Real Madrid Beaten in Champions League as Villa Shock Bayern

Jonathan David (C) scored a penalty as Lille recorded a famous win over Real Madrid (FRANCK FIFE) (FRANCK FIFE/AFP/AFP)
Jonathan David (C) scored a penalty as Lille recorded a famous win over Real Madrid (FRANCK FIFE) (FRANCK FIFE/AFP/AFP)
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Real Madrid Beaten in Champions League as Villa Shock Bayern

Jonathan David (C) scored a penalty as Lille recorded a famous win over Real Madrid (FRANCK FIFE) (FRANCK FIFE/AFP/AFP)
Jonathan David (C) scored a penalty as Lille recorded a famous win over Real Madrid (FRANCK FIFE) (FRANCK FIFE/AFP/AFP)

Holders Real Madrid suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday, while Aston Villa defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in a repeat of the 1982 European Cup final.

Liverpool continued their flying start under new boss Arne Slot with a 2-0 victory at home to Bologna to secure a second successive win over Italian opposition this season.

Kylian Mbappe made his return from injury for Madrid in France as a substitute but he was upstaged by Jonathan David, whose penalty condemned Carlo Ancelotti's side to a first loss in all competitions since January -- a run spanning 36 matches.

"It hasn't been a very good night for us, we shouldn't look for excuses," said Ancelotti.

"We could have equalised at the end but it wouldn't have been deserved."

Canada international David, scorer of a hat-trick in Ligue 1 at the weekend, buried his spot-kick at the end of the first half after Eduardo Camavinga used his arm to block a strike from Edon Zhegrova.

According to AFP, Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier produced a string of late saves as the French club clung on for a famous win over the record 15-time European champions.

Villa also enjoyed a night to remember as a brilliant goal from in-form Colombian forward Jhon Duran lifted the hosts past Bayern.

Duran's majestic lob in the 79th minute caught Manuel Neuer well out of position and earned Villa their second win in a row in the club's first appearance in Europe's top competition in 41 years.

Harry Kane almost snatched a last-gasp equaliser but Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez pulled off a superb stop to deny the England captain.

"It's unreal to be fair. This is the loudest Villa Park that I've heard since I joined the club, that's for sure, it was hurting my ears at some point," Martinez told TNT Sports.

"It's a statement, there's still a lot to play. We want to qualify in the first eight, in the top eight, it's one step at a time."

At Anfield, Alexis Mac Allister prodded in from close range after meeting Mohamed Salah's cross to give Liverpool an early lead.

Dan Ndoye hit the post for Champions League debutants Bologna, but Salah made the game safe with a terrific curling effort in the final quarter of an hour.

Slot is the first Liverpool manager to win eight of his opening nine matches, surpassing even the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Kenny Dalglish, Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.

"It's hardly impossible to do something special at this club. It says a lot about how we started how players bought into it, the effort put in," said Slot.

- Juventus resilient as Atletico flop -

Juventus won 3-2 in a thrilling encounter against RB Leipzig in Germany despite having goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio sent off for handling outside his area.

Leipzig led twice through goals from Benjamin Sesko but Juventus replied both times through Dusan Vlahovic, his magnificent second coming just after Di Gregorio saw red on the hour.

Francisco Conceicao's fine solo effort late on won it for Juventus, who are one of seven teams with maximum points in the new 36-team league phase.

Atletico Madrid fell to a humiliating 4-0 loss at Benfica.

The Portuguese team went ahead through Kerem Aturkoglu, with Angel Di Maria extending the lead from the penalty spot.

Alexander Bah headed home the third and Orkun Kokcu completed the rout with another penalty.

Monaco rallied from two goals down on a sodden pitch to salvage a 2-2 draw away to Dinamo Zagreb.

Goals from Petar Sucic and Martin Baturina had Dinamo on course for victory, but Mohammed Salisu halved the deficit for Monaco before Dennis Zakaria equalized from the spot in the final minute.

Champions League newcomers Girona slid to a second straight defeat after scoring two own goals in a 3-2 home loss to Feyenoord.

David Lopez put Girona ahead before Yangel Herrera turned into his own net and Antoni Milambo then gave Feyenoord the lead.

Donny van de Beek equalised in the second half but Ladislav Krejci's own goal sank Girona as both sides also missed a penalty.

