Not even wearing Lionel Messi's No.10 jersey fazes the teenage sensation, while there was a touching tribute to Diogo Jota in Germany
Football is returning all across Europe right now, with league play having resumed in France and Spain over the weekend, while Bayern Munich and Stuttgart met in the curtain-raising DFL-Supercup in Germany.
So, even though we're still waiting for Serie A to get back under way, the last few days have already produced a plethora of talking points. For starters, Diego Simeone is already under pressure at Atletico Madrid and things haven’t started much better for Roberto De Zerbi, who is dealing with a divided dressing room at Marseille.
On the plus side, Lamine Yamal has picked up where he left off last season at Barcelona (despite being given an iconic shirt to wear) while Paris Saint-Germain are coping impressively with their total lack of a pre-season.
Below, GOAL runs through all of the big winners and losers from the first weekend of the new season…
Getty ImagesWINNER: Lamine Yamal's Barca
Hansi Flick is a difficult man to please. Barcelona may have kicked off their Spanish title defence with a 3-0 win at nine-man Mallorca on Saturday – and after successfully registering new signings Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford for the game in Palma – but the German was less than impressed with his players, accusing them of playing at just "50 per cent" during the second half.
"That can't happen," Flick told . "I need to talk to the team about this. These are three important points but I didn’t like the match."
Still, if some of Flick's troops switched off after the interval, Lamine Yamal most certainly did not. The teenage wing wizard, who created Raphinha's opener, kept going right until the end and was rewarded for his relentless endeavour with a late goal that made a mockery of suggestions that he might struggle with the weight of the No.10 jersey this season.
Yamal has been dealing with Lionel Messi comparisons since he first exploded onto the scene a couple of years ago and when he says that he doesn't feel any pressure to perform, he means it. Barca may not have been anywhere near their best on Saturday, but with the peerless Yamal in their team, they won't always have to be.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportLOSER: Diego Simeone
After a stunning summer spending spree, Atletico Madrid's 2024-25 campaign promised a lot but delivered very little. Consequently, coach Diego Simeone really could have done with a strong start to the new season against Espanyol on Sunday. Unfortunately for 'Cholo', Atleti lost their opening game for the first time ever under the Argentine.
As Simeone correctly pointed out afterwards, the Rojiblancos played pretty well for an hour and were well worth the lead given to them by star striker Julian Alvarez, who broke the deadlock with a sensational free-kick. However, the way in which Atleti faded the longer the game wore on brought back some bad memories from last season and left Simeone dealing with some very awkward questions in his post-match interviews, with his decision to take off both Alex Baena and Thiago Almada heavily criticised in the press.
It also didn't help either that Alvarez reacted angrily to his own withdrawal in the closing stages of the game. "It's normal for Julian to get upset by the substitution," Simeone said after the 2-1 loss in Cornella. "We all get angry, even when playing with friends. He was having a good game." Which obviously begged the question: why take him off, then?
Simeone also insisted that Atleti will learn from the shock defeat, but it's hard not to be a little concerned. They may not have spent as much money as last year, but the Rojiblancos have been very active in the transfer market again and a sustained title challenge is the least the board will expect after such a significant investment in the squad. As it stands, though, Atleti are already playing catch-up…
AFPWINNER: Paris Saint-Germain
There's no hiding the fact that Paris Saint-Germain didn't play particularly well in last week's UEFA Super Cup clash with Tottenham – and they weren't much better against Nantes on Sunday. In both instances, Luis Enrique's side looked like a team struggling to get back up to speed after a gruelling 2024-25 campaign that only came to an end in July – and that's wholly understandable.
PSG didn't have anything resembling proper preparation for the new season. They're essentially having to boost their fitness levels in competitive games, which is far from ideal, and yet PSG are still finding ways to win.
After scraping past Spurs on penalties, they won their Ligue 1 opener thanks to a second-half goal from Vitinha. So, given he felt compelled to start key players such as Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the bench, Luis Enrique was understandably delighted with the three points picked up at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
"If we want to have the chance to win everything, we need all the players," said the Spaniard, who was particularly pleased with the performance of debutant Illia Zabarnyi. "At the moment, I think being able to play with many different players is important, as is improving in terms of fitness."
Just like last term, then, it feels like PSG are only going to get stronger the longer the season goes on.
AFPLOSER: Roberto De Zerbi
Second-placed Marseille finished 19 points behind PSG in Ligue 1 last season, but the feeling was that Roberto De Zerbi's improving side might get a lot closer to the perennial French champions this time around.
After just one round of play, though, OM are in turmoil, after a dismal 1-0 loss to 10-man Rennes on Friday. According to , all hell broke loose in the visitors' dressing room after the game, with several players reportedly clashing, including Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe.
A disgusted De Zerbi also allegedly told his rowing players: "The others beat us on the pitch, and we come in here and fight among ourselves. You know what that means? That we have small balls. In Marseille, we need to have big ones."
It's going to be fascinating to see if one of the most combustible coaches in world football can restore order at the Velodrome in the coming days and weeks. Marseille's title hopes – and indeed De Zerbi's job – will likely depend upon it.