Football
ESPN staff 8y

Fernando Llorente debuts in Swansea's win; Everton beaten by Espanyol

New signing Fernando Llorente was part of Swansea City's starting XI as the Welsh side recorded a 1-0 friendly win over Rennes at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

The 31-year-old Spanish striker, who joined the Swans from Sevilla on Friday, played for just under an hour and hit the post with one shot in a contest that was settled by a header from substitute Jay Fulton with 20 minutes to go.

Jefferson Montero had the chance to double the lead in an open game, but saw his late effort fly wide as the home side created plenty of chances.

Everton lost 1-0 to Espanyol at Goodison Park in a game that saw Romelu Lukaku, heavily linked with a return to Chelsea, limp off in the second half and need stitches to a cut.

Everton boss Ronald Koeman said afterwards the problem was not serious.

The decisive goal came after only four minutes when Espanyol were awarded a penalty and Leo Baptistao sent Maarten Stekelenburg the wrong way. Ross Barkley missed the chance to level from the spot when his penalty was saved by Roberto Jimenez.

Crystal Palace beat Valencia 3-1 at Selhurst Park as Connor Wickham struck twice before half-time and Mile Jedinak added a penalty after the break.

It was a seventh win in eight preseason game for Palace, whose hopes of a clean sheet were dashed when Jaume Domenech pulled a goal back late on.

Stoke manager Mark Hughes included Egypt international winger Ramadan Sobhi in his lineup for the 1-0 defeat at Bundesliga club Hamburg.

The only goal of the game arrived after 54 minutes when Michael Gregoritsch sidefooted past Jack Butland.

Watford had to settle for a 2-2 draw in an entertaining home game against Loroient after taking a two-goal lead.

Strike duo Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo put the Hornets in command, but a fine free-kick from Zargo Toure and a neat Romain Philippoteaux chip levelled matters.

Hull City suffered their only preseason defeat as Torino beat them 2-1 in Austria.

The Italians led after 18 minutes when Andrea Belotti struck from close range, but Abel Hernandez levelled nine minutes later. Cesare Bovo fired home from long range to seal the win with seven minutes to go.

Middlesbrough ended their preseason programme with a 0-0 draw against Spanish side Real Sociedad in a game of few chances at the Riverside.

Kevin Nugent came close when he saw a late effort blocked, while summer signings Alvaro Negredo and Victor Valdes both started the match.

In an evening match at the Iberostar Stadium, West Brom lost 1-0 to Mallorca with Brandon notching the only goal just before half-time.

Marc Pugh scored just two minutes into the match as Bournemouth completed an unbeaten preseason with a 1-0 win at Angers.

Atletico Madrid defeated newly promoted Serie A side Crotone 2-0 in Italy.

Nicolas Gaitan turned in a Yannick Carrasco pass for the opener in the second half before Diogo Jota scored his first goal for his new club.

Other Spanish sides were also in action against Italian clubs, with Celta Vigo beating Pescara 2-1, Marseille and Palermo drawing 1-1, and Malaga beating Sampdoria on penalties after a goalless game.

A Ryad Boudebouz brace helped Montpellier beat Real Betis 3-0, while Bordeaux and Osasuna drew 1-1 and Nancy and Sporting Gijon shared a goalless draw in other matches between La Liga and Ligue 1 clubs.

Andre Silva's 13th-minute goal was all Porto needed to beat Villarreal.

In other action, Granada beat Cordoba 1-0 and Rayo Vallecano beat Leganes 2-0, but fellow newly promoted side Alaves fell to Zaragoza on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

Deportivo La Coruna beat Portugal's Feirense 1-0, while Leipzig rallied after a Bebe brace for Eibar to win 3-2.

Mark Uth and Sandro Wagner scored to give Hoffenheim a 2-0 win over Chievo, as Eintracht Frankfurt beat Atalanta on penalties after a 2-2 draw, Alexander Meier and Alejandro Darío Gomez both scoring twice.

Florian Niederlechn recorded a hat trick to help Freiburg beat Darmstadt 3-1 in a match between Bundesliga clubs, and a Genki Haraguchi brace saw Hertha Berlin defeat Al Jazira 3-2.

Cagliari scored early through Nicolo Barella and beat Maritimo 2-0, while Nantes beat Empoli 1-0 and Genoa beat Bastia 2-1.

In matches between Ligue 1 side, Marcus Coco's goal gave Guingamp a 1-0 win over Caen, while a Julio Tavares brace helped Dijon beat Metz 4-2.

Christopher Jullien's early red card allowed Portuguese side Vitoria romp to a 6-2 win over Toulouse.

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