A Barcelona El Clasico defeat at Spotify Camp Nou ended their nine-match winning run to open the LaLiga season, with Real Madrid winning 2-1. Kylian Mbappe scored both goals for Jose Mourinho's side, and Hansi Flick's team remain top of the table despite the loss.
It is a strange problem to describe. Barcelona have played thrilling football under Flick and will overwhelm most opponents in the league. But their season is measured against the strongest sides, and the Champions League is the prize that has escaped them.
Barcelona El Clasico defeat ends a nine-game start
The warning signs were already there. Barcelona lost 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain, a scoreline that flattered them partly because goalkeeper Joan Garcia kept the French side down to four. Against Madrid, Flick's side could not find a way to stop opponents cutting through them either.
Context matters here. Inter and Atletico Madrid have eliminated Barcelona from Europe in the past two seasons, and both did so by surviving the press and attacking the space behind it. The league table still looks healthy; the big-game record is the part under examination.
Mourinho's midfielders find the space Barcelona leave
Mourinho set out the mechanism plainly afterwards. "It is difficult for any attackers to attack space against Barcelona, the only solution is to do it with your midfielders," he said. "The solution is to use midfielders like Eduardo Camavinga and Jude Bellingham to break that line and it worked."
The detail is instructive because Mbappe's first Clasico against Flick's high line had gone badly. He was caught offside seven times, the most by any player in a major European league in six years. This time he was in position to finish when Camavinga broke beyond him from deep.
Atletico Madrid close the gap as Alvarez settles
Atletico Madrid sit second, two points behind Barcelona, after Julian Alvarez scored the only goal at home to Deportivo A Coruna. It followed his first goal of the season in midweek, and he apologised to supporters for earlier comments about a "dream" transfer. Diego Simeone praised his contrition.
Valencia's difficulties continued in the derby defeat to Villarreal. Harvey Elliott came on as a late substitute, was sent off for dissent, and then watched Georges Mikautadze score a stoppage-time winner.
Inter's comebacks and Lazio's control in Serie A
Inter's habit of recovering is becoming the defining trait of their season. They had already fallen two goals behind in three consecutive matches and taken seven points from them, then conceded first to Bologna and still won. Against Fiorentina they trailed going into stoppage time and won 2-1 at San Siro.
Marcus Thuram equalised in the 91st minute and won the penalty that Piotr Zielinski converted in the 98th. Inter have taken thirteen points from losing positions this season. Lazio, level on points with an identical record, were more controlled in beating Parma 2-1, recording their highest possession total of the campaign and a higher expected-goals figure than their opponent.
Bayern and Dortmund level before Der Klassiker
Bayern Munich's week was dominated by events away from football. Head coach Vincent Kompany was hospitalised with a viral infection and captain Joshua Kimmich took compassionate leave following the death of his father. They still won at Freiburg, who had won all five of their previous home games, and remain level on points with Borussia Dortmund at the top before Der Klassiker next weekend.
Dortmund needed a late Maxi Beier goal to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0. Bayer Leverkusen lost ground, beaten 3-0 at Hoffenheim, where Andrej Kramaric opened the scoring with his 18th consecutive penalty conversion in the Bundesliga. Patrik Schick failed to score in a Bundesliga game for the first time this season, while Niclas Fullkrug's two penalties in Werder Bremen's 3-2 win at Mainz took him to eight goals and clear at the top of the scoring charts.
The original report on these matches across the continent is available via skysports.com.
