Another entertaining weekend of European football action is in the books, with the main headlines going to Barcelona, sending a statement to Real Madrid with a 4-0 thrashing at the Santiago Bernabeu to remain top of LaLiga.
Meanwhile in the Premier League, Arsenal were unable to close the gap with league leaders Manchester City as they could only settle for a 2-2 draw against Arne Slot’s Liverpool. Meanwhile, Cole Palmer continues to create an instant impact for Chelsea as he was instrumental in the Blues beating Newcastle United 2-1.
In Germany, there was further disappointment for Borussia Dortmund as they lost 2-1 to FC Augsburg, while Bayern Munich continued to set the pace at the top of the Bundesliga. In France, Paris Saint-Germain made easy work against their rivals Marseille in Le Classique and in Italy, Internazionale and Juventus played out an eight-goal thriller that ended in a 4-4 draw.
What else happened around Europe this weekend? ESPN’s Weekend Review puts a bow on all the continental competition.
Top takeaway: Reds snatch crucial point away at the Emirates
Following the 2-2 draw between Manchester City and Arsenal last month, the second big clash between two title contenders this season in the Premier League offered another top game.
As we wait for Liverpool against Manchester City on Dec. 1, Arsenal against Liverpool didn’t disappoint on Sunday and also finished in a 2-2 draw. However, for the first time this season, Liverpool boss Slot admitted that his team, who had won 11 of their 12 games in all competitions, were second best.
The Gunners led twice but the Reds showed some character and great depth despite the absence of Diogo Jota. They never gave up while waiting for a mistake from their opponents. That mistake happened late and only after the North Londoners — who were already without Martin Ødegaard, Riccardo Calafiori and William Saliba — were further depleted by Gabriel’s injury and Jurriën Timber‘s cramps. Their back four for the last 20 minutes consisted of Thomas Partey, Ben White, Jakub Kiwior and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Mohamed Salah subsequently punished Arsenal’s makeshift defence and the draw felt a bit fortunate for Liverpool, but hard to take for the hosts. Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola, was watching at home on his sofa and surely enjoyed both teams dropping points.
It meant that his City side was not only top of the table but one point clear of Liverpool and five of Arsenal.
Best match: Brentford 4-3 Ipswich Town
On paper, Brentford against Ipswich might not have appealing on a Saturday afternoon, but it should have been because it was epic. The visitors led 2-0 before Frenchmen Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo changed everything to put their team 3-2 up. There was still time for Ipswich to come back to 3-3 just minutes before the final whistle. However, Mbeumo’s late dramatic 4-3 winner was enough to cap off an incredible game at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Best goal: Mateta’s winner gives Palace their first win
Once again, this is more about the assist than the finish itself. Eberechi Eze‘s superb back-heel pass for Jean-Philippe Mateta for Crystal Palace against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday was something else. And above all, it gave their team its first league win of the season.
MVP of the weekend: Chelsea‘s Cole Palmer
Another cold performance for the Chelsea star in their 2-1 win against Newcastle United. One goal, coming off a solo effort at the start of the second half which would prove to be the winner again and one wonderful through-ball for Pedro Neto who put it on a plate for Nicolas Jackson to score the opening goal. The England international might just be the best player in the Premier League at the moment.. — Julien Laurens
Hummels’ nightmare debut in Roma’s rout
Five months ago, Mats Hummels played in the Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid. He hadn’t played an official game until Sunday night with his new club AS Roma, away at Fiorentina. And let’s say that the evening didn’t go well at all for the 2014 World Cup winner.
After coming on in the 67th minute, Hummels took just four minutes to score an own goal, adding further insult to what was already a humiliating 5-1 defeat. After only making the bench in the last few games, his very anticipated debut was an absolute nightmare. It will join a long list of terrible debuts with the likes of Jonathan Woodgate with Real Madrid or Chris Smalling more recently in the Saudi league. — Laurens
