Barcelona, Bayern Munich, PSG and Monaco were the biggest losers this weekend while RB Leipzig and Olympique Lyon reaped big in an action-packed weekend of football across Europe. Here are the Winners and Losers from European football. Bet on football here.
Winners
Julian Nagelsmann and RB Leipzig
The Julian Nagelsmann era at RB Leipzig began impressively as his team hammered newcomers Union Berlin 4-0 away from home. This was a dominant performance from Leipzig, who faced a vociferous crowd in the stands. However, Nagelsmann’s team outplayed the new Bundesliga boys all over the pitch. This is his second competitive win which showed just what we can expect from his team. His track record at his former club Hoffenheim is almost irreproachable. More eyes will surely be on him and Leipzig as he aims to challenge Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund for the Bundesliga. Nonetheless, his league debut with his new club went exactly how he hoped it would.
Olympique Lyon
Lyon registered an emphatic win over Angers in their first home match game of the season and make it two wins out of two in Ligue 1. Angers had lost just two of their previous five visits to Lyon but Sylvinho’s men had different plans. Appointing Sylvinho, a coach who hasn’t had any experience at the top level, has been labelled as a gamble. That decision also puts Lyon’s top management in a perplexing position. Lyon have not won a trophy in seven years but are hopeful that the Brazilian and newly appointed sporting director Juninho Pernambucano can bring the glory days back.
RCD Mallorca
Mallorca made a dream start in their first season back in La Liga as they defeated league mainstays Eibar 2-1 in front of their jubilant fans. It is six seasons since Mallorca’s 16-year stay in the top flight ended. Since then, they went close to going out of business and three seasons ago suffered the humiliation of relegation to the third tier. However, a positive start in the top flight may be the first step towards retaining their status amongst the big boys.
Losers
Defending champions in France, Germany and Spain
Defending champions PSG, Bayern Munich and Barcelona all faltered in their respective leagues this weekend. PSG fell to the sword of their bogey team Rennes 2-1 in a game that Neymar missed again. The Brazilian is still a subject of interest from Barca and Real Madrid. Bayern produced a disappointing performance as they were held 2-2 by Hertha Berlin. Despite dominating possession throughout the game, the Bavarian giants couldn’t get it over the line. Barca also made a stuttering start to La Liga as they lost to Athletic Bilbao on Friday night. They were lacklustre and the hope is that Lionel Messi can get back soon to restore normalcy.
Monaco
Despite barely surviving relegation from Ligue 1 last season, the 2016/2017 champions Monaco have made a dismal start to the season losing their first two matches. They have conceded six goals in those matches and are yet to score and Leonardo Jardim will have to rally his troops next week against Nimes. A repeat of last season’s campaign will be inexcusable but this dreadful start has all the hallmarks of last season.
Antoine Griezmann
Barcelona’s new signing Antoine Griezmann’s debut was one to forget. Without Messi in the line-up, much was expected from him but his performance was poor. The Frenchman was anonymous for large parts of the game and was unable to make his mark, apart from a couple of half-chances. He barely touched the ball in the second half and will hope for a much better showing next time out at the Camp Nou. Seeing his former side Atletico beat Getafe will have only added salt to his wounds.