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The big winners
The defending champions, Paris Saint-Germain, got off to a stylish start in beating Atalanta 4-0, though their injury problems continued. Joining a lengthy casualty list is João Neves, who limped off with a thigh problem. Luis Enrique’s team are suffering the wear and tear of last season’s triumph being followed by summer endeavors at the Club World Cup. Désiré Doué, Lucas Beraldo and Ousmane Dembélé, the latter the Parisian lobby’s chosen candidate for Monday’s Ballon D’Or award, were missing. Without them, PSG still showed the same form as last season, with 19-year-old Senny Mayulu in attack. Atalanta looked much reduced without the coaching of Gian Piero Gasperini, now at Roma, after a summer of sales and discontent, with Ademola Lookman exiled after being denied a move.
Gasperini’s replacement, Ivan Jurić, was last seen sinking without trace at Southampton. Facing PSG was like “choosing a method of execution”, said Juric. “The difference between the teams was enormous, an abyss.” Inter, last season’s losing finalists, now coached by Cristian Chivu, beat Ajax, another club the Romanian once starred for, with Marcus Thuram heading both goals in 2-0 win. Pio Esposito, 20, proved an able deputy for Lautaro Martínez, the club legend unfit to start.
Union Saint-Gilloise’s 3-1 win at PSV Eindhoven reflected a growing trend. Dutch football has largely dominated its Belgian neighbor since the 1960s but a sea change is now afoot. Belgium’s Pro League has become a more trusted breeding ground for talent than the Eredivisie, previously a hotbed. Union SG’s owner is Tony Bloom, whose data-led approach made Brighton into a Premier League force. His Belgian club took apart PSV, the first goal arriving after Ricardo Pepi had conceded a penalty. Fellow USMNT player Sergiño Dest meanwhile looked far more effective in attack than defense. “Total football,” said Union coach Sébastien Pocognoli, throwing what the Dutch gave to the game back at them. Club Brugge’s impressive 4-1 defeat of Monaco on Thursday further suggests the rise of the Belgians.
In recent years, Eintracht Frankfurt have made a huge net transfer profit in selling on strikers, Hugo Ekitike, Randal Kolo Muani and Omar Marmoush each cashed in. Their current striker, Jonny Burkardt, has much to live up to. The summer signing from Mainz scored his first Eintracht goal in a 5-1 thumping of Galatasaray that pushed his new club top of the 36-team table. In midfield for Galatasaray, and back on German turf was İlkay Gündoğan but his new club suffered their first defeat after 13 consecutive wins. Also on the mark for Eintracht was teenage Turkish international Can Uzun, a childhood friend from Regensburg, Bavaria of Kenan Yıldız, a scorer for Juventus against Dortmund.
Player of the week
Marcus Rashford. There had been wild rumours that Barcelona already wanted to send Rashford back to Manchester United but two beautifully taken goals at Newcastle reminded of his latent, enigmatic talent. The first a rare header, his second was a lash of the ball Alan Shearer would have been proud of. No Lamine Yamal for Barca, no problem with Rashford on such form. “I am very motivated and determined,” he said, qualities that appeared lost in his dog days at United.
They said it
‘When I was faced with the possibility of coaching Benfica, I didn’t think twice about it, saying, ‘I’m interested, I’d like it’.’ José Mourinho is back in the game, at the club he left under a cloud 25 years ago. Benfica’s loss to Azerbaijan’s Qarabag hastened the exit of Bruno Lage and may yet unseat embattled club president Rui Costa. There was brief speculation Portugal’s biggest club might rescue Ruben Amorim from his Manchester United purgatory. Instead, the return of Portuguese football’s prodigal; Mourinho last managed in his home country in 2004.
The pundit’s chair
“Beautiful, important signs from a team that believes in itself. In the standings, a point is worth one, but it’s much more. In terms of awareness, it’s three.” Alessandro Del Piero, Juventus legend, enthuses after his club mount a famous comeback to draw 4-4 with Borussia Dortmund in the week’s most enthralling game. Juve followed up Saturday’s 4-3 win over Inter with another late show, full of attacking verve.
Looking ahead
With the second round of matches now reverting to the usual Tuesday/Wednesday schedule, 1 October sees a meeting of European aristocracy as Barcelona welcome PSG and their former coach Luis Enrique to Catalonia. The final many wished for last season was denied by Inter denying Barcelona in the semis.
Mourinho taking on Benfica will convert their visit to Chelsea on 30 September into a media circus, a revival of greatest hits. If Benfica is him taking on unfinished business, his legacy at Chelsea is somewhat more mixed than it might be for the manager who helped establish the club within Europe’s elite. There was bad blood when he departed the second time a decade ago though nostalgia cures many ills. His record against Chelsea is also mixed; Benfica will be the fourth opponent he leads against them, following Inter, Manchester United and Tottenham. His record is five wins, two draws and seven defeats. After losing 3-1 at Bayern Munich in a highly open encounter, Chelsea require a further win over their formerly Special One.
The second round of action will begin with Real Madrid travelling almost 4,000m to Kairat in Kazakhstan, just 200 miles from the Chinese border. It would take an 87-hour drive to make the trip, and the flight 12 hours to Almaty will take 12 hours. On Thursday, Kairat, who qualified by beating Celtic on penalties in the qualifiers, opened their campaign by travelling the longest distance of the entire group stage to lose 4-1 to Sporting Club in Lisbon. Madrid’s win on Tuesday saw them ride out a 2-1 win over a spirited Marseille, for whom Tim Weah scored the opener. Who fills in at right back, with Trent Alexander-Arnold hamstrung and Dani Carvajal suspended after his red card for a headbutt, is a leading question.
