Real Madrid continued their flawless start to the La Liga season with a routine 4-0 victory over newly-promoted Málaga at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday, blitzing their opponents with three goals inside the opening 30 minutes before a late fourth sealed the rout.
Jude Bellingham was at the heart of the early dominance, breaking the deadlock in the 19th minute with a stunning solo effort. The England midfielder surged through the middle of the pitch after collecting a loose ball, skipped past three Málaga defenders, and finished low past goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero.
Madrid doubled their advantage seven minutes later in bizarre fashion. Herrero could only parry away a Kylian Mbappé effort, and after Bellingham nodded the rebound back goalward, the Málaga goalkeeper collided with a teammate as they scrambled to clear, the ball spilling into the net for an own goal.
Mbappé got directly on the scoresheet in the 30th minute, meeting a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold with a clean, well-struck volley from the centre of the box to make it 3-0 before the half-hour mark. The second half was far quieter until substitute Arda Guler, who had barely been on the pitch, combined with Vinícius Júnior in stoppage time — feeding the Brazilian before tapping home the return pass to complete the scoring.
The result leaves Madrid top of the table with nine points from three matches, two points clear of Atlético Madrid and Alavés. Barcelona, currently fourth on six points, have a game in hand and were due to host Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
Elsewhere in Spain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued his fine early-season form, scoring for a third consecutive match as Deportivo La Coruña defeated Valencia 3-1 for their first win since returning to the top flight. The former Arsenal and Chelsea striker, who arrived from Marseille over the summer, netted his side's second goal of the afternoon.
In England, Chelsea kept their own perfect start intact under manager Xabi Alonso, though they were made to work for it in a dramatic 4-3 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge. The seven-goal thriller saw the hosts hold off a spirited fightback from the visitors to preserve their unbeaten record.
Across Europe, there was drama elsewhere too. Napoli suffered a surprise 2-1 home defeat to Como in Serie A, with all three goals arriving inside a lively first half. Martin Baturina opened the scoring for the visitors after good work from winger Assane Diao, before Rasmus Højlund levelled for Napoli on the half-hour. Como restored their lead almost immediately when a mistake from André-Frank Zambo Anguissa gifted possession to Baturina, whose pass set up Tasos Douvikas to net the winner.
In Italy, defending champions Inter Milan made it two wins from two as Hakan Calhanoglu's early strike proved enough for a 1-0 victory away at Cagliari. The Turkish midfielder finished first-time from the edge of the box after just nine minutes. Inter had to survive a nervy finish as Cagliari pushed for a late equaliser, with new signing Curtis Jones making his debut for the club off the bench.
In France, Monaco moved top of Ligue 1 as the only side with a perfect two-from-two record, beating Marseille 2-0 thanks to a brace from Paris Brunner. Brunner headed home a Aleksandr Golovin cross in the 13th minute before doubling his tally just after the hour mark, racing onto a long ball and calmly slotting home at the far post.
In Germany, Yuito Suzuki scored a hat-trick as Freiburg thrashed Werder Bremen 4-1, while Schalke's return to the Bundesliga got off to a poor start as they were beaten 3-0 at Augsburg after being reduced to 10 men.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football and BBC Sport Football.