Atalanta strolled to a 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in Gelsenkirchen with goals from Berat Djimsiti, Ademola Lookman and Raoul Bellanova.

Club Brugge picked up their first points courtesy of Christos Tzolis' goal in a 1-0 win at Sturm Graz.



Sinner to Play Alcaraz in China Open Final

Italy's Jannik Sinner hits a return to China's Bu Yunchaokete during their men's singles semi-final match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on October 1, 2024. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner hits a return to China's Bu Yunchaokete during their men's singles semi-final match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on October 1, 2024. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)
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Sinner to Play Alcaraz in China Open Final

Italy's Jannik Sinner hits a return to China's Bu Yunchaokete during their men's singles semi-final match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on October 1, 2024. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner hits a return to China's Bu Yunchaokete during their men's singles semi-final match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on October 1, 2024. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner will play rival Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the China Open after recording a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over home favorite Bu Yunchaokete on Tuesday.
Sinner and Alcaraz accounted for all four Grand Slam titles this year between them. Alcaraz leads the head-to-head series 5-4 — including wins at both their meetings this year — but Sinner doesn't believe that recent history will have a bearing on Wednesday's final.
“We know each other very well now, but every match is different, so the situation on the court is also a bit different than it was the last two matches,” The Associated Press quoted Sinner as saying.
The 23-year-old Italian is the defending champion and hasn't appeared distracted by the World Anti-Doping Agency announcing Saturday it was seeking a ban of one to two years for the US Open champion, who tested positive twice for an anabolic steroid in March.
Chinese wild card Yunchaokete, ranked 96th, couldn't take any of his three break-point chances in the first set.
Sinner’s experience proved crucial during the pivotal moments, especially in the second-set tiebreaker, where he surged to a 6-1 lead.
Earlier, third-ranked Alcaraz's athleticism was again on show as he advanced to the final with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Daniil Medvedev.
“I felt great on the court once again, so I’m really happy about it,” Alcaraz said. “I couldn’t ask for a better semifinal.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion — including this year's French Open and Wimbledon — extended his head-to-head record against the Russian to 6-2.
The 21-year-old Spaniard found his way through a testing first set that had five breaks of serve, but crucially it was Alcaraz's third service break in the 12th game that secured the set.
Alcaraz has now won eight straight matches — across the Davis Cup, Laver Cup and in Beijing — since his loss to Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round at the US Open.
Osaka out with back injury Coco Gauff advanced to the quarterfinals when Naomi Osaka retired at 3-6, 6-4 because of a lower back injury.
Osaka, a four-time major champion, was leading 4-3 in the second set before Gauff won three straight games.
The sixth-ranked Gauff then helped carry Osaka's bags off the court.
Gauff hit six aces compared to Osaka’s one and improved to 3-2 over her opponent at WTA tournaments.
She will next meet No. 115-ranked Yuliia Starodubtseva, who earlier upset No. 14 Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 6-0.
Paula Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula to reach her eighth career quarterfinal at a WTA 1000-level event.
“She’s one the of the players I never want to face — she’s very solid, hits very flat, changes very well direction,” said Badosa, who was 0-3 previously against Pegula. “I prepared myself for a battle, but I think today everything worked pretty well."
Badosa next faces 35-year-old Chinese player Zhang Shuai, who continued her resurgence with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Magdalena Frech of Poland.
Zhang entered the China Open on a 24-match losing streak and ranked No. 595, but she's yet to drop a set in four matches this week.
Zhang is now into her first women's tour quarterfinal since Tokyo in 2022, and her first at a WTA 1000 tournament since Cincinnati in the same year.
“In this draw, everyone has a higher ranking than me,” Zhang said. “Just step on court, just play. So I do not have much to think about, to prepare. I will just focus on myself.”
Japan Open Arthur Fils saved a championship point and rallied to beat Ugo Humbert 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-3 in the final of the Japan Open to earn his third tour-level title.
The championship point was in the second-set tiebreaker against his French compatriot.
The 20-year-old Fils struggled with an injury to his left leg for much of the second set and when trailing 4-3 in the second set — with three break points for his opponent — it looked almost certain that Humbert would go on to win his seventh final in seven appearances.
Fils defeated four top-20 opponents — US Open finalist Taylor Fritz, defending champion Ben Shelton, Holger Rune and Humbert — on his way to the title.