The first international break of the season starts now, after most leagues in Europe have only played two or three matchdays. It is still way too early to draw conclusions, but there are already some winners and losers from the opening matches, the ones that took place in August. The "summer champions", so to speak.
Premier League
In England, predictably, the only team with 9 points, and 3/3 victories, is last year's champions Liverpool. That already includes one of the biggest games in the calendar, a home victory against Arsenal, last year's runner-ups.
Chelsea is second, with two victories and one draw, and five sides have two victories and one defeat. Surprisingly, Manchester City is way down after only winning one match and losing two...
Liverpool: 9 points
Chelsea: 7 points
Arsenal: 6 points
Tottenham: 6 points
Everton: 6 points
Sunderland: 6 points
Bournemouth: 6 points
LaLiga
Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid has started in strong terms, with three victories, despite him taking these games as "pre-season". Only Athletic Club has won all first three games, but are behind in goal difference. FC Barcelona, last year's winners, stumbled in Vallecas, and Atlético de Madrid, which usually finishes third, has started horribly: one defeat and two draws... 17th out of 20.
Real Madrid: 9 points
Athletic Club: 9 points
Villarreal: 7 points
Barcelona: 7 points
Espanyol: 7 points
Getafe: 6 points
Ligue 1
Few surprises in Ligue 1: PSG has not dropped any point, and so far the only team matching them is Lyon, with three out of three victories. Last year's runner ups Marseille have only won one, lost two. The most recent winner other than PSG, Lille in 2021, are third.
PSG: 9 points
Lyon: 9 points
LOSC: 7 points
Monaco: 6 points
Lens: 6 points
Strasbourg: 6 points
Toulouse: 6 points
Serie A:
Only two games have been played in Italy before the break, and four teams have achieved two victories. Atalanta, third last year, is way behind with two draws, and Inter Milan sits sixth with three points, lifted by goal difference so far.
Napoli: 6 points
Juventus: 6 points
Cremonese: 6 points
Roma: 6 points
Udinese: 6 points
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich wins Bundesliga almost every year, and there have been no surprises so far after two matchdays. The only team that took their crown in 2024, Bayer Leverkusen, is struggling (1 draw, 1 defeat) and have just fired their coach, Erik ten Hag...
Bayern Munich: 6 points
Eintracht Frankfurt: 6 points
Koln: 6 points
Dortmund: 4 points
FC St Pauli: 4 points
Wolfsburg: 4 points