Winners and Losers: Mbappe bags a brace as Liverpool sour Ten Hag
Here are the week's winners and losers.
Winner - Mbappe and his brace
A burden was beginning to weigh on the new Real Madrid reinforcement, who managed to score on his debut in the European Super Cup, but still didn't know what it was like to net in La Liga. Finally, against Real Betis, he gave the fans at the Santiago Bernabeu a brace.
For the first goal, Mbappe took advantage of a magical back-heeled assist from Fede Valverde. In front of the goalkeeper, 'Kyky' didn't get nervous and scored with excellent composure. Eight minutes later, he said goodbye to any more pressure by scoring from the penalty spot. The second goal also served to strengthen his relationship with Vinicius, who let him take the penalty and gave him a big hug afterwards.
Before the final whistle, Ancelotti substituted him and the Frenchman received his first standing ovation. The perfect starting point for a period that promises to be glorious for Madrid and Mbappe. We are sure to see the white '9' more times among the winners in this feature.
Loser - Feyenoord and Ajax fans
With a police strike planned for some Eredivisie matches last weekend, the mayor of Rotterdam decided to postpone the Klassieker until October 30th. This means that one of the most important matches of the season will have to be played on a Wednesday night, which is unusual.
So both fans are resigned to waiting a good few weeks for a match that could be decisive in the title race - unless something similar happens to last season, when the clubs finished 28 and 35 points behind the champions, who were none other than PSV Eindhoven.
Winner - Porto Women
Women's football is continuing to grow across the globe. The example can be seen in Portugal, where 30,000 fans flocked to the Estadio Do Dragao to watch the presentation of a newly created Porto Women's team. A historic achievement for the Portuguese club.
The warm welcome will always be remembered. And to repay their supporters, Porto Women's players, who will compete in the national third division from September 29th, beat Uniao de Leiria 9-0.
Loser - 'manita' to Slovan Bratislava
They are one of the underdogs in the forthcoming Champions League, but participation alone is already a major achievement for Slovakian capital-based club Slovan Bratislava, who are in a state of bliss.
A 3-2 win over Danish side Midtjylland (they drew 1-1 in the first leg) sealed their place in the competition, where they will face clubs like Manchester City, Milan and Atletico Madrid.
However, it was a dark weekend for Slovan, who succumbed to a painful 5-0 defeat at home to Zilina, who spoiled the local party.
Winner - Lassana Diabate
The fans of Bordeaux have little to smile about, as their team, a French footballing stalwart, is in dire financial straits and no longer even plays in professional football (in the bronze division, to be precise). Debts are punishing and suffocating a club that aspires to revive itself through promotion.
The debut in National 2 brought with it a moment of joy and euphoria as goalkeeper Lassana Diabate scored the equaliser against Stade Poitevin (1-1) in the 103rd minute. It was barely enough to earn a point, but it was a morale booster for a club that was already missing such joy.
Loser - Erik ten Hag
The Dutchman recently renewed his contract as Manchester United manager until 2026, but he has yet to convince the Old Trafford faithful, who watched his side lose 3-0 to Liverpool.
Ten Hag acknowledged that they need to improve but also said in a tense press conference: "After City, we have won the most titles."
United are far from convincing and need to progress if they are to be in the Premier League's top positions. After a good start against Fulham (1-0), they fell agonizingly to Brighton (2-1) before a terrible defeat to Liverpool.
