In soccer news from Europe, Robert Lewandowski's three-goal performance maintains Barcelona's leadership in La Liga.
Certain clubs have quickly made their mark and now stand as teams to keep an eye on throughout the competition, while others have struggled to get off the ground, with early setbacks that could ultimately harm their season's outcome.
Let me fill you in on the action from the past weekend across Europe's top leagues.
Spain's La Liga: Barcelona triumphs, injury concerns for Real Madrid
Robert Lewandowski is in top form.
The Polish striker bagged a hat-trick in the first half on Sunday, capping off a stellar display against Alavés, as Barcelona secured a 3-0 win. Lewandowski met a perfectly-delivered cross from winger Raphinha with a powerful header to open the scoring before the duo combined for a simple tap-in by the striker seven minutes later.
Lewandowski completed his hat-trick in the 32nd minute, following up on a parried save by the keeper to roll the ball into the net. This brought Lewandowski's league-leading tally to 10 goals in nine games.
According to the team's report, this marked Lewandowski's third hat-trick for Barcelona and the 27th time he has achieved this feat at the club level.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick, who also worked with Lewandowski at Bayern Munich, praised his star striker after the game and praised his team's offensive prowess.
"Everyone supports Lewy and he knows what to do in the box – in front of the goal, he's the best player for me," Flick said after the match. "He's been amazing over such a long period, scoring so many goals. It's very good. I'm happy with him. You can see he's 100% fit and the other teammates are supporting him really well.
"Every training and when you have meetings, you show them from the tactical side and also positions are very important. They are doing great and the dynamic from these players is unbelievable and helps us a lot.
"At the end, we score so many goals which is good for us and helps us also for the next matches to have this confidence in our game, in our idea to play football," he added.
Elsewhere, Barcelona's bitter rivals Real Madrid picked up a 2-0 win over Villarreal on Saturday thanks to goals from Federico Valverde and Vinícius Júnior. However, the victory was tainted by a serious injury to regular right-back Dani Carvajal.
Carvajal was forced off the field in the first half, and it was later announced that he had suffered a severe knee injury, including a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, ruptured external collateral ligament, and ruptured popliteus tendon in his right leg. Carvajal is expected to miss an extended period of time.
Real Madrid remains in second place, three points behind Barcelona.
England's Premier League: Early-season title contenders win, Tottenham falters
Though Manchester City and Arsenal are expected to vie for the title again this season, it's Liverpool that currently sits atop the Premier League after seven games.
Led by coach Arne Slot in his first season at the helm following the departure of Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 on Saturday to extend its undefeated streak to six games.
Portuguese forward Diogo Jota netted the game's only goal as Liverpool solidified its position as a legitimate title contender.
City and Arsenal remained unbeaten and also picked up victories, but both faced challenges along the way. City trailed Fulham 1-0 at halftime before Mateo Kovačić and Jérémy Doku turned things around to give the reigning champion a 3-2 win. Arsenal's win over Southampton came amidst controversy, as summer signing Cameron Archer put the Saints ahead before Kai Havertz levelled the score just three minutes later. The Gunners then took the lead and held on to secure the 3-1 victory.
Manchester United drew 0-0 with Aston Villa, putting pressure on manager Erik ten Hag, but arguably the most notable result of the weekend came from Brighton's American Express Stadium.
Tottenham was the visiting team and arrived in fine form, having won five straight matches in all competitions. Winger Brennan Johnson scored for the sixth straight game to give Spurs the lead before James Maddison doubled the advantage just before half-time.
Brighton then staged a remarkable second-half comeback, scoring three times to steal an unlikely 3-2 victory.
"Frustrated and absolutely gutted with that," Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou told Sky Sports after the game. "Worst defeat since I've been here. Unacceptable second half. We weren't anywhere near where we should be. We got carried away with how we were going.
"We kind of accepted our fate and it's a bit hard to understand as we've not done that while I've been here. We've usually fought for everything, but when you don't, you pay the price."
The problem lies in the fact we're gliding too effortlessly, football and life can trip you up if you surpass yourself too much.
German Bundesliga: Bayern and Leverkusen both end up in high-scoring draws
Bayern Munich continues its unbeaten run at the top of the Bundesliga after six games, but it lost an opportunity to enlarge its lead over RB Leipzig in second place, as it ended up in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.
The first half was a spectacle, ending 2-2, with both Bayern's center-backs tallying up for them. Michael Olise, Bayern's summer signing, netted one for the Bavarian club from the edge of the box in the 53rd minute, but it seemed like his goal would suffice for the win. However, Omar Marmoush slipped past Bayern's defense in the 4th minute of added time and found the back of the net past Manuel Neuer to tie the game up at 3-3.
Bayer Leverkusen couldn't narrow the gap with Bayern during the weekend, settling for a 2-2 draw against newly promoted Holstein Kiel. Gols from Victor Boniface and Jonas Hofmann within the first 10 minutes suggested a comforting lead for Xabi Alonso's side, but Max Geschwill and Jann-Fiete Arp antagonized Holstein Kiel in the second half, drawing the game level.
Italian Serie A: De Gea steps up for Fiorentina
David de Gea proved to be the hero for Fiorentina against AC Milan, saving two penalties in their 2-1 home victory on Sunday.
De Gea joined Fiorentina this summer following a year on the sidelines after departing from Manchester United following the 2022/23 campaign.
Fiorentina’s striker Moise Kean missed a penalty in the first half, and Yacine Adli, on loan at Fiorentina from Milan, put I Viola ahead. Milan had an opportunity to equalize from the spot, but De Gea denied them with a spectacular save just before halftime.
Matteo Gabbia was brought down in the box in the second half, with Tammy Abraham recognized as the taker for the spot-kick, but yet again, De Gea saved Milan.
American national team captain Christian Pulisic finally leveled the game, but Albert Guðmundsson restored Fiorentina's lead. Fiorentina head coach Raffaele Palladino and Hernández received red cards later on, but Fiorentina held their ground to secure a second win of the season.
The Spanish football giant, Barcelona, continued its impressive form with a 3-0 win over Alavés, thanks to a hat-trick from Robert Lewandowski. In England's Premier League, Liverpool solidified its title contender status with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, while Tottenham suffered a disappointing 3-2 loss to Brighton after leading 2-0 at halftime. Both Manchester City and Arsenal remained unbeaten but had to work harder for their victories. In Germany's Bundesliga, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen settled for draws, while in Italy's Serie A, David de Gea saved two penalties to secure a 2-1 win for Fiorentina against AC Milan. Football fans can expect exciting matches as clubs continue to battle for positions in their respective leagues. Enjoy your favorite sport, football!
