(Reuters) – Talking points from the weekend in European soccer leagues:
GERMANY
GOALS GALORE
Bundesliga fans have enjoyed another goal-rich matchday with VfB Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy netting twice in their 3-1 win over Darmstadt 98 to take his league tally to an impressive 10 goals from five games and equal a Bundesliga record for the best start held by Robert Lewandowski.
Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane secured his own milestone with a double in their 7-0 demolition of VfL Bochum, becoming the first Bayern player to score seven goals in his first five matches for the Bavarians.
Bayer Leverkusen new signing Victor Boniface also made the record books after striking twice in their 4-1 win over promoted Heidenheim, matching the club record for most goals in the first five league games of a season.
ITALY
ARNAUTOVIC’S INJURY PUTS PRESSURE ON INTER’S FRONT ROW
Austria’s Marko Arnautovic had a brief outing in Inter Milan’s 1-0 win at Empoli on Sunday but did not complete the match after suffering a muscle injury and is expected to be out for several weeks.
Manager Simone Inzaghi, who had signed the striker before the season to provide rotation options, said: “It’s a pity, he is a very important player and had settled in well.”
Inter, who play with two strikers in each match, now have Lautaro Martinez, Alexis Sanchez, and Marcus Thuram available in the front row until at least the international break at the start of October.
FRANCE
PSG FINALLY WITH A CLEAR PLAYING STYLE UNDER LUIS ENRIQUE
After a slow start to the Ligue 1 season, French champions Paris St Germain demonstrated in their last two outings that they have finally found a playing style.
Coach Luis Enrique, who previously led Barcelona and Spain, has been imposing a ‘Tika Taka’ style to PSG, and it paid off against Borussia Dortmund (2-0) in the Champions League and in Sunday’s 4-0 demolition of Olympique de Marseille.
PSG left the pitch full of confidence following a near-perfect game with strikers Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani finding the back of the net for the first time this season.
SPAIN
SIMEONE GETS ATLETICO A STATEMENT WIN AGAINST REAL MADRID
Alvaro Morata scored a brace to help Atletico Madrid deliver a statement performance as they outclassed city rivals Real Madrid in a 3-1 derby win on Sunday.
It was only the second Atletico win in the last 13 derbys as Real Madrid’s dominance in the Spanish capital has been a nightmare for Diego Simeone’s side in the recent years.
Sunday’s dominant win could be a major confidence boost for Atletico in a season that has just begun.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, Tommy Lund, Julien Pretot and Fernando Kallas)
