England
Liverpool continued their quest for the Premier League title with a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
17 minutes after Luis Diaz gave the hosts a 15th-minute lead at Anfield, Mohamed Salah doubled the Reds’ advantage from the penalty spot following a foul by goalkeeper Jose Sa.
In the process, the Egypt international equalled Wayne Rooney’s Premier League record of scoring goals at a home venue (101 goals).
Brazil’s Matheus Cunha pulled one goal back for Wolves towards the end of the match, however, it was Arne Slot’s men who reigned supreme.
Meanwhile, Calvin Bassey’s first goal of the 2024-25 campaign ensured Fulham picked up a 2-1 home win against Nottingham Forest.
Chris Wood equalised for the visiting Reds in the 37th minute, canceling out Emile Smith Rowe's 15th-minute opener in an intense first-half battle at Craven Cottage.
Nigerian defender Bassey scored the winner for Marco Silva’s men in the 62nd minute, sending the fans into a frenzy.
In another English top-flight outing, Manchester City defeated Newcastle United 4-0 with Omar Marmoush bagging a hat-trick.
The Egyptian opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a lob over the onrushing Martin Dubravka thanks to goalkeeper Ederson.
He netted his second goal in the 24th minute before completing his hat-trick nine minutes later, with James McAtee sealing the Magpies' demolition in the 84th minute.
It wasn’t a good weekend for Southampton as they bowed 3-1 at home to Bournemouth.
Burkina Faso international Dango Ouattara gave the visiting Cherries a 14th-minute lead as Ryan Christie extended the lead two minutes later.
Ghanaian star Kamaldeen Sulemana pulled one back for the hosts but that counted for nothing as they ended the game in defeat as Marcus Tavernier got Bournemouth’s third in the 83rd minute.
Italy
Maxwel Cornet played the super-sub role in Genoa’s 2-0 win over Venezia in a tight Serie A fixture.
After Andrea Pinamonti put the home team ahead in the 86th minute, the Ivorian - who replaced Junior Messias in the 73rd minute - scored the second to ensure the Venice-based side left empty-handed.
Defeat for Venezia sees them remain in the relegation waters. Indeed, they have failed to score in 11 of their 25 games, only Lecce (13) have failed to score more often in the Serie A this season.
Another African who was on target in the Italian elite division was Boulaye Dia as Lazio held Napoli to a 2-2 draw.
The Stadio Olimpico erupted early as Gustav Isaksen opened the scoring in the sixth minute, but the Partenopeans quickly responded, with Giacomo Raspadori leveling the match seven minutes later.
Things went from bad to worse for the White and Blues in the 64th minute when Adam Marusic inadvertently turned the ball into his own net.
However, the Senegalese forward rescued the day for Marco Baroni's men with his 87th-minute strike.
Turkey
Victor Osimhen’s brace propelled Galatasaray to a hard-fought 2-1 win at Rizespor.
The Lions headed to the Rize City Stadium following their humiliating 4-1 defeat to AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League.
After a goalless first half, Gala took the lead two minutes after the restart as the Nigerian’s powerful header off Przemysław Frankowski's cross beat the opposing goalkeeper.
Nevertheless, the hosts restored parity seven minutes later through Gambia international Ali Sowe. With the fixture heading for a draw, the former African Player of the Year netted the winner with four minutes left to play.
Thanks to this result Galatasaray, retained their leadership position in the Super Lig having accrued 63 points from 23 outings.
Elsewhere, Morocco international Youssef En-Nesyri found the net twice as Fenerbahce silenced Kasimpasa 3-1.
With the game just 20 minutes old, the former Sevilla man put his team ahead with a cool finish.
Oguz Aydin made it 2-0 for Jose Mourinho’s men in the 52nd minute with Senegalese star Mamadou Fall reducing the deficit for the visiting side a minute after the hour mark.
En-Nesyri restored his team’s two-goal lead 10 minutes later to complete his brace and a man-of-the-match performance.
