-19 season. Milan did not record another shot on goal, eventually suffering their first loss of the season.

Here’s all of Saturday’s Serie A results:

Juventus 2 – Lazio 0

Napoli 3 – AC Milan 2

French Ligue 1

PSG’s stars shined again for the defending Ligue 1 champs on Saturday, helping them to a 3-1 win over Angers. Edinson Cavani’s first goal of the season opened things at the Parc Des Princes after 12 minutes. Thomas Mangani’s penalty kick leveled the score for Angers in the 21st-minute after Flavien Tait drew a foul. Kylian Mbappe finished Angel Di Maria’s assist in the 51st-minute which put PSG ahead for good. Neymar added his third goal of the season to ice the result for Thomas Tuchel’s team.

Lyon posted their second win of the new Ligue 1 season, downing Strasbourg 2-0 on Friday. Martin Terrier’s first-half finish proved to be the winning goal for Lyon would double their lead after halftime. Bertrand Traore iced the three points in the 64th-minute, slotting home from a fast break. Memphis Depay played a factor for Lyon, registering an assist on the insurance goal. After positive performances in their first two matches, Strasbourg suffered their first loss of the new season.

Here’s all of Friday and Saturday’s Ligue 1 results:

Lyon 2 – Strasbourg 0

PSG 3 – Angers 1

Amiens 4 – Stade Reims 1

Montpellier 0 – St. Etienne 0

Nantes 1 – Caen 1

Nice 0 – Dijon 4

Toulouse 1 – Nimes 0

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