The Euro roundup: La Liga goal party, table shuffling

Goals galore in La Liga as Messi makes his comeback. Does anyone want to be second in the Bundesliga or Serie A?

European club teams were back in action after a week off for the international break. Let’s check in on the goings on from the Continent.

La Liga

Did they play without keepers in Spain this weekend? Four teams scored four or more goals: Barcelona (4), Villarreal (5), Real Madrid (6) and Atletico Madrid (7). The two Madrid clubs are first and second in the La Liga table with Atleti clinging to the top spot via goal difference (they have only allowed three goals all season!). Sevilla sit in third, one point ahead of Barca.

Besides the glut of goals, the big story in Spain was the return of Lionel Messi. With Barca in front 3-0 against Deportivo La Coruna, Messi was subbed on in the 55th minute. It took him all of three minutes to do this:

https://twitter.com/OSMLikeABoss/status/788011667896541186

It’s safe to say Messi will be alright — and how about that through-ball from Neymar? Elsewhere, Real Madrid thumped Real Betis 6-1 with five different players scoring. Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo scored, but only once; Isco bagged a brace. To make up for only scoring the one goal, Ronaldo made fun of the opposing keeper:

Atletico Madrid banged seven goals past last-place Grenada, including a Yannick Carrasco hat trick. They have now won five of their last six league matches. Atleti will hope to hold onto their slim first place lead, but face a much stiffer challenge next week as they travel to third-place Sevilla on Sunday.

Bundesliga

Even after back-to-back draws, Bayern Munich remain in first place; that was really the only thing that stayed the same in the top half of the Bundesliga table this weekend. Cologne and Red Bull Leipzig moved up to second and third, respectively, after wins while Hertha Berlin fell to fourth and Borussia Dortmund to fifth after the two clubs drew on Friday.

That match featured a pair of Americans (both started): John Brooks for Hertha and Christian Pulisic for Dortmund. Brooks was steady in defense for the most part, and Pulisic managed to serve in a few dangerous crosses, but neither really made a giant impact for their respective teams.

The USMNT teammates squared off a few times; Pulisic managed to get by the big defender once or twice while Brooks, at one point, hit Pulisic with what could only be described as a clothesline, earning a yellow card. Two Americans going head-to-head in one of the best leagues in the world should be highly encouraging to every USA soccer fan.

With Bayern struggling, both Hertha Berlin and Borussia Dortmund should feel like they can give the powerhouse Munich club a run for the title. As for next week, Dortmund travel to last-place Inglostadt while Hertha have a great opportunity at home against second-place Cologne.

The feel good story of the week in the Bundesliga involved Ousman Manneh, who came to Germany from Gambia as a refugee two years ago, scoring his first league goal for Werder Bremen. Answering all of your work emails doesn’t sound so hard anymore now does it?

Serie A

Juventus won again because Juventus always win. This consistency cannot be attributed to the clubs fighting for second place in Serie A. Napoli, after a good run of form put them just below the leaders, lost their second match in a row, falling 3-1 at home to Roma, thanks in part to a Edin Dzeko brace. This allowed Roma to jump to second-place while Napoli dropped to fourth, tied on points with fifth place Lazio.

AC Milan won 3-1 away to Chievo, putting them level on points with Roma. They currently sit in third place due to goal difference.

In bizarre news — well, not that bizarre if you follow European soccer — Inter Milan captain Mauro Icardi, who is 23 years old,  recently had an autobiography published in which he said some things Inter supporters took issue with. It peeved them so much they called their captain — a position many of the “ultras” feel he no longer deserves — a clown before the match, and cheered when he missed a penalty during it.

A suggestion for Icardi: Maybe wait until your 30s before releasing a tell-all that craps on your fans.

Team Goal of the Week

Real Madrid put on a counter attacking clinic en route to their fourth goal on Saturday. Pepe starts the break and ends up providing the assist to Isco on the other end of the field after a cross through the box from Ronaldo. It sure was pretty: