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While Bayern Munich and Liverpool enjoyed their weekend, there was not so much for the likes of Manchester United and Roma to cheer about. Meanwhile, many fine goals were scored, but not against Chelsea‘s unbeatable goalkeeper.

Here are Tom Hamilton, Sam Marsden and Mark Ogden to discuss the big stuff you need to know from around Europe.

Go to: Talking points | Top goals | Troubled teams | Weekend MVP


Four talking points

Brilliant Bayern serve ominous warning

Take notice, rest of Europe. In what was a top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash in name and position only, Bayern Munich were so dominant at Bayer Leverkusen that they led 5-0 after just 39 minutes and were able to take off Alphonso Davies — who was fantastic, but coming off World Cup qualifying exertions for Canada — before half-time for a rest.

It ended 5-1 and what is really scary for Bayern’s rivals is that, in the early stages of Julian Nagelsmann’s tenure, they look an improved outfit on last season. The new manager has his side pushing higher up the field and, though that means there is more space in the back, the speed of centre-backs Lucas Hernandez and Dayot Upamecano mean they are less susceptible to counter-attacks.

On the left, Leroy Sane has prospered in the half-space and combines brilliantly with Davies, who is loving life as an inverted wing-back. Elsewhere, Thomas Muller plays just right of middle, but such is Bayern’s tactical fluidity that they shift seamlessly from a 3-4-3, to a 4-2-3-1, to a 4-4-1-1.

Allied with that unpredictability is ruthlessness in front of goal that has seen the German champions score 29 goals in eight league games this season. At Leverkusen, Robert Lewandowski added two more — the first a delightful back-heeled flick — while Serge Gnabry also claimed a brace and Muller’s inner thigh accounted for the other in what was a statement win. — Hamilton

Salah shows he is No. 1

Is Mohamed Salah the best player in the world? Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was in no doubt after his star forward’s sensational performance in the 5-0 Premier League win at Watford.

“He is top. We all see it,” Klopp said. “Who is better than him?”

Even before Salah’s display at Vicarage Road, it would be difficult to argue that the Egypt international has not elevated himself into the bracket occupied by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and Salah’s incredible solo goal against Claudio Ranieri’s team — and his sublime assist for Sadio Mane — gave Klopp justification to label the 29-year-old as the best.

Liverpool have played 10 games in all competitions this season and Salah has scored in nine of them. His goal at Watford was Messi-like — a mazy dribble, sharp turn and pinpoint finish — and followed another world-class strike against Man City earlier this month. Salah can seemingly do anything with a ball at his feet and is as important to Liverpool as once were Eric Cantona and Thierry Henry to Man United and Arsenal respectively. — Ogden

Real Sociedad continue to impress

A last-minute strike from youngster Julen Lobete gave La Real victory over Mallorca and take Imanol Alguacil’s side three points clear atop LaLiga on a weekend that saw Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid idle.

Real Sociedad are unbeaten in eight games since an opening weekend loss to Barcelona, but had to work hard to claim their latest win; they played the whole of the second half with 10 men after Aihen Munoz was sent off and rode their luck at times before Lobete netted the winner with more than a little help from Mallorca goalkeeper Manolo Reina.

The win coincided with a capacity crowd being allowed to return to Anoeta, which allowed the club to finally celebrate its 2019-20 Copa del Rey trophy — won earlier this year — with fans. Now supporters will dream of following up with the Spanish title. — Marsden

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Man United must improve at home to avoid more woe

Their record-breaking 29-game unbeaten Premier League run away from home — a sequence stretching back to a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool in January 2020 — finally came to an end at Leicester and must be marked as a fine achievement, but the run has papered over cracks at Man United and spared Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from greater scrutiny over results at Old Trafford.

In that same period, United have lost eight of 31 league fixtures at home, amassing just 53 points from a possible 93. Back-to-back wins at the start of this season have been followed by defeat to Aston Villa and a fortunate draw against Everton. Improvement is desperately needed to avoid dropping out of the top four race.

It will not be easy: Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal are the next three league visitors to Old Trafford and United collected just one point — in a 0-0 draw against City — from those fixtures last season. So unless things change, only another lengthy unbeaten away run can prevent another underachieving campaign. — Ogden

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Janusz Michallik discusses the future of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Man United’s 4-2 defeat vs. Leicester.


Three must-see goals

Ansu Fati‘s amazing effort

Since returning from injury, Ansu has done nothing to quell the expectation placed on his shoulders after he inherited Lionel Messi’s No.10 shirt at Barcelona. The 18-year-old scored in his first game for 10 months in September and was on target again on Sunday to mark his first Barca start for 344 days.

