Winners and Losers: De Ligt's perfect response, Heerenveen hit for nine

Winner - Matthijs de Ligt

Manchester United managed to win 3-0 on their trip to Southampton, taking the pressure off the team and coach Erik ten Hag, at least for a while.

United have been the target of criticism all season after losing twice in the first three games of the Premier League campaign.

But on Saturday, the Red Devils were finally allowed to cheer again as Matthijs de Ligt opened the scoring at St Mary's.

The Dutch central defender, who transferred from Bayern Munich in the summer, made a mistake against both Bosnia & Herzegovina and Germany during the international period but made amends for his poor performances.

He headed a cross from captain Bruno Fernandes into the far corner after just over half an hour and kickstarted a fine victory for his side.

Bonus winners were Andre Onana, who saved a penalty at 0-0, and Marcus Rashford, who scored his first Premier League goal since March 9th.

Winner - Lamine Yamal

By now, the whole football world knows who Lamine Yamal is, and this weekend he once again played a starring role for his team.

The 17-year-old attacker helped Barcelona to yet another victory - their fifth win in as many LaLiga games this season.

During the Catalan derby against Girona, Yamal showed his threat in the final third by scoring the first two goals during the 4-1 triumph over the Champions League debutants.

Under new coach Hansi Flick, tiki-taka - albeit a slightly more direct form - has returned to Barcelona and Yamal is thriving under it.

The Spaniard scored the opening goal on the half-hour mark after he dispossessed Girona defender David Lopez of the ball and remained calm face-to-face with former Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.

Seven minutes later, the youngster reacted fastest to a loose ball and slid the ball from the edge of the box with the inside of his foot into the corner out of the goalkeeper's reach.

Yamal is, as they say, on fire with three goals and four assists in the first five league games of the season.

Winner - AZ & Troy Parrott

AZ recorded the biggest league win in the club's history on Saturday night with a 9-1 drubbing of Heerenveen.

For a long time, nothing pointed towards a record victory for the hosts, who admittedly took the lead after only four minutes. Yet at half-time, it was 'only' 2-1 to AZ.

After half-time, it was time for Troy Parrott, who had put AZ ahead for the second time midway through the first half.

In the space of eight minutes, the Irish striker scored three more goals, having previously failed to find the net for AZ before Saturday.

Parrott, signed from Tottenham Hotspur, became the subject of criticism for his dry spell but is now the Eredivisie's joint-top scorer.

Victory keeps AZ on the tail of reigning champions and frontrunners PSV, who have yet to drop a single point.

Loser - Chris Smalling

Chris Smalling played nine seasons for Manchester United and donned the shirt of the Red Devils 323 times. When he played for his new club Al Feiha for the first time last weekend, he probably imagined his debut differently.

After only six minutes, the England international had scored an own goal after diverting the ball past his own goalkeeper at the near post.

At half-time, it was already 3-0 for the visitors, who recorded their first win of the season in the Saudi Pro League.

To make matters worse, Smalling was dismissed 10 minutes after half-time after picking up a straight red card.

His side eventually lost 5-0, the biggest league defeat ever for Al Feiha. As a result, the team is still on zero points after three games and bottom of the league table with a goal difference of -9.

Loser - Everton

For the second successive match in the Premier League, Everton gave away a 2-0 lead to eventually lose 3-2.

The Toffees are in a desperate position, experiencing their worst start to the season in 66 years. Sean Dyche's side have lost their first four Premier League games of the campaign.

Just before the international break, Bournemouth came from behind to take three points at Goodison Park. Between the 87th and 96th minutes, the visiting Cherries struck three goals.

On Saturday, Aston Villa did the same at Villa Park. Again, Everton led 2-0, but Ollie Watkins netted his first two goals of the season before Jhon Duran pushed Everton further into trouble with a stunning long-range effort.

Loser - Heerenveen & Robin van Persie

Having a big name as your manager can have its advantages, but when you lose 9-1 and Robin van Persie is your coach, you stand in front of the whole world.

That is what happened to Heerenveen after they suffered their heaviest-ever league defeat to AZ.

Van Persie is keen to dominate with his team and stuck to his risky style of play after a dramatic start to the second half.

After Heerenveen were able to stay within touching distance during the first period, things went completely wrong in the first 10 minutes after half-time. AZ striker Parrott scored three times in eight minutes and lifted the score to 5-1.

Following that, the home team could continue attacking to their heart's content. Heerenveen may have had 55% of the ball, but they were unable to stop the Alkmaar goal-scoring machine without the ball.

Van Persie remained calm after the record defeat, saying that as an Arsenal player, he once went down 8-2 against Manchester United.

"This is part of football. I have not been traumatised by this and neither have my players. You want to get the best out of yourself. That comes with trial and error. Now it is important to accept this and to be there now, also here in front of the camera," said the Dutchman.