BAYERN Munich crashed to their first Bundesliga defeat when they were beaten 2-1 at Mainz. Bayern are going through something of an injury crisis and among the missing players was Harry Kane. Mainz deserved their victory and it wasn’t until the 87th minute that Leroy Sané scored a consolation goal for Vincent Kompany’s team. He was gracious in defeat, praising Mainz’s fight and spirit. Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen, in second place, won 2-0 against Augsburg but Frankfurt went down 2-1 at RB Leipzig. Borussia Mønchengladbach were in good form, beating Holstein Kiel 4-1 with Alassane Plèa netting twice. Dortmund were held 1-1 at home to Hoffenheim who equalised deep into added time.
**Premier League: Two coaches bite the dust**
LIVERPOOL earned a 2-2 draw despite being down to 10 men from the 17th minute. Andy Robertson was red-carded when they were a goal down at home to Fulham, who took an 11th minute lead through Andreas Pereira. Cody Gakpo levelled just after half-time but Rodrigo Muniz restored Fulham’s lead. It was left to Diogo Jota to save the day four minutes from time. Chelsea are now four point behind in second place after beating Brentford 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal were held 0-0 by Everton at the Emirates. The big Manchester derby ended in dramatic style, with United winning 2-1 at the Etihad. City took a first half lead through Joško Gvardiol and that looked to be enough for the out-of-form home side. Bruno Fernandes levelled from the penalty spot in the 88th minute and then Amad Diallo scored the winner two minutes later. Tottenham won 5-0 at Southampton with all the goals coming in the first half. Following this defeat, the Saints sacked manager Russell Martin. Another coach to be shown the door was Gary O’Neil of Wolves, whose team were beaten 2-1 by Ipswich Town at Molineux. Crystal Palace won their “derby” with Brighton 3-1, while Newcastle United hit four past Leicester City with Jacob Murphy scoring twice.
**Hat-trick heroes**
**League**
**Player**
**Team**
**Opponent**
**Timings**
Netherlands
Santiago Giménez
Feyenoord
Heracles
31, 36, 45+3 (18 minutes)
Belgium
Franjo Ivanović
Union St. Gilloise
Westerlo
40, 45, 52 (13 minutes)
Czech Republic
Jan Kopic
Viktoria Plzen
SK Dynamo
15, 56, 77 (63 minutes)
**Attendances**
**League**
**Home**
**Away**
**Attendance**
Germany
Borussia Dortmund
Hoffenheim
81,365
Italy
AC Milan
Genoa
70,078
France
Olympique Marseille
Lille
64,380
England
Liverpool
Fulham
60,333
England
Arsenal
Everton
60,176
Spain
Atlético Madrid
Getafe
60,169
**La Liga: Tight at the top**
BARCELONA slumped to a surprise home defeat as they lost 1-0 to Leganés, thanks to a fourth minute header by Sergio González. Barca had 20 shots on goal, but could not make it count. They are top on goal difference, ahead of Atlético Madrid, who won 1-0 against Getafe, the winner coming from the Norwegian Alex Sørloth. Real Madrid, who were without the injured Kylian Mbappé, drew 3-3 in their local derby at Rayo Vallecano. Real were 2-0 down by came back to lead 3-2 with goals from Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo. Rayo levelled through Isi Palazón to earn a point in a riveting contest. Bilbao are in fourth place but could only manage a draw at Alavés.
**Serbia: Seven-up for Red Star**
RED STAR Belgrade, Serbian champions for the past seven years, are on course for another trophy-laden season. They are currently 15 points clear at the top of the Serbian SuperLiga, ahead of old rivals Partizan and have scored 61 goals and conceded just 10. Their latest win was a 7-1 thrashing of Novi Pazar, away from home. Seven different goalscorers contributed to this latest success, including Andrija Maksimović, the 17 year-old midfielder who has been described as the “Serbian Messi”. A Red Star official recently revealed that Maksimović would leave the club soon and there will be no shortage of takers. Currently valued at just € 1 million by Transfermarkt, it would seem likely that the fee for this youngster will be significantly higher. His contract expires in 2027.
**Serie A: Atalanta win again**
IT has been a long time since there was a genuine shock title win in Italy, but if it is to happen this season, then Atalanta are the team to pull it off. The Bergamo-based side are top with a two-point margin after their 1-0 win on the Island of Sardinia against Cagliari. Nicolò Zaniola scored the only goal of the game after 66 minutes, less than two minutes after coming on as a substitute. He was then booked for agitating the crowd! Napoli, in second position, got back to winning ways with a 3-1 victory at Udinese, coming from behind to score three second half goals from Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Gianetti and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa. AC Milan were held to a goalless draw by Genoa in front of 70,000 people in the San Siro, many of whom staged a protest after the game concerning the club’s ownership.
**Ligue 1: Hold up at the Parc de Princes**
PARIS Saint-Germain won 3-1 against Lyon in a game that was held-up due to the behaviour of the PSG fans. Achraf Hakimi, PSG’s skipper, had to appeal to the fans to stop anti-Lyon chanting. This season, French football has been cracking down on discriminatory chants and Hakimi told the fans the game was in danger of being suspended. Things calmed down and PSG maintained their unbeaten start to the season, their three goals coming from Ousmane Dembélé, Vitinha and Gonçalo Ramos. Marseille drew 1-1 with Lille in front of 64,000 at the Stade Vélodrome. They had Pol Lirola sent off in added time. Monaco were also held, 0-0 at Reims.
And elsewhere…
* Celtic won the Scottish League Cup, beating Rangers on penalties after a 3-3 draw. Less than 50,000 saw the final at Hampden Park
* Poland went into the winter break with Lech Poznan top of the Ekstraklasa table with a three point lead over Raków Częstochowa. Jagiellonia Białystok were in third and Legia Warsaw fourth
* PSV Eindhoven lost their second game of the Eredivisie campaign, 1-0 at Heerenveen. They are still six points in front of second-placed Ajax.
Game of the People was founded in 2012 and is ranked among the 100 best football websites by various sources. The site consistently wins awards for its work, across a broad range of subjects. [View all posts by Neil Fredrik Jensen](https://gameofthepeople.com/author/georgefjord/)