Winners and Losers: Lewandowski chasing Messi and Turkey's Ballon d'Or hope
Winner: Robert Lewandowski and Barcelona
After the weekend with El Clasico, there was no way this match wasn't going to be included. The crisis present at Barcelona on many levels is certainly not yet resolved, but it is fair to say that Laporta's recent words of pride in the team's progress and the famous La Masia have taken a big step in the right direction.
Hansi Flick's team have certainly had their big moment, which will be a reference and a milestone from now on. The demands of the fans are of course increasing, but the young Blaugrana team seems completely immune to the pressure.
It certainly doesn't spoil their fun and drive to do what they are known for - playing offensively and wanting to score as many goals as possible. After all, not only do they lead the table, but on top of that, they have scored as many as 37 goals - 16 more than second-placed Real.
Going back to Saturday's match, the Catalans humiliated Real in their own stadium. Two goals (and he could have scored at least another two) in 141 seconds were scored by Robert Lewandowski, who confidently leads the league's goalscoring charts.
He has scored 14 goals in 11 games, second-placed Ayoze Perez has seven, third-placed Kylian Mbappe six. The exact same statistics at the same stage were held by Leo Messi in the 2011/12 season, in which he eventually scored 50. Will the 36-year-old Polish striker be able to break this astounding record?
Winner: Kenan Yildiz
After the long-awaited main course on Sunday, it was also time for an exquisite dessert: another highly prestigious encounter between Inter and Juventus. Italian classics in recent years have sometimes been disappointing or even boring, but this Derby d'Italia will certainly go down in history.
Firstly, for the first time in the first half of a match between Inter and Juve, as many as five goals were scored. Secondly, it is only the third time that eight or more goals have been scored in meetings between these teams. The previous times were in 1961 and 1932.
The hero of the match, however, was undoubtedly Kenan Yildiz. The young Turk entered the pitch in the 62nd minute and his two goals put Juve back in the match and they claimed a point. And this is how Wojciech Szczęsny, ex-goalkeeper of the Turin team and current Barcelona player, recently commented on the talented 19-year-old.
"Kenan Yildiz? I've played with many good players, but I haven't seen such a great talent yet. I made a bet with a certain person that he would be nominated for the Golden Ball within five years and I am confident that I will win the bet."
Winner: The Thuram family
The story from the match continues. The encounter at the San Siro also saw the clash between the two Thuram brothers, Marcus and Khephren. The former is, of course, an Inter striker, while the younger plays in the midfield position at Juventus.
They only played four minutes against each other on Sunday, but this was not their first direct clash. The previous time was in 2019 during a French League Cup match. At that time, Marcus was still at Guingamp, a club where he first became known as a class player.
Meanwhile, Khephren was performing at Monaco at the time. The young midfielder never broke through there and had to wait to join Nice, and in that cup match, he came off the pitch in the second half. The eventual winner was Marcus, who scored a goal in the match.
The winner can certainly be felt by Lilian Thuram, the father and former Juventus player, who is certainly bursting with pride when seeing his boys.
Winner: Pep Guardiola and Manchester City
There is a saying "Where two fight, the third benefits". It fits perfectly with the last round of the Premier League, in which Liverpool shared the points with Arsenal. Pep Guardiola's side simultaneously defeated Southampton and returned to the top of the table.
It may seem boring to praise Manchester City, but the Spanish coach once again deserves credit. He is successfully guiding the team through another season, rejuvenating his team. In defence, Rico Lewis has excelled, while our player of the last game was Brazilian Savinho, who seamlessly transferred his fine form from Girona to the Premier League.
What's more, Guardiola's players are not only impressive but also effective. On Monday, the news cooed in the Reds that Erik ten Hag was bidding farewell to his post. As it turned out, Manchester United under the Dutchman took 1,739 shots in 128 games, 717 more shots than City, despite playing six more games in that time.
Loser: The Madrid clubs
The leading clubs from Madrid will certainly not count the previous weekend as a success. Barcelona's big win is, of course, a huge embarrassment for Real. They are already six points behind the Catalan leaders after losing at home to Barcelona. Things are not much better at their neighbours too.
Atletico, who were placed among the favourites for the championship before the start of the season, fell 1-0 to Sevilla against Betis and their situation in the table is already very bad, as they are only in fourth place with nine points less than Hansi Flick's side.
We are only at the end of October, and it seems that Los Colchoneros, who made some significant transfers in the summer window (Julian Alvarez, Conor Gallagher and Alexander Sorloth), have already dropped out of the title race. Surrendering Samu Omorodion to FC Porto could prove to be one of Diego Simeone's biggest mistakes.
Loser: Motor needs immediate sealing
The Polish Ekstraklasa, according to many, operates in its own universe. Fans who don't follow it on a daily basis can see for themselves by observing, for example, the defensive performance of Motor Lublin.
The relegation team recently won against Lech Poznan, on their opponent's ground. Did such a win give them motivation for their next matches? No.
On Saturday, Motor lost an away game against Cracovia 6-2. A week earlier, Mateusz Stolarski's team fell at home 4-3 against Widzew Lodz, making it 10 goals conceded in just the last two games.
Loser: Pseudo-fans
Unfortunately, the losers also include the fans, who were not idle this weekend. In Plock, fans of the local team set up a festival of pyrotechnics during a clash with Wisla Krakow, but so ineptly that "normal" fans sitting in the stands were injured, for which the club is now apologising and closing Sector D until the end of the year. The home team's coach was almost hit by a firecracker...
Unfortunately, the LKS Lomza fans also (allegedly by mistake) stopped a coach carrying children on their way to a Jagiellonia Bialystok match. The police reported that the group of around 30 people was not aggressive and that after police intervention the individuals dispersed.
