Welcome to The Euro Debrief, the Sky Sports column in which Adam Bate rounds up some of the key stories from the latest matches across the continent. This week across Europe’s top leagues, incredible goalscoring records were matched, unexpected contenders shook up the title races, and some of the world’s finest talents continued to stake their claims ahead of the upcoming Ballon d’Or ceremony.
LaLiga: Barca blow away Betis
"When you see the first goal he scored, unbelievable," said Hansi Flick of Lamine Yamal following Barcelona’s latest masterclass. "This is, for me, at the moment, the best player in the world."
It was an outrageous opener in his side’s 5-2 victory away to Real Betis as Barcelona made it nine wins from nine in LaLiga to start the campaign in blistering fashion. There is certainly nothing outrageous about Flick’s bold claim when considering the evidence on the pitch. The teenager’s manipulation of the football at high speed remains entirely unparalleled in modern football. Real Betis competed fiercely throughout the contest—with Giovani Lo Celso particularly unfortunate to have a sensational strike of his own controversially ruled out—but Barcelona’s collective firepower simply proved to be something else entirely.
The Catalan giants have now scored an astonishing 39 goals in their opening nine league games. This marks the best scoring start to a LaLiga season by any team in 86 years, alongside the longest winning run to begin a domestic campaign in 58 years. They will undoubtedly take some stopping, and it is arch-rivals Real Madrid who will be next to try and halt their relentless momentum.
Having been fortunate enough to attend the first El Clasico of last season, in which Lamine Yamal failed to back up pre-match comments accusing their great rivals of "stealing and complaining," it will be fascinating to see how this upcoming fixture plays out. The young winger was relatively becalmed that day, but one year on—and just one day before the prestigious Ballon d’Or ceremony in London—the momentum firmly rests with him. It presents a golden chance for this 10-out-of-10 player to help his thrilling Barcelona side secure 10 wins out of 10.
In truth, Real Madrid were just as impressive in their own fixture, cruising to a 4-1 victory over Sevilla. Arda Guler set the tone early with an ambitious, expertly angled finish at the Santiago Bernabeu, before Kylian Mbappe danced through the opposition defense for the first of his two goals, warming up for El Clasico in ominous style.
Despite the dominance of Spain’s traditional heavyweights, both Barcelona and Real Madrid are currently separated in the LaLiga table by Atletico Madrid, who sit proudly in second place. Diego Simeone’s side kept the pressure on thanks to Alex Baena, who stepped off the bench to produce a wonderfully composed finish into the side-netting to secure a dramatic late victory away against Espanyol.
Bundesliga: Bayern take top spot
Harry Kane has not given up on grabbing the Ballon d’Or for himself at next week’s ceremony, and he offered further compelling evidence for his case as Bayern Munich went one better than Barcelona, racking up six goals in a comprehensive dismantling of RB Leipzig.
The England captain marked his milestone 100th Bundesliga appearance by scoring one goal and setting up two more in a true demolition job at the Allianz Arena. The performance served as a welcome return to form for Bayern back in Bavaria following two consecutive draws away from home.
Luis Diaz scored three goals of his own elsewhere, and with various slip-ups hitting their rivals, normal service swiftly resumed in the Bundesliga with Bayern claiming top spot in the standings. Borussia Dortmund remain unbeaten, but they could only muster a disappointing goalless draw away to Union Berlin.
That means Dortmund will head into their upcoming clash against Eintracht Frankfurt—broadcast live on Sky Sports—still one point shy of the tally that seemed entirely secure when they were two goals up against Werder Bremen the previous week. Niclas Fullkrug changed that narrative then, and the prolific striker pulled off another dramatic rescue act on Saturday by scoring twice to salvage a point against Paderborn.
Freiburg, meanwhile, went into the weekend sitting proudly at the top of the table but suffered a frustrating 2-1 defeat away to Bayer Leverkusen despite opening the scoring. That man Patrik Schick netted the winner, continuing his remarkable run of having scored in all six of Leverkusen’s Bundesliga matches so far this season.
How Borussia Monchengladbach could do with any kind of winner from anyone right now. A weekly check-in on the five-time champions of Germany reveals that they remain entirely pointless at the foot of the table after suffering yet another 2-1 home defeat, this time at the hands of Hoffenheim. They have a new coach in the dugout, but the old, familiar problems persist.
Eintracht Frankfurt have recently parted ways with their sporting director Markus Krosche, but the ultimate feel-good story in German football continues as newcomers Elversberg secured a thrilling 4-3 victory over Augsburg at home. Few pundits fancied them to win many games this term, yet remarkably, this was already their second 4-3 triumph of the campaign.
