Wolverhampton Wanderers earned a share of the Premier League lead after beating Crystal Palace 2-0 on Friday.
Teenage defender Rayan Ait-Nouri scored on debut for Wolves and Daniel Podence’s effort highlighted their most complete performance in the league.
Wolves sit third, level on points with Everton and Liverpool, in their best start to a top-flight since 1979.
Photo: Reuters
“It’s massive for us. Huge,” Wolves captain Conor Coady told BT Sport.
“We never put targets on where we want to go because you create unwanted pressure. We’ve got a long week now, we’ll enjoy the rest,” he said.
Wilfried Zaha struggled to make an impact as Palace missed their own chance to make a mark among the pace-setters.
Photo: AP
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson said he was disappointed with referee Martin Atkinson after the official sent off midfielder Luka Milivojevic.
Palace skipper Milivojevic was dismissed in the 87th minute for a bad challenge on Joao Moutinho after the referee checked the pitchside monitor for serious foul play following the intervention of the video assistant referee.
“My view is it’s not a sending off and I’ve told Martin Atkinson that,” Hodgson told the BBC. “He thinks there was a reason to give a red card, but I’ve seen it as well and I certainly don’t agree with that. It was a fair challenge and there was no intent to contact Moutinho.”
“I’m disappointed with that one. It’s the worst part of the evening in a way. There would have been positives to take, but to lose a player for three games for a challenge I didn’t even consider a foul will be hard to take,” he said.
Hodgson told a news conference later that the club would appeal the decision.
Additional reporting by Reuters
BUNDESLIGA
AP, BERLIN
Schalke 04’s long wait for a win stretched to 22 games after they let VfB Stuttgart come back to draw 1-1 on Friday.
Malick Thiaw put the club from Gelsenkirchen in front for the first time this season, but a penalty from Nicolas Gonzalez earned the visitors a point and extended Schalke’s record run without a victory.
Schalke scored through a set-piece in the 30th minute, with 19-year-old Finnish defender Malick peeling free at the far post to head in Amine Harit’s free-kick for his first Bundesliga goal.
The visitors had to wait 10 minutes into the second half before they were awarded a penalty after a video replay.
Schalke defender Salif Sane blocked Nicolas Gonzalez’s header with his outstretched arm and Gonzalez stepped up to equalize from the spot in the 56th minute.
New Schalke coach Manuel Baum remained winless after his fourth game in charge. Schalke have nine draws and 13 defeats since a win on Jan. 17.
Only Tasmania Berlin went longer without a win in Germany’s top-flight — 31 games — but Tasmania are widely acknowledged as the worst team to have played in the league and had been promoted in 1965 only for political reasons.
LA LIGA
AP, EIBAR, Spain
Cadiz on Friday won against SD Eibar 2-0 to extend their impressive return to the Spanish top-flight after 14 years in the lower divisions.
Cadiz moved into second place in the standings behind leaders Real Sociedad on goal difference.
The team from southern Spain are undefeated in five rounds and have won all four of their matches on the road. That includes a 1-0 win against defending champions Real Madrid.
“The league lead? It means we are close to our objective [of avoiding relegation]. We can’t think beyond that,” goal scorer Alvaro Negredo said. “These points are great to have now because we know that bad stretches will come.”
LIGUE 1
Reuters, PARIS
Paris Saint Germain’s Brazil forward Neymar would be sidelined until after the international break in the middle of this month following his injury against Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League, the French club’s coach Thomas Tuchel said on Friday.
Neymar came off with a thigh muscle problem in the 26th minute of Wednesday’s 2-0 win over the Turkish side.
“Neymar should be back after the international break,” Tuchel told reporters ahead of PSG’s Ligue 1 game against Nantes yesterday.
The break in domestic action runs from Nov. 11 to Nov. 17, when international matches are to be played.
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Spain starlets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams dazzled on Thursday as La Roja beat France 5-4 in a thriller in Stuttgart, Germany, to set up a UEFA Nations League final with Portugal. Yamal bagged a brace, while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons. Mikel Merino and Pedri were also on the score sheet for the UEFA Euro 2024 champions. Kylian Mbappe netted a second-half penalty, but Spain were 5-1 up and cruising, before Les Bleus suddenly woke up as their opponents took their foot off the pedal. France’s three late goals — a
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