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There was plenty of drama across Europe this weekend, with a comeback win in the Spanish capital, a winning run stretching to eight, and a costly milestone in the Bundesliga. Here, we'll run you through the key results from the weekend.
Fermín López double fires Barcelona past Atlético
Barcelona restored their lead at the top of La Liga on Sunday with a hard-fought comeback win over Atlético Madrid. The game finished 2-1 in a contest that was hard fought by both sides. A brace from Fermín López was enough to secure the victory, however, not before Atlético had put up a fight. Diego Simeone's side went into the game on a seven-match league winning run, and they started strongly, with Joan García making an excellent early save to deny Julián Álvarez. Marc Pubill and Pedri both struck the woodwork in quick succession, before Atlético went ahead in the tenth minute when Álvarez squared for Giuliano Simeone to tap in from close range. Álvarez missed another big chance after a João Cancelo mistake, but Barcelona levelled against the run of play just before half-time, when Pedri drove forward, Pubill failed to clear and Fermín fired home left-footed past Jan Oblak. Hansi Flick switched things up at the break, bringing on Frenkie de Jong at right-back in place of Brian Fariñas, and Barcelona came out much stronger, though Álvarez lobbed a huge chance over the bar as the hour mark approached. Barcelona got their reward in the 66th minute, when Lamine Yamal picked out Fermín with an excellent through-ball and he finished calmly to complete the comeback on his 100th La Liga appearance. The result restores Flick's side's three-point lead over Real Madrid heading into the international break, while Atlético slip five points off the top.
Güler shines as Real Madrid make it eight in a row
Real Madrid kept up the pressure at the top on Saturday with a comfortable 3-0 win over Valencia. Playing without Vinícius Júnior, who was serving the final game of his four-match ban, José Mourinho's side took the lead on 28 minutes through captain Federico Valverde, who was again deployed at right-back ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold, making it back-to-back goals after his winner against AEK Athens in midweek. Arda Güler added a second eight minutes later with a sweet first-time finish, his third goal in five matches. Madrid dominated after the restart, with Stole Dimitrievski making a superb save to deny Kylian Mbappé just before the hour, but the Frenchman made it three on 75 minutes. Second-from-bottom Valencia's misery was compounded four minutes later when José Gayà was sent off for bringing down Mbappé as the last man. The win was Madrid's eighth in a row in all competitions and briefly moved them level on points with Barcelona, although Flick's side restored their lead the following day.
Kane turns provider as Bayern return to winning ways
Bayern Munich stayed top of the Bundesliga on Saturday after a 2-1 win over Mainz. Returning to action after last weekend's 2-2 Klassiker draw with Borussia Dortmund, the champions took the lead on 14 minutes when Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane touched the ball into the path of Joshua Kimmich, who rifled in from the edge of the area for his first goal of the campaign. Mainz thought they had levelled four minutes before the break when Lee Jae-sung headed in at the far post, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR check, and Manuel Neuer was forced off injured on his 550th Bayern appearance, with Jonas Urbig taking his place. Kane turned provider again in the 57th minute, teeing up Lennart Karl after his own shot had been blocked, and Bayern should have added more, with Alphonso Davies having an effort cleared off the line and Dayot Upamecano hitting the crossbar. Phillip Tietz flicked a header past Urbig in stoppage time, but it came too late for Mainz. The result extends Bayern's unbeaten start to the season and their unbeaten away run in the Bundesliga to 31 games, and keeps them top on goal difference, with Dortmund level on 21 points.
