Euro weekend round-up: City smash six, Barcelona go top of La Liga

Plenty has happened this weekend across Europe and we’ve picked out some of the best taking points from the action.

Man City smash six past United 

Man City were ruthlessly efficient against Man United as they ran out 6-3 winners in the Manchester derby. 

Pep Guardiola’s side found themselves 4-0 up at half time and the final score line somewhat flattered Man United. 

City accumulated an xG of 3.06 and were at their clinical best once again. 

Erling Haaland stole the show with a hat-trick as well as a couple of assists. His three goals now puts him onto 14 Premier League goals scored in his first eight appearances of the season. 

If Haaland was to continue at his current rate of scoring in the league, he would end the season with 66 goals. 

His all-round play was sharp against United as he made four key passes, created two big chances and scored with all three of his shots on target. 

Phil Foden also grabbed the headlines with a hat-trick of his own.  

The 22-year-old has now scored five league goals this season and is Man City’s second top goalscorer of this campaign.  

Man United have shown some signs of life under Erik ten Hag, but the Manchester derby served as a reminder of just how far they still have to go. 

Messi overtakes Ronaldo’s free-kick tally 

Lionel Messi has been in sparking form for PSG this season and he managed to score his first free-kick with the French side this weekend. 

His free-kick goal against Nice was his 60th of his career and he has now edged ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo who has scored 58. 

Messi was on target for Argentina during the international break with his 59th free-kick goal against Jamaica. 

PSG needed some magic off the bench to get past Nice and Kylian Mbappe provided that spark. 

Mbappe’s winner maintains PSG at the top of Ligue 1 with 25 points from their first nine matches. 

Barcelona go top of La Liga 

Barcelona took full advantage of Real Madrid dropping points this weekend as they climbed to the top of La Liga. 

Robert Lewandowski scored his ninth league goal of the season to wrap up a 1-0 win against Mallorca this weekend. 

Barcelona only managed to accumulate an xG of 0.54, but that was enough to ensure all three points for Xavi’s side. 

They are now on the same amount of points as Real Madrid, but their goal difference of +18 means they go top. 

Real Madrid have had an excellent start to the season, but they lost some ground this weekend as they played out a 1-1 draw with Osasuna. 

Karim Benzema had an evening to forget as all four of his shots were off target and he missed a penalty which would have seen Madrid winning the game. 

Next up for Real Madrid is a Champions League game against Shaktar Donetsk, where they will look to bounce back. 

Jamal Musiala steals the show 

Bayern Munich have had a somewhat frustrating start to their Bundesliga campaign, but they managed to get back to winning ways this weekend. 

Jamal Musiala was the best player on the pitch in their 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. 

The German youngster scored as well as assisting two of Bayern’s other goals. He completed a total of four key passes and won eight ground duels in a starring performance. 

Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane and Sadio Mane were also on target for Bayern, who now sit third in the Bundesliga on 15 points after eight matches. 

Bayern are currently averaging 1.87 points per game, which if averaged over an entire season would see them finish on 64 points, which is 13 less than last season. 

Julian Nagelsmann will be hoping that this performance was a sign of things to come for Bayern this season.