Manchester United have grown accustomed to disappointment, but so lopsided was their 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday that the question must now be asked whether their fiercest rivals are, in fact, the closest competition to that seemingly unbeatable outfit across town: Manchester City.
While the champions of the Premier League continued their perfect form, the Bundesliga‘s incumbents had a less pleasant Saturday. Bayer Leverkusen‘s 35-match unbeaten run in league play came to a screeching halt on just Matchday 2, falling 3-2 to RB Leipzig on Saturday.
In LaLiga, Real Madrid picked up their second victory of the fledgling season, topping Real Betis in a tense 2-0 win, but of more importance was a certain Kylian Mbappé ending his 333-minute scoring drought in the league. With Los Blancos already four points behind league-leading Barcelona after just four matches, they’ll be hoping there’s plenty more to come from their brand-new Galactico.
What else happened around Europe this weekend? ESPN’s Weekend Review puts a bow on all the continental competition.
Premier League
Top takeaway: Are Liverpool City’s nearest challengers?
In Mikel Arteta’s own words, to catch Manchester City this year, you’re going to have to be nearly perfect. Well, four matches in, and Arsenal have had a small stumble, Manchester United have somehow found themselves at the foot of the mountain, while Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur haven’t yet found any consistency. That leaves Liverpool as the only perfect team after three matches — their latest win at Old Trafford on Sunday a lesson in executing a game plan with precision and ruthlessness. Their transition from Jürgen Klopp to Arne Slot has been nearly flawless, with Ryan Gravenberch a revelation at No. 6.
For Arsenal, although drawing with brilliant Brighton & Hove Albion is by no means an embarrassment, they failed to navigate Declan Rice‘s foolish red card and dropped key points (you feel they have to pick up maximum points at home to catch City). For United, their issues around defensive organisation do not seem to have been remotely solved in the offseason.
Liverpool are left as the near-perfect challengers, but anyone who has aspirations of knocking over City will have seen how good they are at adapting and managing difficulty. That seems to be one aspect of the game where they are ahead of the rest. They have in-built resilience and adaptability. No Rodri? No problem. Three from three, and Pep Guardiola’s team’s form is ominous.
Best match: Everton vs. Bournemouth
With 85 minutes gone at Goodison Park on Saturday and Everton two goals to the good against Bournemouth, it looked to be straightforward for Sean Dyche’s team and a little bit of pressure off his shoulders. They had dominated the Cherries, carved out some great chances, and were in the driving seat. Then Bournemouth grabbed one back through Antoine Semenyo in the 87th minute, Lewis Cook headed home a brilliant equaliser in the second minute of added time — having been left unmarked — and with the Toffees rattled, it was all Bournemouth. Jordan Pickford pulled off two brilliant saves, but couldn’t stop Luis Sinisterra scoring a 96th-minute winner.
It’ll make for brutal analysis for Everton, but you have to give credit to Andoni Iraola’s team for the way they carved out that comeback. Poor Everton, though, they can’t catch a break and have zero points from their first three matches.
Best goal: Bellegarde at Wolves
Nicolas Jackson‘s goal for Chelsea off the back of a rapid counterattack was superbly worked, Eberechi Eze‘s equaliser for Crystal Palace in the same match was a beaut, while Yukinari Sugawara‘s consolation was a sweet strike, but the best goal of the weekend was in Nottingham Forest‘s 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
After Chris Wood opened the scoring, Wolves searched for an answer, and it came from a moment of brilliance from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde. He collected the ball on the edge of the area, teed himself up, and then smashed a beautiful, looping strike past Matz Sels. An outstanding goal.
A STRIKE AND A HALF. 🚀
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde levels it for Wolves against Nottingham Forest with an absolute BELTER.
📺 Peacock | #NFOWOL pic.twitter.com/FT3s1sOffq
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) August 31, 2024
MVP of the weekend: Haaland
Erling Haaland‘s hat-trick statistics are frightening. He’s already grabbed eight in little more than two seasons, which puts him equal fourth overall in the Premier League tally. He’s four off equalling Sergio Agüero at the top on 12, three off Alan Shearer’s 11 and one behind Robbie Fowler’s nine. He’s also level with Thierry Henry, Harry Kane, Michael Owen and one ahead of Wayne Rooney.
