Europe’s top two leagues delivered a weekend packed with drama, comebacks, and one truly stunning upset. In the Premier League, Chelsea and Brighton served up a seven-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge while Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes turned a nightmare start into a hat-trick masterclass. Over in La Liga, Real Madrid continued their perfect start under Jose Mourinho, but it was Levante who stole the headlines with a shock five-goal demolition of Real Betis. Here’s a closer look at how the big teams fared.
Premier League Weekend Review — Big Teams in Focus
Chelsea 4-3 Brighton — Stamford Bridge Seven-Goal Thriller
The standout scoreline of the round came at Stamford Bridge, where Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer were on target while Joao Pedro scored at both ends in a pulsating win for Chelsea. The hosts took the lead inside four minutes when a blocked header from a corner fell to Romeo Lavia, who poked home the rebound. Pedro Neto doubled the lead in the 14th minute after Morgan Rogers held off his marker and cut the ball back for him to finish, before a devastating counter ended with Jorrel Hato tearing forward and picking out Joao Pedro, who slotted past his former club to make it 3-0 inside half an hour.
Brighton refused to fold, though. Yalcouye volleyed home a rebound on his first Premier League start to give the Seagulls hope, and they pulled level to 3-2 when Joao Pedro deflected a Gross cross into his own net just after the hour. Chelsea’s advantage briefly looked under real threat, but Cole Palmer took matters into his own hands, bulldozing through midfield to lash in a fourth goal and settle the contest. A stoppage-time Gross header made it 4-3, but it proved only a consolation. Notably, Brighton limited Chelsea to just 25.6% possession — the club’s lowest share on record in a Premier League game, making Xabi Alonso’s ruthless attacking display even more striking.
Manchester United 5-2 Ipswich Town — Bruno Fernandes Hat-Trick Sparks Old Trafford Comeback
Manchester United needed a big response after their opening-day defeat, and Bruno Fernandes delivered it in style. Ipswich looked set to cause an upset when Leif Davis put them ahead at Old Trafford, but a slip from Marcelino Nunez led to Fernandes equalising just before half-time. United then went in front when Jacob Greaves diverted Harry Maguire’s shot into his own net, and Fernandes converted a penalty soon after when Greaves fouled inside the box to complete his treble. He then turned provider, threading a lofted pass to Bryan Mbeumo, whose effort struck the crossbar and bounced over the line to make it 5-1. It capped off Fernandes’ first Premier League hat-trick in five years and a much-needed statement win for Michael Carrick’s side.
Manchester City 4-1 Crystal Palace
City eased any early-season jitters with a commanding 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on Friday night, continuing to look like genuine title contenders and underlining their attacking depth heading into the weekend.
Liverpool 2-2 Nottingham Forest
Liverpool were held to a share of the spoils by Nottingham Forest in a game that will raise eyebrows given the champions’ bright start elsewhere. It was a scrappy, end-to-end affair that saw the Reds twice pegged back, denying them a fourth straight win.
Newcastle 2-0 Tottenham & Other Results
Newcastle impressed on the road with a comfortable 2-0 win at Tottenham, while Leeds and Brentford shared the points in a 1-1 draw. Bournemouth and Everton also played out a 1-1 stalemate, and Sunderland edged past Fulham 1-0 in a tight, low-scoring affair.
Still To Come: Aston Villa vs Arsenal
The reigning champions are the last of the big teams in action this round, facing Aston Villa on Monday night. Arsenal go into the fixture as heavy favourites and will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign.
La Liga Weekend Review — Big Teams In Focus
Real Madrid 4-0 Malaga — Four Different Scorers at the Bernabéu
Real Madrid put on their most ruthless display of the season so far, with four goals from four different scorers, including an own goal from goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero, sealing a dominant win. Jude Bellingham opened the scoring, holding off a challenge in midfield before driving into the box and slotting an angled finish through Herrero’s legs. Herrero’s own goal followed six minutes later, before Kylian Mbappé got in on the act in the 30th minute, a goal that keeps him top of the La Liga scoring charts, having now scored against 23 different opponents in the competition. Arda Guler completed the rout deep into stoppage time, controlling a Vinicius Jr pass inside the box and finishing low into the left post. The result moved Jose Mourinho’s side top of the table with a perfect three wins from
Levante 5-2 Real Betis — The Weekend’s Wildest Scoreline
The most eye-catching result anywhere in Europe this weekend came in Valencia, where Levante stunned Real Betis. Levante struck first on 24 minutes when Adrián de la Fuente guided in a near-post header from a cross, before Betis replied through Marc Bartra after a short pass from Troy Parrott. The half flipped again in first-half stoppage time as Enzo Bardeli drilled home, before Rodrigo Riquelme headed in a leveller deep into added time to make it 2-2 at the break. But Levante blew the game open after the interval, eventually running out 5-2 winners — a three-goal margin that reflected a side that had imposed itself, created chances, and punished a Betis team left chasing shadows. Levante also had the clear statistical edge, out-shooting Betis on target 10-6 with a superior expected-goals return.
Still to Come: Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano
Barcelona are back in action Monday night against Rayo Vallecano, where they’ll be heavily favoured to make it back-to-back wins and keep pace with early pacesetters Real Madrid.
Discover more from LN247
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
