Serie A
Any match between Juventus and Milan should normally be hyped to the rafters but when you look at the current Rossoneri side which travelled to the Juventus Arena, it's hard to get excited.
The squad is already one of the weakest they have had in decades, but shorn of the suspended Mario Balotelli and the injured Stephan El Shaarawey, the seven-time European champions were seriously weakened before facing the reigning Italian champions.
As it happened, Milan showed plenty of heart to come away with a 3 - 2 defeat, but having watched last night's match and the performance against Celtic three weeks ago, I can confirm that they are a poor side. They constantly conceded possession and it was hard to know what philosophy or tactics they were using.
After a frantic first ten minutes which yielded a Milan goal from ex-Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari and an equaliser from Pirlo via a free-kick, the game turned in the second half.
Firstly Milan defender Philippe Mexes should have been sent off for aiming a punch at opposite number Giorgio Chiellini while defending a corner...
The ref did not get a clear view of the incident but Juventus did go in front thanks to the good balance and speed of the Atomic Ant Sebastian Giovinco...
There was some justice where Mexes is concerned as he was sent off for a second bookable offence. But after the game, Chiellini called for a lengthy ban for the earlier incident.
The home wins keeps Juve in third, just two points down on Roma. Speaking of the Romans, they just keep winning under Rudi Garcia and notched up a 3 - 0 away win at Inter Milan on Saturday.
Roma did not look like conceding and continually tore Inter apart on the break and with Francesco Totti in fine form, belief is building on the banks of the Tiber.
On a sidenote, if you're a budding defensive midfielder watch this game back for a masterclass on how to shield your back four courtesy of the rejuvenated Daniele De Rossi. The man anticipated everything.
Needless to say, Totti's opener was pretty special even for a footballing immortal...
Napoli kept pace with Roma in the Scudetto race as they beat Livorno 4 - 0 yesterday. Rafa Benitez' side are second, while Fiorentina are sixth after a 1 - 1 draw with Lazio.
La Liga
When the international break is over, the first Clasico will take place and Real Madrid have reason to be fearful before they travel to Camp Nou.
They were really poor again on Saturday, escaping Levante with a 3 - 2 win. Heading into the 90th minute, Real were trailing 2 - 1 but then youngster Alvaro Morata who coincidentally appeared on this week's Scouting Report netted an equaliser before a 94th minute Cristiano Ronaldo winner.
Barcelona continue their winning run with Neymar starring in a 4 - 1 win at home to Real Valladolid. But Atletico Madrid kept pace at the top of the table with a 2 - 1 victory over Luis Enrique's Celta Vigo.
Neymar's goal was not as amazing as advertised below but it still went in - which is the point of this beautiful game that FIFA and UEFA do their damnedest to spoil. But it's Alexis Sanchez who is an interesting proposition. The Chilean has underwhelmed during his Barca career but scored twice against Valladolid and has a tendency to score and perform well when Lionel Messi is out injured.
Meanwhile, Villareal's fine start to the season went into another week with a 3 - 0 victory over Granada.
Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 2 - 0 at Borussia Monchengladbach. The game was locked at 0 - 0 until the final ten minutes when Mats Hummels conceded a penalty which Max Kruse converted (watch out for Kruse in the Scouting Report over the next couple of weeks). Hummels was sent off and Monchengladbach bagged another goal to finish the job. Jurgen Klopp will be disappointed by the 'smash and grab defeat'.
That means Bayern go top after Pep's team drew 1 - 1 with third-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
Rafael Van der Vaart also scored a fantastic goal as an inconsistent Hamburg (now under ex-Holland coach Bert Van Marwijk) thrashed FC Nurnberg 5 - 0 away from home. It's reminiscent of the goal Paolo Di Canio scored against Wimbledon back in the day...
Finally in Ligue 1, PSG beat Marseille 2 - 1 in Le Classique, a result which keeps the Parisians second and their southern rivals fourth. Monaco's Russian-cash fuelled team head PSG on goal difference at the top of the table.
