European football is heading into its second international break of the season and things are slowly starting to take shape.
Some clubs have made fast starts and established themselves as teams to watch throughout the season, while others have stumbled out of the starting blocks and produced results that could prove costly at the end of the season. Here's what you need to know about this weekend's action in Europe's top leagues. Spain's La Liga: Barcelona easy win, injury concerns for Real Madrid Robert Lewandowski is a man in top form. The Polish striker scored a hat-trick in a standout performance on Sunday, helping Barcelona to a 3-0 win over Alaves and keeping the Catalan club at the top of La Liga. Seven minutes later, Lewandowski headed in a sharp cross from winger Rafinha to put the team ahead, but the pair combined again 15 minutes later to concede a goal. Lewandowski needed just over 30 minutes to complete his hat trick, firing the ball past Antonio Sivera inside the Alavés goal in the 32nd minute, making it 10 goals in nine league games. It was the 36-year-old Barcelona's third hat trick, according to the team, and his 27th at club level. Barça coach Hansi Flick, who also coached Lewandowski at Bayern Munich, praised his star striker after the game and praised his team's attacking strength. "Everyone is behind Levy and he knows what he has to do in the penalty area. For me he is the best player in front of goal," Flick said after the game. "He's been incredibly good over such a (long) period and scored so many goals, which is very good. I'm very happy for him, I can see that he is 100% fit and that the other team-mates support him really well. "In every training session and meeting, I show them the tactical aspect and the positional aspects are also very important. They are performing great and the dynamic between these players is incredible which helps us a lot." "In the end we scored so many goals so it's good for us and it gives us confidence in the next game in the idea of playing our game, our football," he added.
Barcelona's arch rivals Real Madrid beat Villarreal 2-0 on Saturday, thanks to goals from Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior. But the victory was marred by a serious injury to long-time right-back Dani Carvajal. Carvajal was carried off the field on a stretcher during the match. The club later announced that he had "ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament, lateral collateral ligament and popliteus tendon in his right leg." The 32-year-old underwent surgery and is expected to be out for a long time. Madrid remains in second place, three points behind leaders Barca. English Premier League: Title contenders win at the start of the season, Tottenham collapses Manchester City and Arsenal are expected to compete for a third consecutive title, but Liverpool currently sits at the top of the Premier League after seven games. Liverpool, under Arne Slott in his first season as manager after replacing Jurgen Klopp, beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Saturday to record their sixth win of the season. Portuguese striker Diogo Jota scored the only goal of the game to keep the Reds asserting themselves as legitimate title contenders. City and Arsenal remained unbeaten, but things weren't any easier for either team. City trailed 1-0 at home to Fulham at the break, but two goals from midfielder Mateo Kovacic put the reigning champions in front. Jeremy Doku added another in the 82nd minute and Rodrigo Muniz scored late, but City held on to make it 3-2. The Gunners also had to come from behind at Southampton when new signing Cameron Archer put the Saints ahead in the second half. The lead didn't last long though, as Kai Havertz continued his scoring form to level the score just three minutes after being overtaken. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka secured Arsenal the win, level with City on 17 points and one behind Liverpool. Manchester United drew 0-0 with Aston Villa, increasing the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag, but perhaps the most notable result of the weekend came on Sunday at Brighton's American Express Stadium. Visiting team Tottenham were in good form, having won five consecutive games in all competitions. Winger Brennan Johnson scored his sixth consecutive goal to put Spurs ahead and James Maddison doubled the lead, and Tottenham looked to be heading for a comfortable victory. But Brighton turned things around, staging a remarkable second-half comeback with goals from Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Luter and Danny Welbeck to seal an unexpected 3-2 victory.
Post a Comment