5 Biggest Stories From European Football This Weekend: Tottenham troubles, Elversberg’s dream Bundesliga debut and more
Domestic football across Europe is in full flow. With Germany’s Bundesliga kicking off last weekend, all major European leagues are now underway.
Premier League has seen two rounds of action, same as Serie A. Meanwhile, La Liga and the Scottish Premiership have completed three matchday weekends. There have been some upsets and stunning starts for underdogs to go along with some dominant displays.
With Curva Global now takes a look at some of the biggest stories from the weekend.
Tottenham’s troubles
Having spent £300m, Tottenham Hotspur fans were feeling optimistic ahead of the new season. The club has rarely made a splash in the transfer market like this, and it raised expectations among a fanbase disgruntled by league performances over the last two seasons.
But following a 3-0 opening day defeat at Brentford, Spurs faithful were given a reality check in their own background by Newcastle United. After a goalless first half, Anthony Elanga broke the deadlock to put the Magpies ahead just after the hour mark. Ten minutes later, the Tyneside club was celebrating again after Yoane Wissa made it 2-0.
Spurs huffed and puffed, and this was a slightly improved performance than their opening day surrender at Gtech Community Stadium, but questions remain. There wasn’t any clarity in terms of shape and how the team intends to play under Roberto De Zerbi after the overhaul of the team during the summer.
Newcastle looked far more energetic and hungry for loose balls and had a clear game plan under new coach Matthias Jaissle. For Spurs, two games into the season, and the reading looks glum. 5 goals conceded, none scored, zero points on the board. De Zerbi was upbeat after the defeat, saying that he wasn’t angry with the performance.
He said his team was working well and were unlucky with the result. There is some reason to his argument. The home side had 17 attempts, with six of them on target. Newcastle scored with both their shots on target. So De Zerbi does have the right to believe they are doing the right thing. But football is a result-driven business.
The fragilities at the back need to be addressed, and so does the lack of conversion upfront. If the results do not turn up immediately, De Zerbi will feel the anger coming from the stands.
Elversberg’s fairytale start to life in Bundesliga
German football this weekend was fascinated with Elversberg. A town of just over 13,000 residents is going to be represented in the Bundesliga for the first time. Elversberg achieved a miraculous promotion from the second tier last season after finishing runners-up. For their top-flight debut, the tiny club was handed the task of taking on 2024 Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen at home.
The game at Ursapharm Arena, which hosted 9,300 fans, began with the hosts rattling their more illustrious opponents early on. They shocked Leverkusen by taking the lead in the eighth minute through Lukas Petkov. 60 seconds later, Cole Campbell doubled their lead to send the home fans into dreamland.
The start of the second half brought more joy as David Mokwa made it 3-0, and it proved to be the difference. Desperate to avoid an opening day shock, Leverkusen manager Carles Martínez made a few attacking changes. Patrick Schick scored in the 77th minute and substitute Christian Kofané further reduced the deficit with this stoppage time goal, but it wasn’t enough.
Tipped for relegation by many, Vincent Wagner’s team held on for a 3-2 win. It won’t be easy for them to continue in this vein of form, but early evidence suggests their fans are in for an exciting ride for the next nine months or so.
AS Roma continue rampant start
AS Roman continued their 100% winning start in impressive fashion against Lecce. Gian Piero Gasperini’s team thrashed their opponents by four goals, with Donyell Malen once again in fine form.
The Dutch forward scored a brace inside 23 minutes, and Matias Soulé made it three-nil after 25 minutes. Dominant in possession and in attack, Roma scored a fourth goal in the 65th minute through new signing Rodrigo Mora.
This win takes Giallorossi to the top of the Serie A table on goal difference after two gameweeks. The capital club started the season with a 4-0 thumping of Fiorentina at the Stadio Olimpico, with Malen grabbing a hat-trick.
While the results have looked impressive, the attacking performance on display would have made their Serie A rivals stand up and take notice. Last season, Gasperini delivered Roma’s best league finish since 2018, leading them to third place. The fans were confident ahead of the new season, and this start will only add to their belief.
In our Serie A preview for this season, we mentioned that a Scudetto challenge isn’t improbable, and their fast start to the season suggests it may very well happen. These are still early days, but Roma fans will be excited by what they have seen so far.
Derek McInnes and Rangers find some respite
It has been a far from ideal start for Derek McInnes in his role as the new Rangers manager. The former Hearts boss failed to win his two opening league games, suffering a home defeat to Hibernian in the process.
European football piled on the misery with woeful exits against Jagiellonia Bialystok in Europa League qualifying and Jablonec in the Conference League. Thus, the visit to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen presented a fiesty challenge.
Gers looked a little off pace against the Dons, probably due to their midweek exertions against Jablonec, having lost the game on penalties. For the most part, it looked like another frustrating day out for McInnes and his men, until Dan Happe’s lunge at Djeidi Gassama resulted in a penalty.
Lawrence Shankland fired in a confident spot kick and Rangers held on for a morale boosting win. There was a scare with Kevin Nisbet netting for Stephen Robinson’s side, only for the referee to judge that the striker had pushed Dujon Sterling in the build up.
Rangers did have some quality on display from Gassama and new signing Kim Min-su. Both players looked vibrant in attack and may give their team the edge they need upfront. There won’t be many Rangers fans complaining after the first league win of the season, but they know that performances will have to pick up if their side is to challenge for the title.
For now, the result at the home of his old club offers McInnes some breathing space.
Racing Santander entertain again
Racing Santander are back in La Liga after a 14-year break, and they have looked impressive so far. At the weekend, they picked up their first win of the season, after scoring three first half goals against Elche.
Moroccan forward Yassir Zabiri netted a hat-trick inside 36 minutes to put his side in cruise control. Elche fought back with two goals through Fer Nino and Buba Sangare, but it wasn’t enough.
Racing now sit in the 10th spot with four points from their first three games. In our La Liga preview, we tipped them not only to survive but to be a surprise package this season. Under manager José Alberto López, the team plays a “relationist” brand of football, which means a departure from the more traditional positional style of play teams in Spain usually adopt.
The Verdiblancos are more dynamic in their structure, with players roaming freely and creating overloads. There were questions about whether this method would succeed in the top-flight against higher quality teams, but so far Racing have proven that their way of playing is up to the standards.
They started the season at home with a thrilling 2-2 draw against Villarreal, with all four goals coming in the first half. The team suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Getafe in their next game but had more possession and shots on target compared to their opponents. Against Elche, they were prolific and looked threatening going forward.
The El Sardinero will definitely be the one to keep an eye on, and with their style of play, don’t be surprised if they claim a big scalp or two soon in the league. So far, they have been La Liga’s entertainers, and long may it continue.
