Associated Press Sports
updated 2:44 p.m. ET Sept. 30, 2012
ROME (AP) - Napoli rejoined Juventus at the top of Serie A with a 1-0 win at 10-man Sampdoria on Sunday, as the southern club seeks its first Italian title since Diego Maradona first led it to glory.
Edinson Cavani converted a penalty for Napoli in the 67th minute for his league-best sixth goal of the season.
Daniele Guastaldello was given his second yellow card for tripping Marek Hamsik at the edge of the area to set up the penalty.
Replays showed that the penalty may have occurred just outside the area.
"It was on the line, and the line is part of the penalty area," said Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri, who was sent off in the first half for arguing calls.
Maradona led Napoli to its only two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990.
At the very least, Napoli is aiming for a top-three finish to get back into the Champions League, having reached the knockout stage last season before being eliminated by eventual champion Chelsea.
Last season, Napoli finished fifth in Serie A.
Juventus beat Roma and old rival Zdenek Zeman 4-1 on Saturday, while struggling AC Milan gave up a lead in a 1-1 draw at Parma.
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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Valladolid thrashed visiting Rayo Vallecano 6-1 with two goals each by Oscar Gonzalez and Manucho on Sunday, breaking a two-game losing streak in the Spanish league.
"My team played intelligently. It knew how to interpret the game," said Valladolid coach Miroslav Djukic, who watched the match from the stands while serving a suspension for complaining about the referee.
"We avoided making mistakes and were very efficient in attack, combining well and entering from the flanks."
Also, Granada beat Celta Vigo 2-1 for its first win this season.
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BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) - Darren Bent came off the bench to earn Aston Villa a point with a late goal in the 1-1 tie with midlands rival West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Sunday.
The England striker scored on a left-foot shot from close range in the 80th minute, denying West Brom a victory that would have lifted the team to third place.
Shane Long put the visitors ahead in the 51st, guiding home a low finish after Ron Vlaar's attempted clearance flew straight at him.
Villa has won just one of its first six games under new manager Paul Lambert and stayed in 15th place in the 20-team standings. West Brom is sixth, its best top-flight start since the 1978-79 season.
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AMSTERDAM (AP) - U.S. striker Jozy Altidore raised his Dutch league-leading goal total to eight with a first-half score for AZ Alkmaar in the team's 3-3 tie with RKC Waalwijk on Sunday.
Altidore also made the pass for midfielder Adam Maher to tie the score for AZ in the 86th minute to preserve the team's unbeaten home record, which now stands at 26 matches.
Dries Mertens and substitute Juergen Locadia both scored hat tricks Sunday as PSV Eindhoven beat VVV-Venlo 6-0 to move to third.
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BERLIN (AP) - Alexander Meier scored twice for Eintracht Frankfurt to beat Freiburg 2-1 on Sunday, extending the promoted team's unbeaten start to the Bundesliga.
Max Kruse gave visiting Freiburg a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute, scoring with an angled shot from a rebound after Sebastian Freis' initial effort was saved.
Meier tied the score in the 68th.
Oczipka delivered the corner for Meier to score again five minutes later.
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PARIS (AP) - French leader Marseille's perfect start to the season came to an emphatic end Sunday, when it lost 4-1 to Valenciennes with goalkeeper Steve Mandanda making a huge blunder.
Gael Danic and Anthony Le Tallec put Valenciennes 2-0 up after 35 minutes, and Mandada then rolled the ball out straight to Foued Kadir for the Algeria midfielder to make it 3-0.
Le Tallec scored his second of the game midway through the second half.
Marseille won its opening six matches.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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