Real Madrid had an underwhelming return to LaLiga as they could only draw 0-0 away to Real Sociedad on Sunday in the first game of their title defense.
The champions looked rusty and particularly toothless up front, barely creating any chances of note in either half as Karim Benzema found little support in Brazilian teenage forwards Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo.
Andrea Pirlo’s first match as Juventus manager included debuts for 22-year-old American Weston McKennie and 20-year-old Swede Dejan Kulusevski, and both young talents did their manager proud in a 3-0 victory over Sampdoria at Allianz Stadium.
It was Kulusevski, the Serie A Best Young Player award-winner last season while on loan at Parma, who opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a left-footed curler from the edge of the area.
What a beauty!
RB Leipzig eased past Mainz 3-1 in their Bundesliga opener on Sunday to enjoy a successful start to league life without striker Timo Werner.
Werner joined Chelsea in the close season and missed their run to their Champions League semifinals in August but Leipzig had little trouble finding the back of the net against Mainz, striking twice in four minutes.
Emil Forsberg converted a 17th-minute penalty for a foul on Dani Olmo and Yussuf Poulsen rose high to drill in a header for the second goal.
Chelsea, winner of the 2020 Premier League summer transfer window, was defeated by England’s actual champion Liverpool 2-0 on Sunday in a match that’ll probably force the Blues to dip back into the market in a bid to replace the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.
Napoli pounced on two defensive mistakes to win 2-0 at Parma in their opening match of the season on Sunday as spectators returned to Serie A for the first time since March.
Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne got Napoli's campaign off to a winning start with second-half goals shortly after club record signing Victor Osimhen was brought on for his debut.
On Thursday, we highlighted what was almost certainly the quickest trip to the monitor by any referee in the VAR era. It took the ref less than a second to make a decision. On Sunday, during Brighton’s comprehensive 3-0 win over Newcastle at St. James’ Park, referee Kevin Friend wanted to spend a bit more time watching Yves Bissouma crack Jamal Lewis in the face.
France forward Kylian Mbappé marked his return to action with a vintage performance and a goal as champions Paris St Germain rediscovered their form with an impressive 3-0 win at Nice in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Mbappé, who missed the opening three games after contracting the coronavirus, fired PSG ahead with a 38th-minute penalty and had a big part in Angel Di Maria's strike before Marquinhos headed home the third in the second half.
Son Heung-min scored four goals set up by Harry Kane as Tottenham Hotspur came from a goal down to overwhelm Southampton 5-2 on Sunday and earn their first Premier League win of the season.
In an action-packed first half at St Mary's, both sides had a goal ruled out by VAR before Danny Ings finished well from a tight angle in the 32nd minute to put Southampton ahead.
LONDON — A late goal from substitute Eddie Nketiah gave Arsenal a 2-1 home win over West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday after Michail Antonio's first-half strike for the visitors had cancelled out Alexandre Lacazette's 50th goal for the Gunners.
West Ham were more organised playing with a five-man defence than in their opening 2-0 home loss to Newcastle United as they faced an Arsenal side fresh from a 3-0 win at promoted Fulham.
BERLIN — Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland scored twice and teenager Giovanni Reyna added another goal as they cruised past Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-0 in their season opener on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Haaland scored a 54th minute penalty, awarded for a foul on Reyna, and bagged another with a sensationally quick counter-attack and a Jadon Sancho assist as Dortmund utilised their fearsome youthful attacking weapons.