European football served up a packed slate of fixtures and off-field developments this weekend, headlined by Liverpool's first Premier League win of the season and a stunning cup upset in Spain.
Liverpool secured their opening victory of the campaign with a 2-0 win away at Ipswich Town on Friday night, following back-to-back 2-2 draws to start the season. Alexander Isak was the architect of the result, netting twice inside the first ten minutes at Portman Road. The performance also marked the debut of new signing Bradley Barcola for the Merseyside club. Isak's brace lifted him level with Bruno Fernandes atop the early Golden Boot standings, both players sitting on three goals apiece heading into the weekend's fixtures.
Despite the defeat, Ipswich manager Gary O'Neil struck a positive tone when reflecting on his side's display. "I thought we were excellent. I was really proud of the group," O'Neil said. "Two mistakes obviously in the first nine minutes, which made it very difficult, but to respond the way they did, to probably be the better side and edge it from that moment on, more shots, an unbelievable response." He added: "So very pleased. Disappointed because we're here for points and we don't take any, but pleased of the progress we made and that we were able to go toe-to-toe with such a talented side for so long. As we know, the level is ruthless and if you step out of line a little bit, a world-class player ducks behind you and scores."
Saturday's Premier League action began with Newcastle United hosting Bournemouth in a 12:30 kick-off, with Eddie Howe's men fielding a side featuring Hornicek in goal behind a back line of Dedic, Thiaw, Botman and Hall. Anthony Elanga, who already has two goals to his name this season, started in attack alongside Harvey Barnes and Wissa. Bournemouth, still searching for their first win under new boss Andoni Iraola, lined up with Petrovic in goal and Evanilson leading the line. A further six Premier League matches followed later in the day, including Manchester City hosting Coventry and Nottingham Forest welcoming Tottenham.
Elsewhere in Europe, there was late drama in Spain as Real Betis substitute Troy Parrott scored the only goal of the game to hand Real Madrid their first defeat of Jose Mourinho's second spell in charge. The Irish forward, who joined Betis after two prolific seasons with AZ Alkmaar, made an instant impact off the bench.
In France, Paris Saint-Germain suffered a home defeat to Monaco, going down 2-1 and leaving Luis Enrique's side still without a win after three Ligue 1 rounds. Lyon, meanwhile, beat Auxerre 3-1. In Germany, Stuttgart thrashed Cologne 4-1, while in Italy, Como put four past Genoa without reply at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
On the disciplinary front, Uefa fined Red Star Belgrade €90,000 after their supporters chanted the name of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic during a 5-1 defeat at Viktoria Plzen on 27 August. The fans also displayed a banner honouring Mladic, the Bosnian Serb commander responsible for the Srebrenica massacre and other war crimes, who died earlier this year while serving a life sentence in The Hague. As part of the sanctions, Red Star have been barred from selling tickets to travelling supporters for their next away fixture in a Uefa competition, a trip to Swiss side Lugano in the Conference League, while a further away-ticket ban was suspended for a two-year probationary period.
Separately, Uefa banned Fenerbahce's Mattéo Guendouzi for two Champions League matches following his conduct during a heated playoff victory over Lyon, his boyhood rivals' bitter foe, on 26 August. The France-born midfielder will sit out games against Roma and Aston Villa. Teammate Mason Greenwood received a one-match ban that was deferred for a year on probation for his part in the same incident.
Also making news was Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who was set to attend the opening match of the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Katowice, Poland, his first major tournament appearance since dropping a controversial proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.