Liverpool defender’s own goal hands Xabi Alonso win as full-back injured

October 2, 2023
Jack Lusby

An own goal from a Liverpool defender helped Xabi Alonso’s side to their seventh win in eight, while another picked up a worrying injury.

It has been an outstanding start to the season for Bayer Leverkusen under Alonso, sitting top of the Bundesliga with five wins and a draw from six games.

In all competitions, it is seven wins from eight, with no losses so far, and their latest victory came at the cost of Liverpool loanee Sepp van den Berg.

Van den Berg’s own goal, 18 minutes into Saturday’s clash between Mainz and Leverkusen, sent the visitors on their way to a 3-0 win.

The Dutchman slid in with an attempted block to deny Jeremie Frimpong’s cross, only to send it powerfully past his own goalkeeper, with Van den Berg yet to win in six Bundesliga games this season.

Also in the German top flight, Fabio Carvalho followed up 66 minutes in a 3-2 cup win over Wehen Wiesbaden in midweek with four minutes off the bench, as RB Leipzig drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich.

Elsewhere, left-back Adam Lewis suffered another injury in his second loan spell at Newport County, having seen his time in Wales cut short last season.

Lewis was forced off 40 minutes into Newport’s 2-1 loss to Salford City, with the extent of the damage currently being assessed.

Up in Scotland, Nat Phillips made his return from an ankle injury in a dramatic 2-1 victory for Celtic away to Motherwell.

The centre-back came off the bench in the 62nd minute, with Celtic scoring their winner in the seventh minute of stoppage time – after Motherwell fans had invaded the pitch to celebrate a 95th-minute equaliser.

In the Championship, Tyler Morton played his second full 90 minutes in the space of seven days as Hull drew 1-1 with Plymouth Argyle.

Harvey Davies was involved in a dramatic 3-3 draw for Crewe at Wrexham, unfortunately conceding in the fifth minute of added time as Steven Fletcher salvaged a point for the hosts.

There were another 90 minutes for Owen Beck as Dundee drew 0-0 at Hibernian, while Luca Stephenson came off the bench for his league debut as Barrow AFC beat Doncaster 3-2 in League Two.

Anderson Arroyo played 90 minutes at centre-back as Andorra FC lost 3-1 to Albacete, and Luke Hewitson also played the full game as Stalybridge Celtic lost 1-0 to Runcorn Linnets.

Finally, Jakub Ojrzynski kept a clean sheet in his second outing for Eerst Divisie side Den Bosch, with his shutout coming in a 3-0 win at FC Groningen.