Ronald Koeman’s side were a goal down to Valencia when Ansu took possession on the left in the 13th minute. He shimmied inside, played a give-and-go with Memphis Depay and then, without even looking up, unleashed a fierce drive into the bottom corner from 20 yards. Ansu later won a penalty, which was converted by Memphis, as Barcelona claimed a much-needed win. — Marsden

Hofmann’s hit rescues Gladbach

Borussia Monchengladbach will wonder exactly how they managed to get just one point at home against Stuttgart, but the match will be remembered for two wonderful goals.

While on-loan Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos‘ opener for Stuttgart was a superb driven effort from 30 yards out, Jonas Hofmann‘s 42nd-minute equaliser just edges it. Stuttgart managed to scramble away a cross, only for Hofmann to bring the ball down on the edge of the box, then angled a wonderful shot past Fabian Bredlow. — Hamilton

Kovalenko scores stunner for Spezia

After being frustrated by the heroics of Salernitana keeper Vid Belec for 75 minutes, Spezia’s Viktor Kovalenko came up with something outstanding, not just to find the net, but to secure a vital victory for his side.

The Ukrainian international, who is on loan from Atalanta, found a way through as he curled home a wonderful shot from the edge of the box. The finish matched the goal’s build-up, which featured great footwork from Suf Podgoreanu to help tee up Kovalenko. — Hamilton


Two teams that should be worried

Mourinho’s honeymoon in Rome is over

Jose Mourinho returned to Turin for the first time since taunting Juventus fans when he won there as Man United manager in 2018, but there was no ear-cupping this time as Moise Kean‘s fortuitous early header proved decisive.

Roma could have levelled, but Jordan Veretout missed from the penalty spot just before half-time after Henrikh Mkhitaryan had been fouled. There was an element of controversy, given Tammy Abraham went on to score after the foul, but the whistle had already been blown.

After three straight wins to open the campaign, Mourinho’s men have lost three of their last five in Serie A and they face Napoli and AC Milan — both unbeaten and in the top two — before the end of October. Roma are fourth, but Lazio, Atalanta and Juve are within one point. — Marsden

New manager bounce unlikely for Watford

Watford are on their seventh manager since 2017, and while some clubs get an early boost from a change of coach, the Vicarage Road side were dismal against Liverpool in Claudio Ranieri’s debut, with sloppy defending and tactical naivety contributing to a 5-0 defeat.

And things are not about to get any easier: After a trip to Everton and a match at home to Southampton, Watford face Arsenal, Man United, Leicester, Chelsea and Man City. A subsequent trip to Brentford means it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Ranieri comes away from his first eight matches with no more than a couple of points.

“I knew before coming that I had to work very, very hard and I am ready to work,” the Italian said after the Liverpool game; he knows Watford must click — fast — if they are to prevent being cut adrift at the foot of the Premier League alongside Norwich. — Hamilton


MVP of the weekend

Mendy magic saves Chelsea

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Janusz Michallik doesn’t see reason to worry for Chelsea, despite relying on Edouard Mendy at Brentford.

With Malang Sarr making his Premier League debut in a Chelsea defence shorn of Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger, Chelsea were vulnerable at Brentford, for whom forwards Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo created opportunities aplenty. That they did not break through, however, was down to the wonderful Edouard Mendy.

After a quiet opening hour, the goalkeeper was called into action during the game’s final third, making brilliant close-range saves from Toney, Saman Ghoddos and Pontus Jansson. But the Senegal international kept his best for last and the denial of Christian Norgaard‘s overhead kick ensured Chelsea went home with three points and a clean sheet.

Mendy’s display made a mockery of his Ballon D’Or shortlist snub and Tuchel was hugely thankful, saying: “He was absolutely decisive [for us] to escape with a clean sheet. He was very strong, throughout the whole match.” — Hamilton

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Sovereignty rallies to win Jim Dandy at Saratoga

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Sovereignty rallies to win Jim Dandy at Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes champion Sovereignty rallied after losing position heading into the final turn to win the $500,000 Jim Dandy by a length at Saratoga on Saturday.

Ridden by Junior Alvarado, Sovereignty ran nine furlongs in 1:49.52 and paid $3 to win as the 1-2 favorite against four rivals, the smallest field of his career.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said Sovereignty would be pointed toward the $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 23 at the upstate New York track.

Approaching the turn, there were a few tense moments as it appeared Sovereignty was retreating when losing position to the advancing Baeza and deep closers Sandman and Hill Road, leaving Sovereignty in last for a few strides.

Alvarado said he never had a doubt that Sovereignty would come up with his expected run.

