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Manchester City’s challenge for the title was denied by Newcastle when Harvey Barnes scored twice to force a contentious 2-1 victory on Saturday.

Ruben Dias scored the visitors’ equalizer before Pep Guardiola’s side went ahead of Barnes in the second half at St James’ Park.

Newcastle’s contentious second goal, which was allowed to stand after a lengthy VAR check for a potential offside against Bruno Guimaraes, was scored moments after Dias levelled.

Additionally, Phil Foden’s claim of a first-half penalty angered Guardiola.

Fourth-placed Arsenal are four points clear of City, who host Tottenham on Sunday, following their fourth league defeat this year.

Guardiola said it was too soon to discuss the title race for this week, but the City manager will be extremely disappointed if he doesn’t get to press Arsenal.

With a 3-0 victory over troubled champions Liverpool, City recorded seven victories from eight games in total before the international break.

However, they wasted that momentum in an error-filled display on Tyneside, where Erling Haaland was held without a goal for the third time this season between City and Norway.

Since joining Borussia Dortmund in 2022, Haaland was hoping to get his 100th league goal in his 109th game.

However, he squandered several chances, and Newcastle capitalized on that to defeat City for the second time in their last 36 league encounters.

Before the international break, Eddie Howe’s first victory over City in 19 top-flight outings helped Newcastle recover from successive league defeats at Brentford and West Ham.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, a City keeper, nearly gave Newcastle the lead with a terrible pass that Barnes intercepted, but the winger’s 10-yard direct shot at the Italian wasted the chance.

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Profligate City

After Jeremy Doku’s pass, Haaland reacted by hurling himself out of his area and scuffing his attempt to chip over Nick Pope in an equally bad miss moments later.

Donnarumma superbly prevented Nick Woltemade’s header from Tino Livramento’s cross, which Newcastle were denied.

Foden blazed wide in a good position inside the area after Fabian Schar had forced him to endure a painful tackle in the same incident. He later appealed in vain for a penalty.

When Doku’s shot was blocked with his arm, Foden and City’s coaching staff became furious with the decision.

After bursting through on goal, Donnarumma and Woltemade made a second duo, winning the match.

Barnes made the worst mistake of finishing him poorly by shooting wide from close range with the goal at his mercy in the second half.

Even Haaland was off the mark when Pope was volleyed straight at him from five yards with Nico O’Reilly’s cross.

The unmarked Foden, who drew wide from Rayan Cherki’s pass just before half-time, was remarkable.

After Guimaraes’ run and pass broke open the defense, Barnes finally made amends for his earlier errors by finishing well in the 64th minute. Lashing a low drive past Donnarumma from the edge of the area, City finally cracked.

Only four minutes into Guardiola’s men’s lead.

Dias’ powerful 12 yard deflected in off Schar as Bernardo Silva’s shot was blocked in his direction.

However, Howe’s side responded right away with Dias’ first league goal since he scored it at Newcastle four years ago.

Guimaraes nodded against the bar as Woltemade directed his header past the goal, and Barnes tapped in for a rebound that Barnes could not recover.

The lengthy VAR check for offside against Guimaraes appeared to favor City, but it ultimately ended up in Newcastle’s favor thanks to the Magpies’ cherished victory.

Bayern Munich defeated Freiburg 6-2 at home in the Bundesliga on Saturday after Michael Olise scored twice and added three goals.

Lennart Karl, Dayot Upamecano, and Nicolas Jackson each scored goals for Bayern, who had already trailed with early goals from Yuito Suzuki and Johan Manzambi. Harry Kane also scored as Bayern started to move in the direction of gear.

Borussia Dortmund lost points at home to Stuttgart, leaving Bayern with eight points at the top of the table.

We conceded twice from set pieces, Karl said to Sky Germany.

“But then we recovered,” with six goals scored. In the end, everything turned out as planned.

Aleksander Pavlovic, the Bayern midfielder who scored Kane’s goal, praised the 17-year-old Karl, saying, “I’ve never seen a player at his age with such self-assurance. It’s great to play with him, and he’s an amazing player.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany shuffled his deck with the intention of attending Arsenal on Wednesday, resting Serge Gnabry and Joshua Kimmich, the starting captain.

Suzuki and Manzambi both scored from set pieces to give Freiburg two, but the move appeared to have had a negative impact early.

Karl, a teenager winger, collected an Olise pass and slid home with Bayern in a burst. The starlet then gave Bayern the lead with a deflected shot that went wide from close range for Olise, repaying the favor.

Bayern opened the scoring with Upamecano taping into an Olise corner shortly after Karl had already had a goal offended for offside.

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With only 30 minutes left, Kane scored from close range for Bayern’s fourth. This season, the England captain has scored 14 goals from 11 league games, totaling 24 total.

The defending German champions, who have only lost two points in 18 matches so far this season, put together a fifth-round comeback with Olise, who then added a late goal to round out the comeback.