He’s showing no signs of slowing down, either, with his rate currently at one hat trick per nine matches (Agüero was one per 23, Shearer one per 40, Fowler one per 42 matches). He’ll surely smash the record (perhaps this season considering he already has two hat tricks in as many matches) but on a weekend when Mohamed Salah was exceptional, complete with that ambiguous message over his future, it’s still Haaland taking the headlines. — Tom Hamilton
LaLiga
Top takeaway: Mbappé ends LaLiga drought
You wait four games for one and then two Mbappé goals arrive at once. Real Madrid’s new star signing had failed to score in his side’s opening three LaLiga matches but he finally corrected that at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday as the reigning champions beat Real Betis 2-0 to secure a much-needed three points — even at this early stage of the season. Early pace-setters Barcelona’s 7-0 win over Real Valladolid on Saturday had moved them seven points clear of Madrid. After draws against Mallorca and Las Palmas, with Jude Bellingham out injured, Mbappé scoreless in Spain and Vinícius Júnior struggling to find top form, the pressure was on Los Blancos to deliver against Betis.
Madrid were frustrated for large parts of the night but they eventually found a way through in the 67th minute. Mbappé latched onto a brilliant Federico Valverde pass to open the scoring and his LaLiga account. The celebration featured more relief than he would have perhaps imagined when he visualised his first Bernabéu goal after joining on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain this summer. The wait for his first goal ended at 333 minutes. His second arrived eight minutes later. Vinícius was fouled by goalkeeper Rui Silva and Mbappé buried the penalty.
The goals will quieten the questions that had been asked about the compatibility of Madrid’s new Galacticos. There remains room for improvement, mind, heading into the international break and coach Carlo Ancelotti still has work to do to get the best out of Mbappé, Vinicius, Rodrygo and, when he’s back, Bellingham on a more consistent basis. He has plenty of time on his hands, though, and Mbappé’s brace should settle the France captain when he returns from Les Bleus duty for a difficult trip to Real Sociedad on Sept. 14.
Best match: Osasuna vs. Celta
Celta Vigo may be the team to watch in Spain this season. They were beaten 3-2 by Osasuna in another thrillingly open game packed with goals. That’s 19 in four Celta matches so far. They have scored 10 of them. Only Barcelona (13) have scored more.
Best goal: Raphinha vs. Valladolid
The beauty of Raphinha’s third goal against Real Valladolid was in the assist. Lamine Yamal led a blistering Barcelona counter, deceiving Valladolid defenders as he carried the ball from his own half into the final third. Just when it looked like he would use Dani Olmo to his left, he spotted a pass to Raphinha through the middle that no one else had seen. The Brazilian did the rest.
HAT TRICK FOR RAPHINHA ‼️
INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE 🎩 pic.twitter.com/iBpQBgl3xZ
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 31, 2024
MVP of the weekend: Raphinha
After scoring the first hat trick of his career, it has to be Raphinha. After a summer in which Barça have been linked with signing a left winger, his performance also came with a message as the Catalans made it four wins from four at the start of the campaign: “This shows we don’t need any new signings,” he said after. The first goal was brilliantly taken, he was in the right spot at the right time for his second and he completed his treble after a brilliant Yamal run.
He has been one of the stars of Barça’s fine start to the season, pressing with intensity but also adding quality with the ball. “He’s been fantastic,” coach Hansi Flick said. Not fantastic enough, though, to be called up by Brazil. He will enjoy a well-earned rest during the international break. — Sam Marsden
Bundesliga
Top takeaway: Leipzig end Leverkusen’s unbeaten run
For the first time in 15 months, Bayer Leverkusen have lost a Bundesliga game. After an incredible unbeaten run of 35 matches, Xabi Alonso and his players may have thought they were invincible, but RB Leipzig reminded them of their vulnerability on Saturday with a 3-2 upset at the BayArena. Trailing 2-0 in the 45th minute, away from home against the reigning champions, turning that scoreline around is an incredible accomplishment for the Red Bull-backed club.
