Hot Heads in Amsterdam

BUNDESLIGA (Germany)

We begin on Friday night in Germany, Stuttgart vs Darmstadt. Two goals and an assist from Serhou Guirassy led them to victory as he continued his superb form, he now has ten goals in five games so far this season, incredible numbers. The home side continued their positive start to the season with another win, making that four wins from five. The team they failed to overcome was RB Leipzig who are really impressing people this season. Leipzig was one of the eight Bundesliga teams who managed to put three points on the board this weekend in their game vs Borussia Monchengladbach. A Timo Werner goal in the last quarter of the game was the deciding moment as Leipzig picked up a 1-0 win in a tight game between the two sides. A struggling Monchengladbach side who sit 15^th in the table with only two points need to improve results fast.

There’s an opportunity for them to do so next week with a home game vs Bochum, who were thumped 7-0 by league leaders Bayern Munich this week. A game which was over before it started. 4-0 by half time. Harry Kane continuing his terrific start to life in Munich with three goals and two assists at the weekend. While it should be noted that the scoreline could’ve been much larger than seven if it wasn’t for Bochum keeper Manuel Riemann as Bayern had fifteen shots on target in the game. We leave Germany with Bayern Munich and Leverkusen joint top of the league with 13 points each, Bayern leading due to their unsurprising superior goal difference. 

LA LIGA (Spain)

There’s one team who are having the time of their life in La Liga and it’s Girona. Six games in with sixteen points, joint top of the league with Barcelona, they are killing it this season. A team who finished 10th last season after their promotion to La Liga in 2022. As a unit their team has been superb, a few to highlight are Sávio, Viktor Tsygankov, Yangel Herrera, and David López. Those who are aware of the backing Girona has from The City Football Group (Manchester City’s owners) may not be surprised by their impressive start. However, despite that credit should still be given to the Catalonian side, who again picked up three points this weekend with a 5-3 victory over Mallorca.

Another team from Catalonia also had an eventful game this weekend, Barcelona, from two goals behind they scored three in nine minutes to take three points from Celta Vigo. An 89^th minute winner from summer signing João Cancelo was the goal which was the difference when the final whistle sounded, keeping them joint top of the La Liga table. Moving onto Sunday, where the Madrid derby saw Ancelotti’s men lose for the first time this season. A double from Alvaro Morata and another from Antoine Griezmann was the difference in a 3-1 victory for Atletico. A game in which Real squandered chances but credit should be shown to Atletico for a solid performance versus their rivals.

SERIE A (Italy)

In Italy we saw a previously unbeaten Juventus side concede four vs Sassuolo. They were convincingly defeated 4-2 in a game where a great team performance and goals from Domenico Berardi, Armand Laurienté, and Andrea Pinamonti saw the home side finish victorious. A massive win for Sassoulo, who’s next game is a big one versus Internazionale. Simone Inzaghi’s Milan side is still unbeaten after a 1-0 win away at Empoli saw them stay top, collecting another three points to bring their total up to a maximum of fifteen, courtesy of a goal from Federico DiMarco and a wonderful performance from Hakan Calhonoglu leading them to yet another victory.

Over in Turin the points were shared as Torino drew 1-1 with Roma. The away side continuing their less than impressive start to the season despite winning 7-0 at home to Empoli last week. Jose Mourinho’s side sit 13^th with only one victory from their opening 5 games.

LIGUE 1 (France)

When we look to the Ligue 1 a sight we rarely see is a league table without Paris Saint-Germain top of it, however that is exactly the current predicament for the Qatari owned side. Instead, Brest is the unlikely side currently topping the table. The team who finished 14^th last season lead the rest of the pack with thirteen points from six games, adding three to this with their 1-0 victory over a poor Lyon side this weekend. Up next for them is Nice, who sit one place above PSG in second currently. A PSG side who lost Kylian Mbappe within the first half an hour of their game on Sunday night, an injury which manager Luis Enrique stated was “not serious, but there was pain”. Despite this they went on to beat Marseille 4-0 in a performance which really expressed this new PSG sides potential as a team without their key men from previous seasons, such as Marco Verrati, Neymar, and Lionel Messi. At the opposite end of the table Lens finally got their first win of the season vs Toulouse, Lens are a side struggling this season after the loss of their star striker Loïs Openda to RB Leipzig in the summer. They will be hoping to take this confidence from their win into their next game league versus Strasbourg.

ELSEWHERE

Let’s not forget Liga Portugal where both Sporting Lisbon and Porto remain unbeaten after wins this weekend for the pair. Sporting with a 2-0 victory over Rio Ave on Monday night and Porto taking all three points versus Gil Vicente in a 2-1 win at the Estádio do Dragão. An important win for the latter to take into their tough fixture versus Benfica later this week.

Finally, a team I just cannot finish without speaking about is Ajax. Sitting 14^th in the league with five points. Their game this weekend vs Feyenoord, De Klassieker, was abandoned just before the hour mark due to fan unrest. As the home side trailed 3-0, Ajax fan’s threw flares and fireworks onto the field before vandalising the stadium out of pure anger towards how their club has begun this season. Losing players such as Mohammed Kudus, Edson Álvarez, and Jurriën Timber really hasn’t helped the situation in Amsterdam, especially as new their new recruits haven’t kicked into gear quite yet. The game will resume at some point in the coming weeks with no fans to watch, as it was paused, Feyenoord leading 3-0.