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Tops and Flops from European Football’s Weekend Action

With a third of the games gone in most of the major leagues in Europe, the top and bottom halves of the table are starting to take shape. 

There were some breathtaking goals, match winning saves, and last minute goals this past weekend, but who performed and who underperformed?

English Premier League

Top: Chelsea

The Blues extended their winning streak in the league to 7 games, sealing a hard-fought 2-1 victory over London neighbours Tottenham.

The Blues trailed to a fantastic Christian Eriksen strike in the 11th minute but battled back with goals from Pedro Rodriguez and Victor Moses.

The loss was the first for Spurs in the league this season, and it means Chelsea retain their one-point advantage at the top of the league.

Flop: Manchester United

The Red Devils continued their unimpressive form at home, only managing a 1-1 draw with West Ham. The draw was Manchester United’s 4th consecutive draw at home in the league.

The Manchester Giants were on the back foot in as early as the 2nd minute as Diafra Sakho rose to convert Dimitri Payet’s Freekick.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled the hosts level when he met a beautifully executed pass from Pogba and guided it past the goalkeeper.

Both teams had chances to win the game but were guilty of poor finishing.

The result sees Manchester United remain in 6th place, 8 points adrift of 4th place, while the Hammers are in 16th place, one point outside the relegation zone.

Spanish La Liga

Top: Deportivo Alaves

Newly promoted Alaves, put in an impressive display in their 2-0 away win at Villarreal to record their third away win in La Liga this season.

The underdogs, who came into this game with only one win from their last six league games, were two goals ahead as early as the 17th minute, with goals from Ibai and Victor Camarasa.

Villarreal struggled to create chances all game long, as Alaves managed to see out the victory comfortably. The defeat was Villarreal’s first home loss in the league this season.

Flop: Barcelona

The reigning champions continued their poor run of form away to Real Sociedad and were lucky to escape with a 1-1 draw. This was the 8th consecutive time the Catalans have failed to win at Anoeta.

Willian Jose scored for the hosts, only for Lionel Messi to equalise from one of the few Barcelona attacks three minutes later. Juanmi put the hosts back ahead, but his goal was ruled offside.

It was the first time this season that Barcelona had finished the game with less possession than their opponents. The result means the Catalans go into next weekend’s El Classico, 6 points behind rivals Real Madrid.

Bundesliga

Top: RB Leipzig

The unlikely league leaders continued their red-hot start to the season, dismantling hosts SC Freiburg 4-1 to stay on top of the league.

The league leaders were out of the blocks quickly with Naby Keita scoring in the 2nd minute, but Florian Niederlechner equalised for the hosts.

Two goals in 14 minutes from the in-form Timo Werner put RB Leipzig back in control. Marcel Sabitzer scored to put the icing on the cake for RB Leipzig.

The result sees RB Leipzig retain their 3 point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.

Flop: Borussia Dortmund

Der BVB suffered a major blow to their title ambitions on Saturday, as they went down 2-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt. The title challengers have now won only two of their last seven games.

Szabolcs Huszti scored in the 1st minute of the second half, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his 13th goal of the league season to draw Borussia Dortmund level.

Haris Seferovic scored with an unstoppable shot just three minutes after Dortmund had equalised to seal the victory.

The result leaves Borussia Dortmund in 7th place, 9 points adrift of the league leaders.

Italian Serie A

Top: Atalanta

Atalanta extended their run of consecutive league wins to six with a 2-0 win over Bologna. They have now won eight and drawn one of their last nine league games.

Andrea Masiello opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a sumptuous volley, before Jasmin Kurtic sealed the points with a fine header from a corner.

La Dea is knocking on the door of the Champions League places, as they currently sit one point behind AC Milan in 3rd place.

Flop: Juventus

The league leaders had a sub-standard outing on Sunday, going down 3-1 to the hardworking Genoa – their third defeat in the league this season.

Giovanni Simeone’s brace put the hosts 2-0 up as early as the 13th minute before Alex Sandro scored an own goal in the 29th minute to send Genoa into the break with a surprising 3-0 lead.

The introduction of Gonzalo Higuain did little to change the fortunes of the champions, as they could only manage a consolation goal from Miralem Pjanic in the 82nd minute.

A broken leg to Juventus defender Daniel Alves completed a miserable evening for the Bianconneri, who saw their lead at the top of the table cut to 4 points.

Ligue 1

Top: Monaco

Monaco who were recently made it past the CL Group Stage capped off an excellent week with a 4-0 humbling of Marseille.

Gabriel Boschilia opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, while two goals in ten minutes from Valere Germain made sure of the points. Guido Carrillo scored in 2nd half to add gloss to a fine victory.

The win sees Monaco reduce the gap at the top of the standings to a single point.

Flop: Angers SCO

Angers were only one of two home teams to taste defeat this weekend, as they went down 2-1 to Saint-Etienne in a battle of two mid-table teams.

Pepe had put Angers ahead with an excellent goal in the 18th minute, a lead that lasted into the second half. Florentin Pogba drew Saint-Etienne level in the 59th minute before Oussama Tannane stole the headlines with a beautiful goal to take all three points.

The defeat sees Angers end the weekend in 10th place, with 18 points from 14 games.

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