European soccer is back in full force, with the English Premier League, Spanish LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga and French Ligue 1 all under way. This weekend, we saw Tottenham clinch their first win with new manager Ange Postecoglou against Manchester United and a comeback win for Real Madrid, with Jude Bellingham stealing the show.
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So let’s get into it: With a full menu of games, here are your talking points, great goals and all the news from a wonderful Saturday in the big European leagues.
The Saturday lead: Phil Foden steps up in De Bruyne’s absence to ease Guardiola’s fears
Pep Guardiola admitted at his prematch news conference he was concerned that Newcastle might be able to take advantage of a Manchester City team tired after a midweek trip to Athens for the Super Cup and missing key players, but he didn’t need to worry.
Newcastle have never won a Premier League game at the Etihad Stadium, and after Juli?n ?lvarez‘s first-half goal earned City a 1-0 win Saturday, they have now lost on each of their past 15 visits. Their last away win was at Maine Road in 2000 when Alan Shearer, now 53, scored the winner.
Phil Foden of Manchester City won Man of the Match for his performance against Newcastle. (Photo by Lexy Ilsley – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
Speaking ahead of the game, Guardiola gave the sense that City, without Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and John Stones, might be in a vulnerable moment, but instead they passed an early-season test against one of the best teams in the league. Phil Foden was excellent playing in a sort of inside-right position and set up the first goal for Julian Alvarez with a silky first touch and angled pass.
Foden could barely get a game at the end of last season but with De Bruyne ruled out until possibly January or February, there is a chance for the 23-year-old to play a more central role. He was so good here — creating seven chances from open play before 80 minutes were on the clock — that eventually Newcastle resorted to kicking him, and Joelinton was booked for chopping him down despite being nowhere near the ball.
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Josko Gvardiol was also impressive at the other end on his first Premier League start, with his night’s work including a vital challenge on Callum Wilson when he was left as the last defender following a misplaced pass from Rodri.
Newcastle destroyed one of this season’s fancied teams, Aston Villa, on the opening weekend but didn’t really lay a glove on City. It said everything that Eddie Howe decided to take off both Alexander Isak and Sandro Tonali before the 70-minute mark because they were so quiet. Newcastle only managed one shot on target.
Guardiola might feel his team aren’t in the best shape but they are still winning games. It’s now three from three to start the campaign and also a club-record 17 consecutive home wins in all competitions, a run stretching back to Dec. 31.
This was City’s toughest league game until Arsenal away in early October and it was navigated with minimal fuss. — Rob Dawson
Saturday talking points around the leagues
Harry Kane‘s first Bundesliga start is a brilliant one
Say what you will about the desperation of Bayern Munich‘s past few months — April’s panic-firing of Julian Nagelsmann; needing Borussia Dortmund to drop the ball in order to keep their Bundesliga title streak alive; their single-minded, all-or-nothing pursuit of Harry Kane to solve their (relative) attacking woes — when you get your man, it solves a lot of problems.
Burley: Kane’s debut with Bayern was a ‘perfect start’
Craig Burley examines Harry Kane’s impressive debut with Bayern Munich in a win over Werder Bremen.
Bayern indeed got Kane, and in his Bundesliga debut at Werder Bremen he gave both the club and their fans everything they were looking for. England‘s captain earned his first assist by springing Leroy San? into the open for a breakaway goal in the fourth minute, and after Bayern briefly ceded control of the match to the home team early in the second half, he helped to slam the door in the 74th minute. Alphonso Davies found him in open space on another breakaway, and he knocked the ball into the net from 17 meters.
Bayern piled it on from there. Two of Bayern’s more mercurial players in 2022-23 found further success — Sane scored a second goal, Davies dished a second assist — and the defending champs rolled, 4-0. Another debutant, defender Kim Min-jae, flashed brilliance, too (someone that big shouldn’t also be that quick), but Kane was the story, and his new club began its hunt for a 12th straight Bundesliga title in excellent form. — Bill Connelly
Hummels’ brilliance, Malen’s goal save Borussia Dortmund
After losing last year’s Bundesliga title race in part because they dropped too many early points, Borussia Dortmund looked poised to do the same in its home opener against a stubborn Cologne on Saturday. They controlled much of the first half — in the first 30 minutes, BVB attempted eight shots worth 1.1 xG to Koln’s three worth 0.3 — but their attack slowly became discombobulated, their passing lanes impeded, and Cologne was the far more threatening team for most of the second half, both outrunning and outsmarting the favorites.