Rampant Barcelona wins again as Inter salvages a 2-2 draw at Roma and Arsenal has a first loss

Updated Sep. 19, 2026 5:29 p.m. ET
Associated Press

Raphinha continued his red-hot form with a hat trick in a 3-1 win at Sevilla as defending champion Barcelona recorded a seventh straight victory in La Liga on Saturday.

Lamine Yamal set up two of the irrepressible Brazilian's goals to make it a La Liga-high 12 so far — one less than Raphinha scored all last season.

Earlier, Lautaro Martinez rescued Inter Milan with two second-half goals as the defending Serie A champion drew 2-2 at Roma in their table-topping clash.

Arsenal lost top spot in the Premier League after a first defeat and Borussia Dortmund went first in Germany with a fourth straight victory.

This time it wasn't Donyell Malen scoring for Roma but midfielder Manu Kone with two first-half goals as Roma stayed top on goal difference. Martinez netted twice in the second half as both sides remained undefeated.

Maximilian Beier's effort gave Dortmund a 1-0 win at Stuttgart and a two-point lead over defending champion Bayern Munich.

Thrilling draw in Italy

Koné put Roma ahead in the sixth minute after being set up by Nahuel Molina, who nodded back a back-post cross from Paulo Dybala for Koné to run onto.

He scored again from close range in the 37th after being set up by Gianluca Mancini, following another curling cross by Dybala. The goal was ruled offside but given following a video check.

Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini stopped Koné being sold to Inter in the offseason.

Martinez replied immediately after the break, clipping the ball inside the post after combining superbly with Marcus Thuram on a swift counterattack, then equalized in the 79th.

Third-placed Lazio won 2-0 at Venezia while fourth-placed Cagliari continued its fine start with a 1-0 win at Udinese. Midfielder Daniel Maldini — the son of famed Italy defender Paolo Maldini — scored for the Sardinian side.

After firing coach Domenico Tedesco, Bologna drew 1-1 at home to Torino.

Barcelona looks unstoppable in Spain

Barca has 31 goals in seven games and moved six points ahead of Real Madrid, which plays at Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

Raphinha cut inside a defender and found the bottom right corner for his first goal, which came midway through the first half and after Youssouf Fofana gave Sevilla the lead.

Lamine Yamal bamboozled the Sevilla defense with quick footwork before crossing for Raphinha to head in from close range in the 52nd. Yamal then assisted again.

Barring injury, Raphinha is set to smash his career best tally of 18 league goals from two seasons ago.

Rayo Vallecano striker Sergio Camello made it seven goals so far in a 1-1 draw at Osasuna.

After being crushed 7-2 by Barca in midweek, Racing Santander was routed 5-0 at Celta Vigo with Pablo Duran scoring twice.

Alaves drew 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao in a Basque Country derby.

Seagulls soar in England

Brighton moved up to third place after its 3-0 win over Arsenal capped a fine week for the Seagulls, following victory at Manchester United in the League Cup.

Goal difference dropped Arsenal behind City, which can move three points ahead by beating Sunderland at home on Sunday.

Big-spending Tottenham finally scored but lost 3-2 at home to Europa League winner Aston Villa.

Newcastle won 2-1 against Hull and Everton beat Ipswich 1-0.

Coach Frank Lampard's Coventry snapped a four-game losing start with a 1-0 success at Nottingham Forest.

Lyon and Paris FC unbeaten in France

Ghana striker Ernest Nuamah scored twice as second-placed Lyon thumped Rennes 4-0 at home in Ligue 1.

English coach Liam Rosenior got one over on his former club as Paris FC beat Strasbourg 2-1 at home.

Ilan Kebbal and Pablo Pagis scored for Paris FC, which is undefeated after five games.

Rosenior upset Strasbourg fans after leaving in January for a short and ill-fated spell at Chelsea. He taunted Strasbourg's visiting fans at the final whistle but said some had insulted his family.

Angers, Le Mans and Toulouse also won at home.

Gladbach loses again in Germany

A change of coac h for Borussia Moenchengladbach did not stop the team conceding goals as Gladbach lost 4-3 at home to Mainz for a fourth straight defeat and 16 goals conceded.

Third-place Freiburg is level with Bayern after twice coming from behind in a 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.

There were home wins for Werder Bremen and Hamburg. ___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

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