European Football Roundup: Esposito Fires Inter To Victory Against Lecce As Albacete Humiliates Real Madrid In Copa del Rey

European football delivered a dramatic midweek filled with decisive goals, historic milestones, and shocking upsets.

‎From Inter’s late winner to Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey disaster, here is the full breakdown of the biggest matches across Serie A, the Bundesliga, the Dutch Cup, and Spain’s domestic cup competition.

Esposito Becomes Inter’s Unexpected Saviour

‎Inter strengthened their Serie A title push thanks to 20-year-old Francesco Pio Esposito, whose 78th-minute strike delivered a vital 1-0 win over Lecce at San Siro.

‎The league leaders struggled for long periods against a disciplined Lecce side that forced Inter into repetitive, frustrated attacks with little reward.

‎Ange-Yoan Bonny, starting in place of the rested Lautaro Martínez, created an early moment of promise with a driving run and a shot that Wladimiro Falcone pushed away. Bonny later appeared to have won a penalty, only for VAR to correctly rule that Danilo Veiga made contact with the ball.

‎Inter continued to press but lacked precision, with efforts from close range either smothered by Falcone or blocked by Lecce’s packed defensive line.

‎Manager Cristian Chivu eventually turned to his bench, introducing both Esposito and Lautaro Martínez to spark new life into the attack.

‎The breakthrough finally arrived when Martínez’s volley was parried into danger by Falcone, and Esposito reacted fastest, smashing home the rebound. The goal brought relief to the home crowd and pushed Inter six points clear of Milan and Napoli, marking a potential turning point in their title charge.

‎Rinaldi Shines as Napoli Drop More Points

‎Napoli endured another disappointing result, drawing 0-0 at home against Parma in what became their third consecutive league stalemate.

‎The match’s standout performer was Parma’s goalkeeper Filippo Rinaldi, who marked his senior debut with a brilliant display.

‎He produced a sharp point-blank save to deny Alessandro Buongiorno, showed strong reflexes to keep out Rasmus Højlund’s effort, and remained composed throughout under relentless pressure.

‎Napoli created several promising openings but lacked the decisive touch required to break Parma down. Their attack looked predictable, and frustrations grew as Rinaldi consistently thwarted their attempts.

‎With another two points dropped, Napoli’s title hopes continue to fade.

‎Kompany’s Bayern Makes Bundesliga History

‎Bayern Munich completed the best first half of a Bundesliga season in league history after coming from behind to defeat Cologne 3–1 away from home.

‎Cologne surprised Bayern with their aggressive start and took a deserved lead in the 41st minute when Linton Maina produced a brilliant solo run and confident finish past Manuel Neuer.

‎Bayern responded immediately, with Serge Gnabry scoring a clever flicked finish off the crossbar just before half-time.

‎The momentum shifted firmly in Bayern’s favour in the second half. Manuel Neuer made an important save from Jakub Kaminski, and Bayern pushed forward with growing confidence.

‎They went ahead in the 71st minute when Hiroki Ito delivered a deep cross that was headed on for Kim Min-jae to nod into the net. The victory was sealed in the 84th minute when teenager Lennart Karl calmly slotted home after being played in by Luis Díaz.

‎Bayern now sit 11 points clear at the top, with an extraordinary 47 points and a +53 goal difference surpassing the record previously held by Pep Guardiola’s 2013–14 side. Coach Vincent Kompany praised his players but insisted the focus immediately shifts to the rest of the season.

‎Wolfsburg bounced back from their heavy loss to Bayern with a 2–1 victory over St. Pauli, while Leipzig climbed to third after a controlled 2–0 win against Freiburg.

‎Hoffenheim were the most dominant side of the weekend, smashing Mönchengladbach 5–1 thanks to an Andrej Kramarić hat-trick.

‎Total Embarrassment for the Amsterdam Giants

‎Ajax’s turbulent season descended into new depths as they suffered a humiliating 6–0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar in the KNVB Cup round of 16.

‎AZ set the tone instantly, scoring in the second minute through Troy Parrott, who added a second goal half an hour later. Peer Koopmeiners’ goal just before halftime sent Ajax into the break already beaten, but the collapse worsened after the restart.

‎Kees Smit struck early in the second half, and Ajax’s misery deepened when Owen Wijndal was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge.

‎Parrott completed his hat-trick late on before assisting Ibrahim Sadiq for the sixth goal. The scoreline reflects one of the darkest nights in recent Ajax history and is likely to bring renewed pressure and internal inquiry at the club.

‎Arbeloa’s Debut Ends in Cup Disaster

‎New Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa endured a nightmare start to his tenure as his side crashed out of the Copa del Rey, losing 3–2 to second-division team Albacete.

‎Madrid rested several senior players, including Kylian Mbappé, and immediately found themselves in trouble. Javi Villar put Albacete in front, though Franco Mastantuono restored parity just before halftime.

‎The second half saw Madrid struggle to assert control, and Albacete struck again through Jefte Betancor in the 82nd minute. Madrid believed they had forced extra time when Gonzalo García headed home in the 91st minute, but their relief lasted only moments.

‎In the 94th minute, Betancor scored once more, sealing a historic upset and delivering a painful blow to the 15-time European champions.

‎Arbeloa accepted responsibility, acknowledging his decision to rotate the squad contributed to the defeat.

‎The loss comes just days after Madrid were beaten by Barcelona in the Spanish Supercopa final, making for a difficult beginning to life in charge.