Much of Saturday night in La Liga was devoted to Gareth Bale's goalscoring debut. But in reality his goal came somewhat against the run of play as he and his Real Madrid colleagues struggled to a 2 - 2 draw away to a vibrant Villareal.
Before his equaliser, Villareal should have been more than 1 - 0 up but as it happens, the team which was at a crossroads last season still managed to get a draw against a team featuring a player who's left peg cost more to acquire.
Meanwhile Barcelona were very, very lucky to come away from the Camp Nou with a win against my adopted Spanish team Sevilla.
The Andalusians had a goal ruled out at 1 - 0 when defender Cala (main image) was ajudged to have fouled Gerard Pique at a corner. It looked a very harsh call at first viewing.
As it happens, Lionel Messi played a major part in the winner which came just after the allotted three minutes of injury time. The Argentine tore his way into the box before squaring it for Alexis Sanchez who tapped in the rebound off the keeper to make it 3 - 2.
On one hand, Barca and Real's struggles at the weekend are understandable. Both sides often suffer a dip after an international break as most squad members are away on international duty.
Meanwhile, a Mounir El Hamadoui-inspired Malaga put Rayo Vallencano to the sword by a 5 - 0 scoreline.
The other scoreline that grabs one's attention is Real Betis' impressive 3 - 1 win over Valencia in Seville.
Watching the game last night, you would have concerns about cash-strapped Valencia this season as they were easily out-witted and out-manoevered by Pepe Mel's side.
While Valencia languish down in 15th with just win from four, Atletico Madrid are top of the table on goal difference and again one must heap praise on Diego Simeone for turning a once-flaky club into a team that can deliver consistent results.
Italy
Meanwhile, Serie A's Derby d'Italia ended 1 - 1 with Inter Milan and Juventus playing out a draw. But Napoli have continued their fine start under Rafa Benitez with a third win from three at home to Atalanta.
Napoli stay top of the table but AC Milan's relatively poor start continues. The Rossoneri needed a 96th minute penalty from Mario Balotelli to get a 2 - 2 draw away to Torino.
Germany
Borussia Dortmund have made it five wins from five thanks to a 6 - 2 win over Hamburg with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Robert Lewandowski both bagging a brace. Marco Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan completed the scoring.
Bayern Munich stay on their tail, two points behind, after a 2 - 0 home win over Hannover 96. But the club's sporting director had a go at the players, claiming that they are not at their best and that they are hiding behind Pep Guardiola. As we've seen before, Sammer is the true power at Bayern these days.
In Ligue 1, PSG put in their first decent performance of the season to earn a 2 - 0 win over Bordeaux, while a Radamel Falcao penalty helped Monaco to another win.