Loïs Openda had two shots and scored two goals. His teammates combined for six more shots and another goal. Leipzig were often dominated by the home side, routinely under pressure, and Péter Gulácsi had to conjure miracles at times in goal (Leverkusen registered 26 shots, 10 on target, drawing eight saves from the Hungary No. 1), but their verticality devastating counterattack were too much for the defending champions.
2:23
How the ‘magic ran out’ for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga
Alejandro Moreno reacts to RB Leipzig ending Bayer Leverkusen’s 35-game unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga.
For all the times when “Laterkusen” have roared back seemingly from the dead to snatch wins and points throughout the past 12 months, this time it was they who coughed up a late lead and conceded a winner in the last 10 minutes. The unbeaten run was never going to last another full season, but not many would have bet on such an early stumble. Time will tell if it portends more to come.
Best match: Stuttgart vs. Mainz
VfB Stuttgart were fun to watch last season, and that hasn’t changed. Their 3-3 draw against Mainz at home on Saturday was a rollercoaster of emotions. The hosts were 2-0 up within 15 minutes before conceding twice in the second half, then they led again in the 88th minute only to drop two points in the 94th.
Best goal: Arnold at Kiel
Maximilian Arnold has arguably the best left foot in the Bundesliga and is a master of set pieces. We saw it again on Saturday, when the VfL Wolfsburg captain scored a beautiful free kick to open the scoring at Holstein Kiel. He has done it so many times throughout his career that it hardly comes as a surprise anymore.
MVP of the weekend: Openda
It is hard to look outside Openda, the Leipzig striker scoring a brace to beat Leverkusen. After 24 goals in 34 appearances last season, his first one in the Bundesliga after arriving in the summer from Lens, the Belgium international, who was frustrated after not scoring against VfL Bochum in the opening game of the season last weekend, has two in two already this campaign. — Julien Laurens
What else you missed this weekend
Lukaku’s fine start in Napoli
Romelu Lukaku‘s transfer to Napoli from Chelsea has been one of the sagas of the summer, so his debut for the 2023 Italian champions against Parma in Naples on Saturday night was highly anticipated . It didn’t disappoint. The 31-year-old Belgian striker came on after an hour to level the score in the 92nd minute, four minutes before Frank Zambo-Anguissa netted the winner. — Laurens
Wrexham keep shining in League One
A couple of steps below England‘s top table, Birmingham turned League One on its head with their transfer deadline day recruitment of Fulham forward Jay Stansfield. Reports put the fee at £15 million with potential add-ons taking it to £20m — for comparison, that’s more than Liverpool spent to sign Federico Chiesa from Juventus. So you can imagine how the rest of the teams feel, even Wrexham, who are of course bankrolled by Hollywood A-listers, but to date, their record transfer is around the £350,000 to £500,000 they splashed out on midfielder Ollie Rathbone.
After back-to-back promotions, this could be a season of consolidation, but Wrexham are bubbling nicely. They are unbeaten after four matches on ten points, their latest win seeing them triumph 2-0 at Peterborough on Saturday. Both goals were well worked — the first a nice team move to tee up Jack Marriott, whose deflected shot opened things up, and their second a well-executed corner for Max Cleworth to head home. Peterborough had their chances but were wayward, so could it be three promotions on the trot? A long way to go, but Wrexham have made a promising start to life in League One where for once, they’re not the big dog. — Hamilton
Celtic hammer Rangers in Old Firm
It’s already looking ominous for any side not named Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. They laid down a marker in the Old Firm on Sunday by hammering Rangers 3-0 to make it four wins from four as they target a 13th title in 14 years. Aberdeen also have maximum points after four games, but even at this early stage it’s hard to see anyone stopping Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops, who have already scored 12 goals and conceded none. — Marsden
Gyökeres making his mark in Lisbon
The transfer window has only just closed, but if you want to do some scouting ahead of it re-opening in January, then keep your eyes on Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyökeres. He scored a penalty in Sporting’s 2-0 win over Porto in the biggest game in Portugal this weekend. Both teams had won all three of their opening games, but it was the Gyökeres-led Sporting, who won the league last year, who prevailed in Lisbon. The Sweden international netted 43 times in all competitions last season and already has seven in four league games this year. Any European side in need of a No. 9 come the new year will be monitoring him. — Marsden