Deniz Undav, a visiting German striker, scored a hat-trick in the second half of a 3-3 home draw against Stuttgart, which gave Borussia Dortmund the lead twice before being pushed back twice.

Dortmund were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to an Emre Can penalty and a Maximilian Beier tap-in. Serhou Guirassyy’s home striker Serhou Guirassy was sent off for offside, and Undav added two goals.

Dortmund hoped to have won when Karim Adeyemi scored on the counter in stoppage time, but Undav added a hat-trick in stoppage time in the dying seconds to earn a point.

Stuttgart has lost five games and drawn two of their final two matches since Dortmund last lost to them in October 2022.

In another game, Bayer Leverkusen won 3-1 away at Wolfsburg thanks to the goals of Jonas Hofmann, Edmond Tapsoba, and Malik Tillman.

Leverkusen moved into second place after beating Stuttgart and Dortmund. Under coach Kasper Hjulmand, who replaced Erik ten Hag after just two league games, Erik ten Hag has now scored 22 of the possible 27 points.

Augsburg defeated Hamburg 1-0 at home, and Borussia Moenchengladbach’s 3-0 victory extended the reign of Heidenheim’s woes further.

Later on Saturday, Eintracht Frankfurt was promoted to Cologne.

Following two and a half years in exile, Barcelona triumphantly defeated Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to share the top spot in La Liga.

The Spanish champions had intended to reopen the stadium a year ago, but construction problems forced them to wait until afterward.

Robert Lewandowski gave the opener with a brace, and Ferran Torres added a pair. Oihan Sancet was sent off in the second half, but Fermin Lopez also struck in a consoling victory over Athletic.

Real Madrid and Hansi Flick’s side both won the match at the top of the table. On Sunday, Los Blancos travel to Elche.

More than 45 000 fans filled the three stands that had been opened before and after the game, which Barca did.

Despite exorbitant costs, the game was essentially sold out. By 2026, Barcelona hopes to have a capacity of 105, 000 for the entire season.

After the goalkeeper had missed the previous nine games with injuries, Flick was able to name Joan Garcia. Garcia assisted the team in maintaining its first consecutive clean sheets since September.

Fans were able to celebrate the team’s first goal at the new stadium after much longer than anticipated upon their return to Camp Nou.

In the fourth minute, veteran striker Lewandowski, sporting the captain’s armband, opened the scoring.

Lewandowski beat Unai Simon with a powerful low strike from Eric Garcia, who was playing in midfield in place of Frenkie de Jong, who was suspended.

Lewandowski scored his eighth league goal of his injury-hit, stop-start season by holding the ball out when the Basque goalkeeper had a hand to it and should have kept it out.

Lionel Messi, a legendary player from Barca, made an impromptu visit to the newly renovated stadium a few weeks ago, and the crowd sang his name in the 10th minute, noting Barca’s glittering past as they ushered in a new era.

The away fans also made it clear that they had no intention of forgetting Nico Williams’ decision to leave for Spain and that they would continue to whistle Spain forward whenever they could.

Barca almost had a second playing Fermin Lopez, but Simon saved his effort and fired a narrowly wide.

In the first half, former Barca coach Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic made life difficult for them at times without creating too much of a risk.

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Torres at Double ,

Unai Gomez, a collegiate forward, fired over and hit a cross that Williams missed before Barca doubled their lead at half-time.

Lamine Yamal played Torres through with the outside of his boot, and Simon, who once more had a chance to keep the shot out, beat him.

The Catalan giants again struck early in the second half with a superbly executed Lopez-finishing effort from Lopez.

Athletic’s miserable afternoon got worse when Sancet, a midfielder, reprimanded after a VAR review after punching down Lopez in frustration.

On a strong back-to-back, Joan Garcia tapped Dani Vivian’s header past the line.

Raphinha, a Brazilian winger, was replaced in the second half by Flick after an injury spell. Within a few seconds of being introduced, he whipped a shot narrowly wide.

When Yamal made another superb pass to Torres, the former Manchester City forward, tucked away his second, Barca finished off a fantastic afternoon back at home.

With a shocking 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, troubled Liverpool’s miserable season came to an end.

When Murillo’s fierce strike punished their inability to deal with Elliot Anderson’s corner in the 33rd minute, the spluttering champions fell behind.

Arne Slot, the manager of Reds, was upset that the goal was allowed despite Forest’s Dan Ndoye appearing to block Liverpool’s Alisson Becker, which caused Virgil van Dijk’s penalty to be disallowed before the international break.

After 46 minutes, Nicolo Savona slotted home from Neco Williams’ cut-back, giving Sean Dyche’s side doubled their lead.

Morgan Gibbs-White scored Forest’s third goal from the rebound after Omari Hutchinson’s shot was saved in the 78th minute due to the disorganized defense at Liverpool.

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Liverpool have lost eight of their last eleven games in all competitions, including six of their final seven in the top flight, after being defeated by Forest for the second time in a row at Anfield.

For the first time in a three-goal run since 1965, Liverpool has lost three straight league games.