“It was everybody else moving and at that time I was just like, ‘Alright let me now kind of start picking it up,'” Alvarado said. “I had 100% confidence. I knew what I had underneath me.”

Baeza, third to Sovereignty in both the Derby and Belmont, finished second. Hill Road was another 9¼ lengths back in third. Mo Plex was fourth and Sandman fifth.

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Briscoe wins Brickyard 400 pole, his 5th of season

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Briscoe wins Brickyard 400 pole, his 5th of season

INDIANAPOLIS — Chase Briscoe became the first driver to win poles at NASCAR’s first three crown jewel races in one season Saturday, taking the Brickyard 400 pole with a fast lap of 183.165 mph.

His late run bumped Bubba Wallace out of the top starting spot.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won nine career poles, five coming this season including those at the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and now the only race held in Briscoe’s home state. He’ll have a chance to complete a crown jewel sweep at the Southern 500 in late August.

Briscoe has the most pole wins this season, his latest coming on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval. It also came on the same weekend his sister was married in Indiana. Briscoe has never won the Brickyard.

Wallace starts next to Briscoe on the front row after posting a lap of 183.117 mph. Those two also led a pack of five Toyotas to the front of the field — marking the first time the engine manufacturer has swept the top five spots.

Qualifying was held after a brief, rescheduled practice session. Friday’s practice was rained out.

Briscoe’s teammate, Ty Gibbs, has the early edge in the championship round of NASCAR’s first In-Season Challenge. He qualified fifth at 182.445. Ty Dillon starts 26th. The winner will be crowned champion and walk away with $1 million.

Last week’s race winner Denny Hamlin faces a major hurdle in winning his first Brickyard title. He crashed hard during qualifying and will start from the back of the field, 39th, as he tries to become the fifth driver to complete a career sweep of the Cup’s crown jewel races. The 44-year-old Hamlin signed a two-year contract extension with JGR on Friday.

Defending race winner Kyle Larson starts 13th.

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Building the perfect trade deadline for the Mets and Phillies

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Building the perfect trade deadline for the Mets and Phillies

There’s plenty of history in the rivalry between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. It’s about 116 miles from Citi Field to Citizens Bank Park. The two teams been competing for the NL East since 1969. Star players from Tug McGraw to Jerry Koosman to Lenny Dykstra to Pedro Martinez to Zack Wheeler have played for both franchises. Mets fans loathe the Phanatic, and Phillies fans laugh derisively at Mr. Met.

Despite this longevity, the two teams have rarely battled for a division title in the same season. The only years they finished No. 1 and 2 or were battling for a division lead late in the season:

  • 1986: Mets finished 21.5 games ahead

  • 2001: Both finished within six games of the Braves

  • 2006: Mets finished 12 games ahead

  • 2007: Phillies finished one game ahead

  • 2008: Phillies finished three games ahead

  • 2024: Phillies finished six games ahead of Mets and Braves

So it’s a rare treat to see the Mets and Phillies battling for the NL East lead in as New York faces the San Francisco Giants on “Sunday Night Baseball” this week. This season has also been a bit of bumpy ride for both teams, so there is pressure on both front offices to make trade deadline additions in hopes of winning the World Series that has eluded both franchises in recent years despite high payrolls and star-laden rosters. Let’s dig into what both teams need to do before Thursday.

The perfect trade deadline for the Mets

1. Bullpen help

The Mets already acquired hard-throwing lefty Gregory Soto from the Orioles, but David Stearns will likely look for another reliever, given that the Mets’ bullpen has struggled since the beginning of June with a 5.02 ERA. In my grade of the trade, I pointed out the importance for the Mets to add left-handed relief. Think of potential playoff opponents and all the key left-handed batters: Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper on the Phillies; Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy on the Dodgers; Kyle Tucker, Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong on the Cubs.

Soto has held lefties to a .138 average this season, and it does help that the Mets have two lefty starters in David Peterson and Sean Manaea. They also just activated Brooks Raley after he had been out since early 2024. If he is back to his 2022-23 form, when he had a 2.74 ERA and held lefties to a .209 average, maybe the Mets will feel good enough about their southpaw relief.

They could still use another dependable righty reliever. Mets starters were hot early on, but they weren’t going deep into games, and outside of Peterson, the lack of longer outings is a big reason the bullpen ERA has skyrocketed. Carlos Mendoza has overworked his setup guys, including Huascar Brazoban and Reed Garrett. Brazoban has never been much of a strike thrower anyway, and Garrett similarly faded in the second half last season. Adding a high-leverage righty to set up Edwin Diaz makes sense. Candidates there include David Bednar of the Pirates, Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals, Griffin Jax or Jhoan Duran of the Twins, or maybe a longer shot such as Emmanuel Clase or Cade Smith of the Guardians.

