La Liga

There is no better place to start than with El Clasico. A cagey game for long stretches, Barcelona manager Tata Martino got his tactics spot on while Carlo Ancelotti made a number of costly mistakes including playing Sergio Ramos as a defensive midfielder (redundant with Lionel Messi on the wing) and playing Gareth Bale in a central striker role.

Barcelona emerged with a 2 - 1 victory over Real Madrid, and although they were lucky at times, the Catalans deserved the three points.

Selling Mesut Ozil will come back to haunt Real as the team lacks guile. Fantastic footballers though they may be, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Angel Di Maria are known more for their power and pace rather than nuanced and well thought out play.

But at the end of the day, they could do nothing to stop two clever goals from Neymar and a resurgent Alexis Sanchez...

Real Madrid have a lot of catching up to do in the league as they fined themselves six points down already. 

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid's 5 - 0 hammering of Pepe Mel's Real Betis should not go unnoticed, especially as it was a fine response to their first league defeat of the season. David Villa also got a brace in that match...

Celta Vigo also hit five without reply away to last season's Champions League quarter-finalists Malaga. Man of the Match, Nolito scored a very nice goal... 

Serie A

At the weekend Euro Footy Focus guest writer Richard Chambers explained why Roma have made a fine start to the season. That was before they won their ninth consecutive game of the season. A 1 - 0 away win over Udinese - when they were also down to 10-men - meant that they set a record for the best ever start to a Serie A season. The Giallorossi remain five points clear at the top.

It was a weekend when all the title and European-chasing teams got three points with Napoli, Juventus, Fiorentina, Inter Milan and Lazio all doing the business.

The only team to disappoint was AC Milan who slumped to a 3 - 2 defeat at Parma. There is a certain malaise around the Rossoneri and it's hard to see manager Massimiliano Allegri staying on much longer as they languish in 10th.

Bundesliga

This was a weekend when Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund picked up yet another three points. But it was Dortmund's fans who grabbed the headlines - in the wrong way! During the Revierderby against bitter rivals Schalke 04, fans threw fireworks, lit flares and forced the players back into the dressing rooms before kick off. It also follows allegations that Dortmund fans ripped out a row of seating at the Emirates on Tuesday night.

On the pitch at least, Dortmund's Nuri Sahin scored a peach of a goal...

 Ligue 1

The big headlines in France involved PSG who went 2 - 0 down to historically successful Saint Etienne but fought back to draw 2 - 2. The result leaves Zlatan Ibrahimovic and co at the top on goal difference above Monaco.

Primeira Liga

This Saturday on Euro Footy Focus, I will examine why Sporting Lisbon have bounced back in the Portuguese league this season after a disappointing 2012/13.

I made a point of watching last night's top of the table clash between the Lions and Porto. But there was a sense of the inevitable as FC Porto won 3 - 1 despite Lisbon seemingly having more of the ball.

However, Sporting remain second despite the defeat on the same points as city-rivals Benfica.