It was a weekend of derbies across European football as Spain, France and Italy all pitted their most historic and successful rivals against each other.
El Clasico, Le Classique and the Derby d’Italia were lit up by exciting prodigies, embracing the naivety of youth to shine under the brightest spotlights. Beyond the biggest matches, some more experienced figures also shone.
Here’s a closer look at the continent’s best from a blockbuster weekend of action.
Joao Neves introduced himself to Paris Saint-Germain‘s fervent fanbase as a creator, racking up six assists across his first eight appearances.
The summer arrival from Benfica got his maiden goal for the club in the biggest fixture of the season, kickstarting Sunday’s 3-0 romp against Marseille with a seventh-minute opener while the hosts still had a full complement of players.
“I don’t see myself as a talisman,” Augsburg’s Alexis Claude-Maurice warned. “I just want to help the team through my performance.”
If the French forward continues to orchestrate comebacks against the Bundesliga’s elite, that talisman tag will become hard to shake.
Making his first start of the season, Maurice scored twice for the hosts against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday in a display which his normally reserved coach, Jess Thorup, hailed as “outstanding”.
Following a summer of littered with links of a transfer away, Ademola Lookman stayed at Atalanta – much to the satisfaction of his manager Gian Piero Gasperini. In the wake of another individual masterclass against Hellas Verona on the weekend, Gasperini admitted that the forward would eventually leave Bergamo but “hopefully not in January”.
Lookman had a hand in four of Atalanta’s goals in the 6-1 battering, coming within the width of the crossbar from completing his hat-trick two days before finishing 14th at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Shock rather than joy washed over Jamal Musiala while celebrating his goal against Bochum on Sunday. The German playmaker guided the ball beyond Patrick Drewes with a rare header.
Musiala’s sensational second-half assist was far more familiar. The wriggling playmaker nonchalantly knocked the ball between Erhan Masovic’s legs before laying it off for Harry Kane to spank into the top corner as Bayern embarked upon a 5-0 rout.
When asked what Real Madrid’s players had said to him after scoring in Barcelona’s 4-0 thrashing on Saturday night, Lamine Yamal grinned to show his braces and said: “They didn’t know I had a right foot.”
The best young player in the world used his weaker side to blast the ball above Andriy Lunin for Barcelona’s third of a night to remember. Yamal called the Catalan giants the best team on the planet, and few have been better than him in that elite setup.
Kenan Yildiz came on. Kenan Yildiz delivered. 🙌#InterJuve pic.twitter.com/j4pBIk4k33
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) October 28, 2024
Kenan Yildiz, Juventus‘ current number ten, has a strong relationship with perhaps his most legendary predecessor in that shirt, Alessandro Del Piero. When the teenage Turk was told that the Italian icon celebrated his first goal at San Siro by sticking his tongue out, Yildiz nodded: “I didn’t know that. I’ll have to try to replicate it.”
When the 19-year-old came off the bench with Juve trailing 4-2 to Inter on Sunday, tributes would not have been at the forefront of his thinking. Yildiz kept his tongue in his mouth after halving the deficit before opening up wide once he made it 4-4 in the 82nd minute.
While Real Madrid’s number nine toiled offside, Robert Lewandowski stayed within the laws of the game to score twice for the visitors. The quality of the Pole’s performance was such that he came away disappointed by not bagging a hat-trick.
That regret was short-lived on a glorious night for La Liga’s early leaders.
