Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has made a spectacular start to life at Deportivo La Coruna, while Barcelona have continued their perfect LaLiga campaign. At the other end of the scale, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid suffered damaging setbacks, and Fiorentina’s costly summer rebuild has produced three defeats from three matches.
The weekend’s winners and losers also included Bundesliga newcomers SV Elversberg, who staged a remarkable comeback at Borussia Monchengladbach, and Telstar goalkeeper Ronald Koeman, whose late penalty secured a dramatic draw in the Eredivisie.
Aubameyang thriving at Deportivo
At the age of 37, Aubameyang was expected by some to have joined newly promoted Deportivo La Coruna simply to enjoy a quiet conclusion to his career.
The Gabon international has quickly proved that assumption wrong. He has scored in each of his four appearances this season, and his latest performance was even more influential.
Aubameyang scored once and supplied two assists as Deportivo came from behind to defeat Villarreal away from home. The former Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Barcelona forward was involved in all three of his side’s goals.
His contribution has gone beyond the numbers. Aubameyang has brought energy through his movement, intelligent runs and awareness of space, making him one of the outstanding signings in Galicia.
Fiorentina’s expensive rebuild goes wrong
Fiorentina invested €150m on new players during the summer. Even after taking sales into account, their net spending remains above €120m.
The return after three Serie A matches has been bleak. The Viola have lost all three games, including their past two at home, scoring only once and conceding nine goals.
Franco Mastantuono, Mateo Pellegrino, Beto and Christ Inao Oulai are among the new arrivals brought in during the rebuilding process, but Fiorentina are bottom of the table.
Their difficult start became even more turbulent on Sunday when head coach Fabio Grosso was sacked.
Elversberg stun Borussia Monchengladbach
After Deportivo’s impressive form in Spain, SV Elversberg have provided another source of surprise in Germany.
The Bundesliga newcomers opened their campaign by beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 after building a 3-0 lead. That result might have been dismissed as the excitement of a first appearance at the top level, but their latest comeback suggested otherwise.
Elversberg trailed Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 with 25 minutes remaining. Substitute Maurice Krattenmacher reduced the deficit shortly after entering the match, before Felix Keidel levelled the score with 10 minutes left.
Krattenmacher then completed the turnaround in stoppage time. His second goal, scored less than half an hour after coming on, sent the visiting supporters into celebration and lifted the promoted club into a share of top spot in the Bundesliga.
PSG’s poor Ligue 1 start
The two-time European champions and dominant force in French football are facing an unusually difficult beginning to their domestic season.
Paris Saint-Germain extended Luis Enrique’s contract until 2030 and announced the renewals of five players at the same time, but their results have not matched that show of confidence. They have drawn twice and lost once in their opening three Ligue 1 matches, their worst start in 19 years.
The latest disappointment came on Friday against Monaco. PSG surrendered a lead against one of their direct rivals, while Monaco have won every match since the arrival of new head coach Filipe Luis.
PSG have often begun slowly in the Champions League before finding another level in the knockout stages and going on to win the trophy. A poor domestic start is less familiar, however.
They are expected to improve, but for now PSG are among this weekend’s ‘losers’.
Barcelona maintain perfect record
Barcelona continue to look almost unstoppable in LaLiga. They have won every match so far, often by emphatic margins, with the latest victory a 5-0 demolition of Valencia at Mestalla.
Hansi Flick’s team are producing relentless attacking football despite operating without a recognised centre-forward. Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez have provided enough creativity and goals to make that absence appear far less significant.
Barcelona are already looking like the team everyone else must find a way to stop this season.
Real Madrid beaten by Betis
Real Madrid suffered their first LaLiga defeat of the season in their first major test of the campaign, losing away to Real Betis on Friday.
The match was played against a Betis side coached by Manuel Pellegrini, a long-standing rival of Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho. Madrid’s problems were compounded by a poor display from Vinicius Junior, an ineffective showing from Kylian Mbappe and a missed penalty for the France captain.
Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles also produced an outstanding performance, evoking memories of Iker Casillas as he repeatedly denied the visitors.
The defeat will not become a major concern if Madrid respond by beating Inter in their Champions League opener on Tuesday. Failure to win that match, though, could test Mourinho’s calmer and more approachable demeanour, particularly if frustration inside the Bernabeu turns into whistles.
With Barcelona continuing to win, Madrid cannot afford too many more setbacks.
Koeman the unlikely hero for Telstar
Ronald Koeman is the son of the former Netherlands and Barcelona defender who scored at Wembley to win Barcelona’s first European Cup. The younger Koeman plays in goal rather than in defence, but he is also becoming known for scoring.
The Barcelona-born goalkeeper is Telstar’s penalty taker and already rescued the club from relegation last season with an 89th-minute spot-kick.
He produced another decisive contribution against Cambuur at the weekend. Telstar were reduced to 10 men when Nokkvi Þorisson was sent off in the 22nd minute, and Cambuur moved 2-0 ahead early in the second half.
Koeman pulled one goal back from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute before scoring again in the 90th minute plus 11 to secure a dramatic draw.
Sparta Prague in trouble
Sparta Prague are another historic club struggling to find momentum. Sunday’s 2-1 defeat by Hradec Kralove was their second successive loss and their fourth defeat in seven league rounds.
The Czech giants have collected only nine points and are already eight points behind leaders Slavia Prague. They are level with Ostrava, who sit just above the relegation zone.
For the historically most successful club in the Czech Republic, the early evidence points towards a long and difficult season.