We're two months into the season now, and it feels like things are starting to take shape around Europe. Some title races are looking like they will be closer than others, with some surprise contenders in the mix, while other presumed challengers are beginning to struggle, casting doubt on the futures of their managers and star players.
In terms of headlines, there were shock defeats for some of the Premier League's biggest fish, a dramatic Clasico in Spain and lead changes at the top of both Serie A and Ligue 1. The top two teams met in both the Netherlands and Scotland, too, meaning there were plenty of winners and losers for GOAL to pick from when looking back at the weekend's action…
Getty Images SportWINNER: Arsenal
Surely – – this is Arsenal's year to get over the hump. After three successive second-placed finishes in the Premier League, the Gunners came into the campaign under pressure to finally deliver a first league title since the Invincibles reigned supreme in 2004, and they could hardly have put themselves in a better position through the first quarter of the campaign.
Mikel Arteta's side have looked a class apart, especially over the past month, though they have also been helped by the failures of others. That was certainly on display over the weekend as, while the Gunners laboured to a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace that again came about thanks to a set-piece, all three of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea slipped to defeats. Arsenal subsequently find themselves four points clear at the top, with surprise package Bournemouth their nearest challengers, followed closely by Tottenham and newly-promoted Sunderland.
There is obviously still a long way to go, but given Arsenal have already got daunting trips to Anfield, Old Trafford and St. James' Park out of the way and come out the other side with a healthy lead, it already feels like it would take an almighty collapse for them to throw this one away.
AdvertisementAFPLOSER: Arne Slot
The most damaging of those defeats for Arsenal's title rivals was undoubtedly Liverpool's 3-2 loss at Brentford. There had been hope that the Reds had turned a corner following their 5-1 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek, but the Reds' frailties that have dogged them throughout the opening months of the campaign returned on Saturday as they again defended shambolically while showing little to no cohesion in attack.
Four successive league defeats has left the defending Premier League champions seven points off the summit and, in some quarters, cast doubt on the future of manager Arne Slot. The Dutchman could do no wrong in guiding Liverpool to the title in their first post-Jurgen Klopp campaign last term, but Slot has looked short of answers so far this term, with it clear he neither knows his best starting combination nor is able to avoid panicking when it comes to trying to change games with his substitutions.
Liverpool have regularly finished games with five forwards on the pitch this season as they chase winning or equalising goals, and things came to a head at the Gtech Community Stadium when, having already made four attacking substitutions, Slot was forced to withdraw Florian Wirtz for the final five minutes and replace him with Joe Gomez as his previous changes had ended up neutralising Dominik Szoboszlai's impact, with the Hungarian having been shifted to right-back in the shuffle.
With games against in-form Aston Villa and Manchester City to come in the league before the November international break, Liverpool will have to massively raise their game to not fall totally out of the title race – that is, if they haven't already.
AFPWINNER: Jude Bellingham
The biggest game of the European weekend was undoubtedly El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, and it was Los Blancos who ran out 2-1 winners to stretch their lead atop La Liga to five points as Xabi Alonso's revolution begins to take shape at Santiago Bernabeu.
One player who has had to wait patiently to get their season going is Jude Bellingham, but if his performance on Sunday was anything to go by, then the England midfielder is set to become a key piece of what Alonso is trying to achieve in the Spanish capital. For the third time in five La Liga meetings with Barcelona, Bellingham scored the winning goal, though his strike – much like his winner against Juventus in midweek – owed more to being in the right place at the right time to tap home rather than any individual brilliance.
His assist for Kylian Mbappe's opening goal, however, was Bellingham at his best. Picking up the ball just inside the Barca half, the Madrid No.5 produced a turn that sent Pedri for a hot dog and gave himself the time and space to produce an inch-perfect through-ball for Mbappe to run onto and fire past Wojciech Szczesny.
That was the highlight of an all-action display from Bellingham, who is showing few signs of any lasting damage from his shoulder surgery over the summer. With that in mind, it is crazy to think that there are those who believe England might be better off without him at this summer's World Cup. Surely Thomas Tuchel isn't one of them?…
Getty Images SportLOSER: Lamine Yamal
On the other side of the Clasico divide, all eyes were understandably on Lamine Yamal ahead of kick-off. Not only did the teenage sensation carry with him Barcelona's best chance of victory, especially with Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski out injured, he also poked the Madrid bear by claiming in the days leading up to the game that Real are a team who "steals and complains", which many felt was Yamal referencing the pressure Los Blancos regularly put on referees and match officials.
Unsurprisingly, the Bernabeu faithful did not take well to such comments, and Yamal was mercilessly booed whenever he picked up the ball. Whether that affected the 18-year-old, or whether he is still not fully fit after a couple of injury issues of his own, only he will know, but Yamal was miles off his best level on Sunday. His passing and shooting was wayward and he was mostly locked down by Alvaro Carreras when he attempted to dribble inside and create an opportunity for the visitors.
Yamal's miserable day was capped when he became the target of Madrid's post-match wrath, as Dani Carvajal, Thibaut Courtois and Vinicius Jr were all seen berating the youngster at full-time, presumably because of the slanderous nature of his pre-match comments. Yamal will be the hero of plenty of Clasicos in his career, but this was one he will look back on with plenty of regrets.