After the grand unveiling of UEFA's new-look Champions League took centre stage in midweek, with goal-crazy Bayern Munich immediately going top of the table, domestic football was back under the spotlight around Europe this weekend.
Bayern were at it again on Saturday, as they found the net for the 20th time in just a week, shortly after Ligue 1 side Nice had helped themselves to a hatful on Friday evening.
Elsewhere, Barcelona and Real Madrid ruthlessly maintained their unbeaten runs in La Liga, Serie A's Milan derby reached a dramatic conclusion, and Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen were back in never-say-die mode on Sunday.
Here, Sports Mole rounds up the weekend's action from across the continent.
Bundesliga highlights
Having thumped six past Holstein Kiel last week, then thrashed Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in the Champions League, a merciless Bayern Munich side made it 20 goals in one week when they visited Werder Bremen at the Weserstadion.
Amid a cast of attacking stars, Michael Olise shone brightest, as he first opened the scoring before setting up Jamal Musiala for Bayern's second.
The France forward later laid on Harry Kane's 41st Bundesliga goal, which made the ex-Tottenham Hotspur striker the highest-scoring English player in German league history, managing the feat in just 36 appearances.
Olise then netted his fifth in three games before Serge Gnabry scored number five: Bayern's summer signing has now produced a goal involvement every 41 minutes since arriving from Crystal Palace.
The Bavarian giants also continued their perfect Bundesliga start under new boss Vincent Kompany, as they aim to regain the Meisterschale.
Meanwhile, last week's victims Holstein Kiel finally picked up their first top-tier point ever, as a late equaliser earned them a 2-2 draw at VfL Bochum.
A day later, Bayer Leverkusen pulled off another stunning comeback to add to last season's feats, as they twice fought back from a goal down to beat Wolfsburg, with Victor Boniface scoring the 93rd-minute winner in a 4-3 home win.
And, shortly after scoring for Stuttgart at the Bernabeu, Deniz Undav bagged a brace as last term's shock runners-up Stuttgart thrashed Borussia Dortmund 5-1, consigning BVB to their first Bundesliga defeat of the season.
Ligue 1 highlights
An evening that will live long in the memory... ❤🖤 pic.twitter.com/gIo6Wohus9
— OGC Nice 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@ogcnice_eng) September 21, 2024
Perhaps taking their inspiration from Bayern's exploits in Europe, Nice became the first team to score at least six goals in the first half of a Ligue 1 game this century, as they crushed Saint-Etienne 8-0 on Friday night.
Recording their biggest-ever top-flight win, the home side were inspired by Mohamed-Ali Cho, who scored the third goal and provided assists for three others as Les Aiglons ran riot.
In the 'Olimpico' - between Olympique Marseille and Olympique Lyon - a five-goal thriller started with Marseille's Leonardo Balerdi being sent off within the first five minutes.
Alexandre Lacazette missed a penalty just before the break, and OM somehow took a 2-1 lead into second-half stoppage time. Rayan Cherki seemed to have rescued a point for OL with a backheeled finish, only for Marseille substitute Jonathan Rowe to strike back immediately for an improbable 3-2 victory.
Rowe decided the Olympico with an incredible goal! 🏴🔥 pic.twitter.com/AiqbIfhxjv
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) September 22, 2024
Roberto De Zerbi's side are now level on points with Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco at the top, after PSG posted a fifth win from five to remain unbeaten in 26 Ligue 1 away matches.
Ousmane Dembele's second-half equaliser earned them a 1-1 draw at Reims, as the France winger made an almost immediate impact after arriving from the bench.
Elsewhere in France, former Liverpool and Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll sensationally scored twice as a substitute for a Bordeaux team founded in the ashes of the club's recent financial implosion.
FIRST MATCH AND FIRST TWO GOALS BY ANDY CARROLL WITH BORDEAUX 🏴🔥
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) September 21, 2024
📸 @girondins pic.twitter.com/ZdBwWVFdUv
His goals helped salvage a 2-2 draw for the former Ligue 1 giants, who were champions of France just 15 years ago but must now play in the fourth tier.
