TOKYO (Kyodo) — Stuttgart, home to Japan midfielder Wataru Endo and defender Hiroki Ito, sacked manager Pellegrino Matarazzo on Monday, who left the club without a win after nine games in the German Bundesliga.
On a busy weekend for Japanese players in Europe, Sporting Lisbon midfielder Hidemasa Morita scored for the second straight league game while defender Yukinari Sugawara grabbed his season’s first league goal for AZ Alkmaar.
Stuttgart lost 1-0 at home to leaders Union Berlin, who had Genki Haraguchi starting for the first time in seven games. Paul Jaeckel scored the 76th-minute winner to leave Stuttgart in 17th following five draws and four defeats.
American Matarazzo had been in charge of the club since December 2019 when they were in the German second tier.
Ritsu Doan had a clever assist for Daniel-Kofi Kyereh’s 22nd-minute opener as Freiburg drew 2-2 at Hertha Berlin.
Morita helped Sporting to a 2-1 away win over his former club Santa Clara in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, heading in the 29th-minute opener after Marcus Edwards’ close-range shot was saved.
Nuno Santos drilled home the 90th-minute winner from the edge of the box before Japanese forward Kyosuke Tagawa steered home his first goal of the season in stoppage time for the home side.
Versatile Sugawara, playing on the right-wing, hit the 68th-minute winner for AZ in the Dutch Eredivisie, his left-footed effort finding the top left corner from inside the box in a 2-1 win at Utrecht. Winger Naoki Maeda started for the home team.
Takehiro Tomiyasu was deployed in an unfamiliar left-back role but kept Egyptian star Mohamed Salah quiet as Arsenal edged Liverpool 3-2 at home to stay top of the English Premier League, with the defender winning plaudits from manager Mikel Arteta.
Takefusa Kubo came off with three minutes left as Real Sociedad beat his former club Villarreal 1-0 at home for their third straight win in Spain’s La Liga.
Hayao Kawabe scored his fourth goal of the season for Grasshoppers in Switzerland as they drew 4-4 at home with Sion.
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