Slot acknowledged on Friday that Diogo Jota’s tragic passing in a July crash in Spain left Liverpool’s players with no longer-moving injuries.

In yet another lethargic display, they were again devoid of inspiration and enthusiasm, leaving them eight points adrift in 11th place, eight points behind Arsenal.

Following a spending spree of over $400 million ($523 million) this summer, Liverpool’s stunning decline comes as a result.

Following a record-breaking move from Newcastle that didn’t live up to the hype, Alexander Isak was demoted in the second half of his fourth league start for Liverpool.

Isak, a striker from Sweden, has not yet scored for the Reds in the top flight.

As he approaches a match against Everton at Old Trafford on Monday, which will mark his first game as manager of Manchester United, Riku Amorim is refusing to take anything for granted.

Amorim’s tenure as United manager began with a 1-1 draw away at Ipswich, and the Portuguese boss has endured a number of disappointments as manager of the English football giants.

However, recent results have been encouraging, with United currently sitting seventh in the Premier League standings and five games away from losing.

Amorim stated to reporters that it was irrelevant when it was revealed that United would only face three of the top ten in the upcoming ten games. It makes no difference in our league.

Because everything is so tight, the table is irrelevant. That is unimportant.

We never know where the challenging games are if you have access to our team’s history. In the Premier League, that is utterly unimportant.

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Since Marcus Rashford scored the opener in the 1-1 draw at United last November, a lot has changed at United.

The forward is one of five United squad players who have left that game.

Amorim said, “I was excited about the fact that I thought the Premier League had a completely different environment,” “the first thought was that.”

“I was already anticipating some issues.” However, it gave the impression that this is the world’s best league. Although it may be the world’s best club, it also has a lot of work to do.

However, an optimistic Amorim said: “I think we are showing that improvement,” but the key is that we cannot forget that we started badly last year.

We must take that into account and play each game like the final or the first one.

“Yes, if you ask me, I expect a team to play better football now, with more control and dominance, and we are more competitive in every way,” I said.

Chelsea stepped up their Premier League title challenge with a gritty 2-0 win against struggling Burnley on Saturday.

Pedro Neto put the Blues ahead just before the interval at Turf Moor and Enzo Fernandez netted in the closing stages.

Enzo Maresca’s side climb to second place and sit three points behind leaders Arsenal, who host Tottenham on Sunday.

The Blues have won eight of their last 10 matches in all competitions, making it a memorable 50th Premier League game in charge for Maresca.

It was the ideal warm-up for Chelsea ahead of a crucial week featuring home games against Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday and Arsenal in the Premier League on November 30.

The west Londoners would drop back down to third place if Manchester City avoid defeat against Newcastle later on Saturday, but regardless of that result, their hard-fought victory in freezing Lancashire added to their title momentum.

Fourth-bottom Burnley have now lost five of their last seven league matches.

Chelsea were without Cole Palmer after the England forward extended his prolonged injury absence by fracturing his toe after stubbing it into a door.

Palmer had been set to resume training this week after two months out with a groin problem.

Adding to Maresca’s issues, fatigued Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo was left on the bench after arriving back from international duty on Thursday.

Maresca had complained about Chelsea being given the early Saturday kick-off again.

His mood wasn’t improved in the fifth minute when Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez accidently booted the ball into Fernandez’s head, a miscue that left the Argentine midfielder needing a brief concussion check.

Fernandez was able to play on and despite that painful interlude, Chelsea eventually took control.

READ ALSO: Palmer To Miss Three More Chelsea Games After Toe Break

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Neto’s effort from the edge of the area deflected wide before Jamie Gittens lashed over from a tight angle.

Kyle Walker bailed out Burnley on his 400th Premier League appearance with a last-ditch block to stop Gittens tapping in Neto’s cross.

Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah was fortunate not to concede a farcical penalty when the defender used his hand to stop Sanchez’s pass inside his own area before returning the ball to the ‘ keeper.

Sanchez appeared not to have restarted play, instead letting Chalobah take the goal-kick so Burnley’s hopes of a penalty were dashed.

Maresca’s men made the most of that let-off to take the lead with a well-crafted goal in the 37th minute.

Marc Cucurella showed a deft touch to control a high ball into the Burnley area before passing back to Gittens.

Lofting a pin-point cross to the far post, Gittens picked out Neto and he delivered with a superb diving header into the far corner.

Neto’s fourth goal this season was almost followed by another for Chelsea as Liam Delap’s drive forced a save from Martin Dubravka.

Gittens ‘ deflected strike flashed just wide early in the second half.

Neto, picked out by Fernandez’s pass, was inches away from doubling Chelsea’s lead as his fierce blast cannoned into the near post.

Unmarked inside the Chelsea area, Zian Flemming wasted Burnley’s best opportunity to snatch an equaliser with a wild shot that cleared the bar.

But Fernandez put the result beyond doubt in the 88th minute, capping a flowing move with a clinical close-range finish from Marc Guiu’s pass.