Arsenal took sole possession of the English Premier League number one slot after brushing aside Bournemouth 3-0 courtesy of two goals from youthful skipper Martin Odegaard and a first ever Gunners goal by William Saliba. Mikel Arteta’s north Londoners are the only EPL team with a one hundred percent winning record after three games following Manchester City’s 3-3 draw with Newcastle United at St James Park.
The champions fought back from two goals down after Newcastle had raced to a 3-1 lead. Tottenham Hotspur sit third in the standings after overcoming Wolves 1-0 thanks to a Harry Kane header. But Chelsea suffered a chastening 3-0 defeat at Leeds United on a day boss Thomas Tuchel was suspended for his involvement in a Stamford Bridge fracas a week earlier.
Paris Saint Germain continued their barnstorming start to coach Christophe Galtier’s tenure by wiping the floor with his former side Lille 7-0. Neymar was once again in irrepressible form, bagging a brace and a hat trick of assists. The Brazilian kingpin has now scored an incredible 7 goals and registered 8 assists in just four competitive games for PSG. Striker Kylian Mbappe also netted thrice whereas Lionel Messi scored once and set up two goals.
Olympique Lyon also maintained their one hundred percent record with a 4-1 victory over newly promoted Troyes but they lie fourth behind last season’s runners up Marseille and Lens because they’ve played a game less. Igor Tudor’s 1993 European champions remained in touch with leaders PSG after battling to a 2-1 victory over Nantes. Lens recorded a 4-1 upset win at Monaco.
In Germany, Bayern Munich atoned for the biggest defeat of Julian Nagelsmann’s Allianz Arena tenure by putting Bochum to the sword 7-0 at the Rhurstadion. Sadio Mane scored twice, one of the goals a penalty as the Bavarians laid down a marker to rivals. Matthis de Ligt celebrated his first start with a headed goal whereas there were goals from Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnarby.
Bayern’s victory was made more significant by defeats to two of the Bundesliga’s Champions League representatives. Borussia Dortmund conceded three goals in the last six minutes to succumb to a 2-3 defeat to Werder Bremen as Bayer Leverkusen fell 0-3 to Hoffenheim at the Bay Arena. Leverkusen boss Gerardo Seoane’s job is under threat because it’s the first time the club has lost it’s opening three fixtures.
The goals avalanche extended to Spain where Real Madrid battered 4-1 Celta Vigo with goals coming from Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric and Federico Valverde only for Barcelona to obliterate Real Sociedad by an identical margin. Robert Lewandowski grabbed two goals and laid on an assist for Ansu Fati on a day Ousmane Dembele was also on the score sheet. Alexander Isak briefly levelled the scores with a sublime chip over Marc Andre Ter Stegen.
In Serie A, Napoli’s Georgian forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia rules the scoring charts with four goals after grabbing a brace in the Partenopei’s 4-0 whitewash of newcomers Monza. Napoli are joint top with Inter Milan who disposed of Lecce with minimum fuss 3-0 with Lautaro Martinez, Hakan Cahlanoglu and Joachim Correa the scorers. It was all square in Bergamo where Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta were pegged back to a one-all draw by champions AC Milan.