Capped nine times by England - including at Euro 2012 - Carroll's new club sit 15th of 16 teams in their division, though they still have games in hand.
La Liga highlights
What a cross by Vini Jr 🪄
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) September 21, 2024
Real Madrid finally lead against Espanyol as Rodrygo scores from close range ⚪ pic.twitter.com/GGYRmpIfSw
Vinicius Junior came off the bench to score one goal and set up another as La Liga champions Real Madrid ultimately cruised to a 4-1 win over Espanyol on Saturday.
Thibaut Courtois erred by scoring an own goal to put his side 1-0 down, but the Belgian goalkeeper was spared by his teammates, as Rodrygo levelled matters and Vini Jr then took centre stage.
Real later became the first team to net five penalties after just six games of a La Liga season, when Kylian Mbappe joined Karim Benzema as the only Madrid players to score from the spot in three consecutive league matches so far this century.
As a result, Los Blancos remained in second place on 14 points - four behind leaders Barcelona, who thrashed Villarreal 5-1 on Sunday.
The Catalan giants maintained their perfect start with a sixth consecutive victory, as Robert Lewandowski scored twice in the first half to put them in control.
Madrid may have gone 37 straight games without defeat in La Liga - which is the third-best unbeaten run throughout the competition's history, after Barca in 2018 and Real Sociedad in 1980 - but Hansi Flick's men are still leading the way this term.
Serie A highlights
LATE DRAMA IN THE MILAN DERBY! 🍿
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 22, 2024
Boyhood fan Matteo Gabbia may have just scored an 89th-minute winner! pic.twitter.com/4Lcm6qpULE
The unlikely figure of Matteo Gabbia dramatically ended AC Milan's six-game derby drought as his late header snatched a 2-1 win over city rivals Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina.
Christian Pulisic and Federico Dimarco had traded goals during the first half at San Siro, and the game seemed to be heading for a stalemate after a run of six straight Inter wins; however, boyhood Milan fan Gabbia had other ideas.
When his chance arrived, the big centre-back powered home an 89th-minute header from a perfectly placed Tijjani Reijnders free-kick, hauling the Rossoneri level on points with their Nerazzurri rivals.
Elsewhere in Italy, two stoppage-time strikes turned the game on its head as promoted Parma fought back to salvage a remarkable 2-2 draw at Lecce, with both teams down to 10 men.
It's never over until it's over ⌚#LecceParma pic.twitter.com/6dIDBo6ELt
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) September 22, 2024
Having let leads slip several times since returning to Calcio's elite level as Serie B champions, Parma this time pulled off a last-gasp escape, with goals from ex-Lecce winger Pontus Almqvist and Antoine Hainaut dragging them level at Via del Mare.
It was only the second time that the Crociati have ever scored twice after the 90th minute in a Serie A fixture.
Saturday's blockbuster showdown between Juventus and Napoli was a far less dramatic affair, though, as ex-Juve boss Antonio Conte left Turin with a hard-earned point in his pocket.
The teams played out a disappointing goalless draw, with Conte's Napoli having come into the contest on the back of a three-match winning streak and the hosts fresh from beating PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
Remarkably, Juventus have now drawn three consecutive league games 0-0 for the first time since 1992, when legendary coach Giovanni Trapattoni was in charge of the Bianconeri.
A fine header to restore the Granata's advantage 😎#VeronaTorino 1-2 pic.twitter.com/2fGLhSfzqh
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) September 20, 2024
On Sunday, Roma won their first game since firing club hero Daniele De Rossi - beating recent Serie A leaders Udinese 3-0 - and Fiorentina fought out a 2-1 home win over Lazio.
Two days earlier, Torino's Duvan Zapata had scored an eighth straight headed goal in the Granata's 3-2 win at Hellas Verona: that is at least two more than anyone else across Europe's top five leagues in 2024 - Alexander Sorloth is his closest challenger, with six.
And, in Cagliari, an incredibly long drought finally came to its end: Empoli forward Sebastiano Esposito scored his second goal in the Italian top flight some 1,735 days after his first - a penalty against for Inter Milan, on 21 December 2019.
Jonathan O'Shea
