Barcelona and Rangers made up ground on the leaders in their respective leagues, while Bundesliga’s home fans had a weekend to forget. Here are the Winners and Losers from around Europe this weekend. Bet on football here.
Winners
Barcelona
Having taken just one point from their first three away games in La Liga, the reigning champions picked up their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory at Getafe. The hosts had been unbeaten at home so far this season but were undone shortly before the break when Luis Suarez raced onto Marc-Ander ter Stegen’s long pass to lob the ball over the advancing keeper. The goal was the Uruguayan’s 400th in his career, and his 180th for Barcelona. The Catalan side doubled their lead shortly after the break when Junior Firpo converted the rebound from Carles Perez’s saved shot. Despite a late red card for Clement Lenglet, Ernesto Valverde’s side saw out the result which, partnered with a draw in the Madrid Derby, leaves them two points from top.
AS Monaco
A convincing 4-1 win over Brest lifted Monaco to 12th in the Ligue 1 table, their highest position since Matchday Three of the 2018/19 season. Leonardo Jardim’s side took a 1-0 lead into half time courtesy of Wissam Ben Yedder’s fifth goal of the season. Three further goals after the break gave them a second consecutive win. With Islam Slimani and Keita Balde also on the scoresheet, three of their summer signings were on target. Considering their recent struggles with recruitment, this result was promising for a number of reasons.
Rangers
A rare draw for Celtic on Saturday afternoon gave Rangers the opportunity to close the gap with their fierce rivals, and they grasped it with both hands. Steven Gerrard’s side ran out 5-0 winners against Aberdeen to put themselves just one point behind the league leaders, and gave their goal difference a healthy boost in the process. Right back James Tavernier found the net either side of half time with two penalties while Greg Stewart, who signed from Aberdeen in the summer, scored once and twice went close.
Losers
Bundesliga Home Fans
Home fans in Germany’s top flight had little to cheer over the weekend. Eight of the nine sides playing on home turf suffered defeat, while Dortmund were held to a disappointing 2-2 draw by Werder Bremen. RB Leipzig were another side to suffer a shock result, losing 3-1 to Schalke. It was the first time in the Bundesliga’s history that no home team tasted victory during a round of fixtures.
AC Milan
The Rossoneri slumped to a third consecutive defeat in the Serie A as Fiorentina left the San Siro with a 3-1 win on Sunday. This is the first time that Milan have lost three league games in a row for almost exactly two seasons and pressure is already mounting on new manager Marco Giampaolo. The latest defeat means they stay on six points, level with all three of the promoted teams.
Lyon
Having seen kick-off time moved to cater for overseas viewers, Lyon lost at home to Nantes for the first time since 1996. The French side have now gone six league games without a win in all competitions – every other team in the division has picked up at least one victory during that time. Their next league game is a derby match against Saint-Etienne, where defeat would be unthinkable.
Vincent Kompany
It is fair to say that Vincent Kompany’s return to Anderlecht is not going as he envisaged. The Belgian side, who have won the title in five of the past ten seasons, could only manage a 0-0 draw with lowly Waasland-Beveren on Sunday, leaving them with just six points from their first nine matches. Fans waited outside the ground afterwards to voice their discontent with Kompany’s current approach as manager, which has seen Anderlecht score only six league goals to date. Considering that the veteran defender is currently sidelined from playing due to yet another injury, it’s becoming a miserable experience for the player-manager.