Stuttgart ends St Pauli's unbeaten start in Bundesliga

Stuttgart, Sept. 21: Ermedin Demirovi celebrated his first game as Stuttgart captain by scoring as they beat visiting St. Pauli 2-0 and derailed the Hamburg club's super start to the Bundesliga.

The striker had a header ruled out for offside in the fourth minute but he got one that counted just before halftime when he weaved his way through a box of defenders and deftly chipped over the goalkeeper.

Stuttgart's Angelo Stiller had a penalty kick saved by Nikola Vasilj after 26 minutes but he made amends five minutes into the second half with a lovely layoff for Bilal El Khannouss to add the second.

The recent signing from Leicester City ran on to Stiller's cushioned pass and fired a low shot into the bottom corner.

St. Pauli's Louis Oppie hit the bar seconds later at the other end.

Stuttgart move up to seventh place with six points from four games.

The end of St. Pauli's unbeaten start to the league left it a point above in fourth.

Meanwhile, Real Sociedad's miserable start to La Liga continued at Real Betis after a 3-1 defeat that extended its winless run to five league games.

The last time Sociedad started without a win in five games was 2006 when it ended up being relegated. The alarm bells are ringing for coach Sergio Francisco, the former Sociedad player who was appointed to his first top-flight post in July.

Cucho Hernández scored for the second game in a row to give Real Betis the lead after seven minutes. The Sociedad defense stood off the Colombian forward, giving him time to side-foot a lovely finish high into the net from 15 meters out.

The visitor equalized thanks to slack defending. A poor pass on the edge of the box led to Ander Barrenetxea running free and he fed Brais Méndez who curled a shot into the far corner.

Abdessamad Ezzalzouli put Betis ahead again three minutes into the second half after Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro flapped at a cross from the left.

The Sociedad defense was all at sea again in giving time and space for Pablo Fornals to convert a low cross from the right and make it 3-1.

Sociedad was fourth from bottom. Betis was fourth.

The game was a useful warm up for Betis before it faces Nottingham Forest next week in the Europa League.

Meanwhile, Lyon moved atop Ligue 1 after beating Angers 1-0 with the goal from American midfielder Tanner Tessmann.

Tessmann converted from close range after Angers goalkeeper Hervé Koffi stopped Martin Satriano's header in the 65th minute.

Tessmann's second goal for the club since joining from Venezia last year will serve as another call to U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, who left him out his squad for recent games against South Korea and Japan.

Angers almost saved a point in the dying minutes but Lanroy Machine's effort came back off the post.

Lyon has 12 points, the same as defending champion Paris Saint-Germain, which plays Marseille on Sunday.

Angers was 12th.

Likewise, man of the match Andrea Belotti scored in each half as Cagliari beat Lecce 2-1 to record back-to-back wins in Serie A for the first time in more than a year.

Lecce was on the bottom of the table with one point after four games and already fretting over the likelihood of relegation. Lecce was off to its worst start to a season since 2005.

Lecce started the game well and took the lead in the fifth minute when Riccardo Sottil skipped past the right back and crossed for Tiago Gabriel to head home.

But Belotti was in clinical form at the other end for the Sardinian club.

Marco Palestra's exquisite first touch from a Michael Folorunsho through pass gave him a split-second advantage and he squared to Belotti to lift over the goalkeeper minutes before halftime.

The well-travelled center forward made no mistake from the penalty spot in the second half to give the visitors all three points and lift them into fifth place. (AP)