Lionel Messi put his summer transfer dispute behind him, Cristiano Ronaldo defied gravity, and Mauro Icardi got back on track for Paris Saint-Germain, but there was a stunning defeat for Bayern Munich on a big weekend in Germany.
In England, Leicester stormed back to the top of the Premier League table by scoring five against a Pep Guardiola team for the first time in the Catalan’s coaching career as Manchester City’s title challenge hit an early stumbling block in a 5-2 defeat.
City conceded three penalties, but none of them were as controversial as the ones that cost Tottenham and Crystal Palace to spark more debate over the new interpretation of the handball rule in the Premier League.
Here are some of the main talking points from the action across the continent:
Messi scores, Koeman off to winning start
After such a turbulent summer, Barcelona could not have asked for a better way to start the season as they crushed Villarreal 4-0 at the Camp Nou, with all the goals in the first half.
Lionel Messi captained the home side and scored a penalty in his first competitive outing since trying, and failing, to force through a move away from his boyhood club.
The early signs are Messi will let his football do the talking in the coming months, which can only be good news for a Barca side beginning life under new coach Ronald Koeman.
Messi was actually upstaged on Sunday by Ansu Fati, with the 17-year-old scoring Barcelona’s first two goals.
“It is always good and important to win matches. If you win, you have tranquility,” said Koeman. For now anyway. The Catalans go to Celta Vigo on Thursday.
Bayern humbled to give hope to rivals
Less than 72 hours after they added more silverware by winning the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla in Budapest, Bayern Munich’s aura of invincibility was blown away in stunning fashion as Hansi Flick’s team lost 4-1 at Hoffenheim.
After 32 games unbeaten, and 23 successive victories in which time they also won the Bundesliga, the German Cup, and the Champions League, the Bavarians suffered the first loss since last December.
With Robert Lewandowski left on the bench at kick-off, they suffered their worst defeat since the 5-1 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt last November which cost previous coach Niko Kovac his job. Read More
