BACK in the 1990s, it was a case of “1-0 to the Arsenal” when George Graham was their manager. This season, the Gunners are defending their title stoutly and although they have scored only 15 goals, they have conceded just five and have kept seven clean sheets. Their 1-0 win against Hull City was their fourth by that scoreline. They have won nine out of 10 games, an impressive record that has given them a five-point lead at the top of the table. The winner against Hull came from Martin Ødegaard in the 72^nd minute. Brighton, the only team to beat Arsenal in the Premier this season, are now in second place after their 2-0 win against Brentford. Manchester City were beaten for the third consecutive game, losing 3-1 at Nottingham Forest. Former City youngster Liam Delap, who joined Forest in the summer for £ 45 million from Chelsea, scored twice for the home side. There was more drama at Manchester United, who fell two-goals behind in the first four minutes against Aston Villa. They came back to equalise before half-time but Villa again built a two-goal lead but were undone in added time when Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu scored for United. A 4-4 draw was exciting for the neutrals, but once more showed up United’s shortcomings and the smart money is on coach Michael Carrick being dismissed in the coming days. Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage saw his team lose 3-1 at home to Liverpool, while struggling Sunderland beat a lack-lustre Chelsea 1-0. Leeds picked up their first league win since September, 1-0 against Tottenham Hotspur.

Match of the week: Inter Milan 2 Como 0

Como have been commanding attention all season and their 9-1 midweek mauling of Lens in the Champions League was quite astonishing. They went to the San Siro in fourth place in Serie A with Inter two places above them with a 100% record at home in the league. Perhaps Como had used up their energy in France, but they were certainly lacking their usual vigour. Inter have been something of a bogey side for Como in the past couple of years and that continued in the early stages when the home team scored twice. Franco Esposito finished off a Djed Spence cross for the first goal after 12 minutes and seven minutes later, Marcus Thuram shot through the legs of the Como keeper. It was a solid victory for Inter and only Como’s second defeat of the campaign.

Serie A: Leaders held

Inter’s win kept them in second place in the Serie A table, but they are just a point behind leaders Lazio who had to be satisfied with a 1-1 draw in Naples. Lazio went ahead in the 28^th minute through Davide Frattesi but an own goal gave Napoli a point. Lazio remain unbeaten after their best ever points haul after 11 games. Their Roman rivals, Roma, are also unbeaten after beating Sassuolo 3-0 with Rodrigo Mora, their € 25 million summer signing from Porto, again catching the eye and scoring one of the goals. Milan won 2-1 at Genoa with goals from Alpha Cisse and Christian Pulisic, while Juventus drew 2-2 away at Fiorentina with on-loan Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade scoring his first Serie A goal for Juve.

Ligue 1: PSG scrape home

There was no repeat of PSG’s six-goal Champions League performance when the French champions welcomed Troyes to the Parc des Princes. Despite dominating the game, PSG found Troyes deep-lying defence difficult to break down and could only muster up a single goal, headed home by Zabarnyi six minutes before half-time. PSG’s finishing was below par, notably Ferrna Torrres. PSG’s neighbours, Paris, beat Monaco 3-1 to move back into the top four. Lassine Sinayoko scored twice for the home team. Lyon lost coach Paulo Fonseca in midweek but were quick to appoint Carlos Vicens as his replacement. Jorge Maciel took charge at Brest where Lyon were beaten 2-0. Marseille took advantage of more defensive slackness by Lens and beat them 2-1 with goals from Amine Gouiri and Keyliane Abdallah. In between, Lens scored through Florian Thauvin.

Player of the week: Lassine Sinayoko

With two goals and an assist, Paris FC have to thank Mali-born Sinayoko for helping them to a 3-1 win against Monaco. But they have been grateful all season for the 26-year-old forward’s contribution, which has included nine of their 17 Ligue 1 goals, making him the league’s top scorer. Sinayoko’s story is one of persistence as in his youth he was rejected by a number of clubs. He was signed by Paris in July from Auxerre, costing them € 8 million. He is now valued at more than € 20 million by Premier League scouts who have been watching him in recent weeks. Paris may have had offers already, but they claim that they will not sell their prize asset. Sinayoko is on a three-year contract. He has been capped 33 times by Mali and scored three goals in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. He is clearly one to watch.

Bundesliga: Neck and neck

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are level on points at the top and the only unbeaten sides after nine games. Bayern won 2-1 at Mainz with Harry Kane turning provider, creating goals for Joshua Kimmich (a stunner) and Lennart Karl. Dortmund, including England call-up Jobe Bellingham, won 2-1 at home to Elversberg. Felix Nmecha scored both goals, the second a fine long-range effort. Noel Futkeu netted a spectacular volley in response for Elversberg. RB Leipzig may not have the same level of consistency as the top two, but they know how to score goals. They have 27 in nine games after beating Augsburg 5-2. Surprise club Freiburg continue to keep pace, they beat Union Berlin 2-0 to secure third place. The Rhine derby ended with Bayer Leverkusen winning 2-1 at Köln. Patrik Schick scoring the decisive goal for Leverkusen.

La Liga: Barca win in Madrid

Barcelona demonstrated they can scrap for points with a 2-1 win at Atlético Madrid’s Metropolitano stadium. Atléti took a 10^thminute lead through Giuliano Simeone and were the better side in the first half, but by half-time, Fermín López had levelled for the league leaders. He scored again in the 66th minute with an excellent finish from Lamine Yamal’s pass. Real Madrid are three points behind Barca, despite winning 3-0 against Valencia at the Mestalla. They were always in control against the struggling home side, creating 19 shots compared to Valencia’s four. They took the lead through Federico Valverde on 28 minutes and six minutes later, Arda Güler added a second. With a quarter of an hour to go, Kylian Mbappé wrapped up the scoring. Shortly afterwards, Valencia’s José Gayà was sent off for bringing down Mbappé.

Attendances

81,365 – Dortmund v Elversberg; 77,593 – Inter v Como; 74,149 – Man.United v Aston Villa; 69,788 – Atlético v Barcelona; 64,674 – Roma v Sassuolo; 60,285 – Arsenal v Hull City.

Looking at the line-up: FC Copenhagen’s side in the “new firm” derby

A crowd of more than 34,000 saw FCK beat Brøndby 1-0 and maintain their position at the top of the Danish Superliga. Only five of the 15 players used were Danes, including veteran midfield Thomas Delaney, a much-travelled figure who is 35 years of age. There are other very experienced players at FCK, including Norwegian forward Mohamed Elyounoussi (32), who is joined leading scorer in the Superliga with seven goals. There’s also Asgar Sørensen (30), Birger Meling (31) and Andreas Cornelius (33). The 15 also included representatives from Germany, Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Mexico, Brazil, Morocco, Japan, Iceland and Czech Republic. The cost of the players fielded at the Parken was around € 15 million. There were five new signings in the line-up: goalkeeper Diant Ramaj (Dortmund – loan), Akos Magraf (Újpest), Sørensen (Sparta Prague), Felix Beijmo (AGF) and Alex Král (Union Berlin). The most highly valued of FCK’s permanent players is Rodrigo Huescas, the 23-year-old full back who was signed from Cruz Azul in 2024 for € 1.85 million. He is valued at around € 6 million by Transfermarkt.