Serie A: Lazio stun Juventus
Inter Milan came from behind to secure a hard-fought victory away at Bologna, allowing them to remain at the summit of the Serie A table in Italy. However, they are certainly not the biggest talking point in Italian football right now. That accolade firmly belongs to Lazio following their remarkable 3-0 victory over Juventus in Turin, a result that underscores their astonishing run of form.
This was already their best-ever start to a Serie A campaign, but the victory in Turin was their most emphatic statement yet, highlighting an unexpected and dramatic improvement under the guidance of Gennaro Gattuso. Entering the campaign, the club had sold a minuscule number of season tickets amid deep divisions between frustrated fans and the owner-president.
Yet, the team has been an absolute revelation, with numerous players elevating their performances to new heights. Oliver Provstgaard opened the scoring against Juve with a glancing header—only the second top-division goal of his career, with his previous effort having come for Vejle in his native Denmark.
His compatriot Gustav Isaksen also got on the scoresheet, while Mattia Zaccagni has been magnificent and Nuno Tavares is currently playing in the form of his life. The trend is evident across the squad; Davide Frattesi failed to score a single goal for Inter last season but recently netted in three consecutive games. One must wonder: dare Lazio genuinely dream of Scudetto glory?
Their cross-town rivals Roma might have something to say about that. Roma remain unbeaten themselves and will take immense encouragement from a comfortable victory over Genoa, achieved even without the services of Donyell Malen, their star striker who was forced to serve a suspension.
Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan side are also yet to suffer defeat, despite experiencing a late wobble against Atalanta before holding on for a tense 3-2 victory. It was not such good news for Napoli, however, as they slipped to a narrow defeat away at Venezia, compounded by Kevin De Bruyne having a tame penalty kick saved.
Ligue 1: Lyon now on top
Paris Saint-Germain briefly clambered their way to the top of the Ligue 1 table on Saturday as Luis Enrique continued his patient policy of introducing his most devastating match-winners from the substitutes’ bench. Strasbourg were leading by a goal until Ousmane Dembele was introduced to the action.
Dembele initially squandered a golden opportunity to equalize from the penalty spot, but he quickly atoned by providing the assist for the leveling goal before netting what proved to be the winner himself. Fellow substitute Desire Doue added gloss to the scoreline with a strike in stoppage-time, perfectly highlighting the immense squad depth at the Parisian club.
Elsewhere, the evergreen Olivier Giroud, now 40 years old, scored from the penalty spot to earn a valuable point for Lille, while a resurgent Marseille side cruised to a 5-2 victory away at Angers. Both Monaco and Rennes missed golden opportunities to claim top spot after suffering away defeats to Lorient and Paris FC respectively.
Liam Rosenior’s Paris FC team triumphed 4-3, keeping them level on points with their illustrious neighbors from the capital after an exceptional start to his tenure. Nevertheless, it is Lyon who currently sit at the summit of the Ligue 1 table, hanging on desperately with 10 men to secure a hard-fought 2-1 home win against Nice.
Elsewhere: History in Sweden
There was a rare defeat for reigning champions PSV in the Netherlands, as they were stunned in stoppage-time by Den Haag. Meanwhile, the Portuguese league took a brief weekend break, but over in Turkey, praise must go to Youssoufa Moukoko, who scored a dramatic late winner for his new side Corum.
His clever finish marked the Germany international’s first goal since joining on loan as he attempts to revitalize a career that has lost momentum since his breakout days at Borussia Dortmund, where Erling Haaland once described him as the brightest young talent anywhere in the world.
It was a delight to be in Denmark earlier in the week to see Moukoko’s parent club, Copenhagen, pull off a 3-0 surprise victory against Braga, fueled by two superb finishes from former Cardiff striker Andreas Cornelius, with the 33-year-old veteran doing his absolute best Haaland impression. Unfortunately, Cornelius missed Copenhagen’s subsequent draw with AGF after picking up a suspension for suggesting the referee had acted as FC Midtjylland’s twelfth man the previous weekend.
Hopping over the Oresund Bridge, attention turned to the travails of Malmo in Sweden. The Swedish powerhouse won the Allsvenskan in both 2023 and 2024, but they find themselves languishing down in seventh place following a 1-0 home defeat to Hacken. Instead, it is the lesser-known Sirius who occupy top spot with six games remaining, despite conceding a stoppage-time equalizer that left them eight points clear at the summit.
These are truly topsy-turvy times in Swedish football, as Sirius stand on the brink of emulating Mjallby’s historic achievement of becoming first-time winners of the Allsvenskan. Remarkably, the last time the Swedish top flight witnessed back-to-back first-time champions was way back in 1944—an era when Malmo themselves claimed their maiden title.