2. Think big, as in Eugenio Suarez

Mark Vientos was a huge key to last season’s playoff appearance and trip to the NLCS, hitting .266/.322/.516 with 27 home runs after beginning the season in Triple-A. He hasn’t been able to replicate that performance, though, hitting .224/.279/.354. That has led to a revolving door at third base, with Vientos, Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio starting games there in July. Overall, Mets third basemen ranked 24th in the majors in OPS entering Friday.

Lack of production at third is one reason the Mets’ offense has been mediocre rather than very good — they’re averaging 4.38 runs per game, just below the NL average of 4.43. They could use another premium bat, given the lack of production they’ve received from center field and catcher (not to mention Francisco Lindor‘s slump since the middle of June). Maybe Francisco Alvarez‘s short stint back in Triple-A will get his bat going now that he’s back in the majors, but going after Suarez to hit behind Juan Soto and Pete Alonso would lengthen the lineup.

3. Reacquire Harrison Bader to play CF

Tyrone Taylor is a plus defender in center and has made several incredible catches, but he’s hitting .209/.264/.306 for a lowly OPS+ of 65. Old friend Bader is having a nice season with the Twins, hitting .251/.330/.435. Maybe that’s a little over his head, given that he had a .657 OPS with the Mets last season, but he would still be an offensive upgrade over Taylor without losing anything on defense — and he wouldn’t cost a top-tier prospect. The Mets could still mix in Jeff McNeil against the really tough righties, but adding Suarez and Bader would give this lineup more of a championship feel.

The perfect deadline for the Phillies

1. Acquire Jhoan Duran

Like the Mets, the Phillies already made a move here, signing free agent David Robertson, who had a 3.00 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 72 innings last season with the Rangers. On paper, he should help, but he’s also 40 and will need a few games in the minors to get ready. Even with Robertson, the Phillies could use some more help here. They’ll eventually get Jose Alvarado back from his 60-game PED suspension, but Alvarado is ineligible for the postseason. At least the Mets have an elite closer in Edwin Diaz. Jordan Romano leads the Phillies with eight saves and has a 6.69 ERA. Matt Strahm is solid, but more useful as a lefty setup guy than a closer (think of all those left-handed batters we listed for the Mets, then sub out Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo for Harper and Schwarber).

And the Phillies’ bullpen has consistently come up short in big games. Think back to last year’s NLDS, when Jeff Hoffman lost twice to the Mets. Or 2023, when Craig Kimbrel lost two games in the NLCS against the Diamondbacks. Or the 2022 World Series, when Yordan Alvarez hit the huge home run off Alvarado in the clinching Game 6.

So, yes, a shutdown closer is a must. Maybe that’s Bednar, maybe Clase if he’s available (although he struggled in last year’s postseason), maybe Helsley. But the guy Dave Dombrowski should go all-in to get: Duran. The window for the Phillies is slowly closing as the core players get older. Duran is under control through 2027, so he’s a fit for now and the immediate future. The trade cost might be painful, but with his 100 mph fastball and splitter, he has the elite stuff you need in October.

2. Add Ryan O’Hearn

The Phillies have received below-average production from both left field (mostly Max Kepler) and center field (Brandon Marsh/Johan Rojas platoon). The center-field market is pretty thin except for Bader or maybe a gamble on Luis Robert Jr. I’d pass on Robert, stick with the Marsh/Rojas platoon and upgrade left field with O’Hearn, who is hitting .281/.375/.452 for the Orioles. He isn’t the perfect fit since, like Kepler, he hits left-handed and struggles against lefties, but he’s a patient hitter with a much better OBP, and he’s passable in the outfield.

3. Acquire Willi Castro

Here’s the bottom line: The Phillies have to admit that some of their long-term position players aren’t getting the job done — such as second baseman Bryson Stott, who has a 77 OPS+. Third baseman Alec Bohm has been better but also has a below-average OPS.

That makes Castro a nice fit. He’s not a star, but he’s an above-average hitter, a switch-hitter who plays all over the field for the Twins, having started games at five different positions. He could play second or third or start in left field against a lefty. Philadelphia could even start him in center instead of Rojas, although that would be a defensive hit. Bottom line: Castro would give the Phillies a lot more versatility — or a significant offensive upgrade over Stott if they start him every day at second.

Note as well: Stott has hit .188 in 33 career postseason games. Bohm has hit .214 with two home runs in 34 postseason games. The Phillies need a different offensive look for October.

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