A late goal by Serge Gnabry secured Bayern Munich a hard-fought 3-2 Bundesliga victory at Wolfsburg to give their new coach Vincent Kompany a winning start.
Wolfsburg began brightly but it was the visitors who made the better chances in the first half, taking the lead after fine work by Sacha Boey down the right to set up Jamal Musiala for an easy tap-in. Bayern made a poor start to the second half, however, as they gave away a penalty when Tiago Tomas was brought down by Boey, and Lovro Majer made no mistake from the spot.
Wolfsburg created all kinds of trouble for the visitors’ defence and, in the 55th minute, Patrick Wimmer squared the ball for Majer, who slotted it home to score his second. Winger Jakub Kaminski’s own goal brought Bayern on level terms before Gnabry, assisted by Harry Kane, struck into the corner in the 82nd minute to secure all three points for Bayern.
With Kane and new signing Michael Olise looking lively, Bayern created a host of other chances but Wolfsburg goalkeeper Kamil Grabara made several saves to deny the duo. Thomas Müller, who equalled a club record with his 709th competitive appearance, proved decisive after coming on as a substitute in the 65th minute.
“I enjoyed it, it was my first Bundesliga game as a coach,” Kompany, who left Burnley to take the Bayern job in May, said after the game. “The first half was dominant, as it should be. The second half wasn’t good at the beginning, we conceded two quick goals. The third point is that our mentality was right at the end, and that’s why we won the game.”
Endrick scored his first Real Madrid goal as the La Liga champions earned their first win of the season, defeating lowly Real Valladolid 3-0 at the Bernabéu. The hosts struggled to break down Valladolid’s ultra-defensive approach until the 50th minute, when Federico Valverde drilled home a free kick from the edge of the area.
Late strikes by two substitutes added gloss to the final score, with Brahim Díaz chipping the Valladolid keeper in the 88th minute. Then, six minutes into stoppage time, Brazil striker Endrick – who replaced Kylian Mbappé in the 86th minute – fired home at the near post to open his account for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
After the game, Ancelotti praised the impact of his substitutes – and encouraged his starters to tell him if they are feeling fatigued. “Bearing in mind that in this period of the season, in the heat, it is expected that players get tired,” the Italian said. “I think the players have to be more responsible with that; I say it here because I have said it to them privately. I have a lot of resources to use in this squad.”
Elsewhere, Antoine Griezmann was on target as Atlético Madrid eased to a 3-0 home win over Girona, while promoted Leganés earned their first win of the season with a 2-1 home victory over Las Palmas.
Napoli beat Bologna 3-0 in their first Serie A home game of the season, securing a welcome win for Antonio Conte after losing by the same score at Verona last week.
After Giacomo Raspadori went close early on and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia struck the bar just before the break, Giovanni Di Lorenzo struck in first-half stoppage time from Kvaratskhelia’s precise cross to give the hosts a half-time lead.
Kvaratskhelia doubled Napoli’s advantage in the 75th minute, slaloming his way past Bologna’s defence before striking from the edge of the box. Giovanni Simeone made it 3-0 in added time, finishing after a mazy run from fellow substitute David Neres.
Elsewhere, Roma fell to a surprise 2-1 home defeat against Empoli to continue their winless start. Emmanuel Gyasi put the visitors in front just before the break, and Lorenzo Colombo doubled the lead from the penalty spot with an hour played.
Roma had hit the woodwork through Lorenzo Pellegrini and Gianluca Mancini before Empoli’s second, and cut the deficit through Eldor Shomurodov’s header with 10 minutes to go. Paolo Dybala hit the post in stoppage time as Daniele De Rossi’s side ran out of time to rescue a point.
Che Adams scored his first Torino goal as they fought back to beat Atalanta 2-1. The visitors took the lead through Davide Zappacosta’s header midway through the first half, but Adams teed up Ivan Ilic to level soon after. Adams then scored the winner, firing home on the rebound after Duván Zapata’s shot had been saved.
In Ligue 1, Mason Greenwood scored the equaliser for Marseille as they struggled to a 2-2 home draw with Reims. Amine Harit had fired the hosts in front before half-time, but Roberto De Zerbi’s side paid for missed chances as Sergio Akieme levelled before a stunning solo run and finish from young midfielder Yaya-Kader Fofana.
Jonathan Rowe, who joined l’OM this week on an initial loan from Norwich, struck the post soon after, before Greenwood headed home from close range after the Reims keeper, Yehvann Diouf, had saved Quentin Merlin’s shot.
Elsewhere, Lens made it two wins from two as they beat Brest 2-0 at home despite Deiver Machado’s late red card. Strasbourg eased to a 3-1 home win over Rennes, with Andrey Santos and Emanuel Emegha on target for Liam Rosenior’s side.
