First-half hat trick for Lewandowski as Barcelona top ahead of international break

Sport

First-half hat trick for Lewandowski as Barcelona top ahead of international break

2024-10-07 00:46 Last Updated At：00:50

MADRID (AP) — Robert Lewandowski continued his impressive start to the season on Sunday, scoring a 25-minute hat trick as Barcelona beat Alaves 3-0 and went into the international break top of the Spanish league.

Lewandowski scored in the seventh, 22nd and 32nd minutes to take his league tally to 10 goals in nine matches. He has a total of 12 goals in 11 games in all competitions, and has scored eight times in his last five matches.

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Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his side's 3rd goal against Alavez during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

MADRID (AP) — Robert Lewandowski continued his impressive start to the season on Sunday, scoring a 25-minute hat trick as Barcelona beat Alaves 3-0 and went into the international break top of the Spanish league.

Barcelona's Raphinha, left, controls a ball challenged by Alaves' Abdel Abqar during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Pedri reacts after missing a chance to score a goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Alaves' head coach Luis Garcia Plaza gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Barcelona at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Alaves' Moussa Diarra, right, and Barcelona's Pedri battle for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, right, and Alaves' Abdel Abqar battle for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, back, scores his side's 3rd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, left back, celebrates after scoring his side's 2nd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, center, celebrates after scoring his side's 2nd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

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MADRID (AP) — Robert Lewandowski continued his impressive start to the season on Sunday, scoring a 25-minute hat trick as Barcelona beat Alaves 3-0 and went into the international break top of the Spanish league.

Barcelona's Raphinha, left, controls a ball challenged by Alaves' Abdel Abqar during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Pedri reacts after missing a chance to score a goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Alaves' head coach Luis Garcia Plaza gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Barcelona at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Alaves' Moussa Diarra, right, and Barcelona's Pedri battle for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, right, and Alaves' Abdel Abqar battle for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, back, scores his side's 3rd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, left back, celebrates after scoring his side's 2nd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, center, celebrates after scoring his side's 2nd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

The Poland striker was coming off a brace in Barcelona's 5-0 rout of Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday.

“We played a very good match from the first minute,” Lewandowski said. “When you score three goals in the first half, it gives you the ability to be a lot more in control in the second.”

The victory moved Barcelona three points back in front of Real Madrid ahead of the international break. Madrid had drawn even on points with the Catalan club with a 2-0 win over third-place Villarreal on Saturday.

Barcelona was coming off its first league loss of the season — a 4-2 defeat against Osasuna. It had previously won its first seven matches in the competition.

Lewandowski scored with close-range strikes after a pair of assists by Raphinha and another from Eric Garcia.

It was the third loss in a row for Alaves, which had no attempts on goal in the first half.

Barcelona lost forward Ferran Torres with an apparent muscle injury five minutes into the match.

Girona ended a six-match winless streak in all competitions with a 2-1 victory at home against Athletic Bilbao, with Cristhian Stuani scoring the winner by converting a penalty kick nine minutes into second-half stoppage time.

Before that, the match had been marked by three penalty saves by Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga — one in the first half and two in the second after a video review required the last penalty to be retaken.

It was Athletic's first loss in six matches in all competitions.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Brazilians vote in tense local elections

2024-10-07 00:48 Last Updated At：00:50

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilians began voting in the first round of local elections on Sunday for mayors, deputy mayors and councilors in the country’s 5,569 municipalities.

In Sao Paulo, three mayoral candidates are running neck-and-neck, including incumbent Ricardo Nunes, left-wing lawmaker Guilherme Boulos and self-help guru turned far-right politician Pablo Marçal. A runoff is scheduled for Oct. 27.

Much of the attention leading up to Sunday’s vote has been on Brazil ’s biggest city, where the race has been marred by episodes of violence involving Marçal.

Last month, José Luiz Datena, a former TV presenter turned candidate, slammed Marçal with a metal chair during a televised debate following references to allegations of sexual misconduct. In a later debate, an aide to Marçal thumped an adversary’s counterpart, resulting in a bloody face.

Marçal sparked more controversy on Friday, when he published on social media a falsified medical report indicating cocaine use by Boulos. The document was widely debunked by local media that pointed to inconsistencies including the fact that it was signed by a doctor who had passed away.

Boulos, a longtime campaigner for housing rights who is backed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, vehemently denied the veracity of the document. On Saturday, a judge sitting on Sao Paulo’s electoral court ordered the suspension of Marçal’s Instagram account for 48 hours and deemed that there are “indications of various offenses under the Electoral Code.”

Some of former President Jair Bolsonaro ’s political base has been drawn to Marçal, enthralled by his fiery rhetoric, although the far-right leader is supporting Nunes.

In Rio de Janeiro, incumbent Eduardo Paes is hoping to avoid a second-round runoff. Polls indicated until recently that was possible. But his principal challenger Alexandre Ramagem has steadily climbed in the polls in recent weeks, rendering the outcome of Sunday’s vote uncertain.

Ramagem, the former chief of Brazil’s intelligence agency under Bolsonaro, is being investigated as part of a wider probe into alleged spying on political opponents. He has denied the accusations.

Bolsonaro is backing Ramagem, and his ascent in the polls is widely attributed to the former president's campaigning on his behalf.

More than 155 million Brazilians are eligible to vote. Forty-three percent of the electorate is in the southeastern region, where Rio and Sao Paulo are located. Women make up around 52% of voters.

Nearly 1,000 transgender politicians are running Sunday in every one of Brazil’s 26 states, according to the nation’s electoral court, which is tracking them for the first time. The number of candidacies has tripled since the last local elections four years ago, when trans rights group Antra mapped them.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. Brasilia time and close at 5 p.m. (2000 GMT).

A second round will be held in municipalities with more than 200,000 registered voters if none of the candidates for mayor obtains an absolute majority.

First-half hat trick for Lewandowski as Barcelona top ahead of international break

Sport

First-half hat trick for Lewandowski as Barcelona top ahead of international break

MADRID (AP) — Robert Lewandowski continued his impressive start to the season on Sunday, scoring a 25-minute hat trick as Barcelona beat Alaves 3-0 and went into the international break top of the Spanish league.

Barcelona's Raphinha, left, controls a ball challenged by Alaves' Abdel Abqar during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Pedri reacts after missing a chance to score a goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Alaves' head coach Luis Garcia Plaza gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Barcelona at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Alaves' Moussa Diarra, right, and Barcelona's Pedri battle for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, right, and Alaves' Abdel Abqar battle for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, back, scores his side's 3rd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, left back, celebrates after scoring his side's 2nd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, center, celebrates after scoring his side's 2nd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

MADRID (AP) — Robert Lewandowski continued his impressive start to the season on Sunday, scoring a 25-minute hat trick as Barcelona beat Alaves 3-0 and went into the international break top of the Spanish league.

Barcelona's Raphinha, left, controls a ball challenged by Alaves' Abdel Abqar during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Pedri reacts after missing a chance to score a goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Alaves' head coach Luis Garcia Plaza gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Barcelona at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Alaves' Moussa Diarra, right, and Barcelona's Pedri battle for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, right, and Alaves' Abdel Abqar battle for the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, back, scores his side's 3rd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, left back, celebrates after scoring his side's 2nd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, center, celebrates after scoring his side's 2nd goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Alaves during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Mendizorroza stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

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