Biggest Football Talking Points From This Past Weekend

After two months, the Premier League, German Bundesliga, and DStv Premiership got back underway over the weekend. There was so much at stake with clubs eyeing to get off to the perfect start and collect valuable points. Players like Sadio Mane, Darwin Nunez, and Erling Haaland were making debuts for their respective teams. Despite playing at home, Manchester United suffered a shocking loss to Brighton as the future of Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford remains the centre of attention.

Let’s take a look at the interesting talking points from the weekend’s fixtures across the world.

Top Strikers Impress On Debut

With the opening round of fixtures in the EPL, all eyes were on Darwin Nunez and Erling Haaland to deliver after being signed with hefty fees by Liverpool and Manchester City respectively. In the Community Shield match, Haaland had a terrible match when City suffered a 3-1 loss to Liverpool at Kings Power Stadium. But the £52.6 million signing shut down the critics with a brace to give City a comfortable 2-0 win on the road to West Ham. Haaland was the second City player to score a brace on their EPL debut with the other one being club legend Sergio Aguero. If Citizens are going to challenge for the third consecutive league title then the 22-year-old Norwegian striker has to keep delivering in front of goal. 

Despite, Liverpool playing to a disappointing 2-2 draw against newcomers Fulham but Darwin Nunez continued to impress in a Reds jersey. The Uruguayan scored a goal plus provided an assist for Mohammed Salah’s second goal. Nunez could have scored more as one of his shots got saved earlier in the second half. 

Jamal Musiala Continues To Impress As Sadio Mane Scores On Debut

After Bayern Munich’s emphatic victory against RB Leipzig in the DFL Supercup last weekend, Julian Nagelsmann decided to stick with the same line-up against Eintracht Frankfurt in the league opener. The decision by the German coach proved to be fruitful as Bayern cruised to a 6-1 victory. One of the standout performers in the match was youngster Jamal Musiala. The 19-year-old attacking midfield scored a brace in the match as he continues to start the new season brilliantly. In the match against Leipzig, he scored a goal plus provided an assist. 

Musiala is slowly cementing his place in the starting eleven acquiring his place in the wide position as Leroy Sane is forced to start from the bench. Sadio Mane handed himself a good Bundesliga debut as the Senegalese striker was on the scoresheet. Mane led the Bavarian attack as expected to fill the gap left by Robert Lewandowski who joined Barcelona this summer. The 30-year-old seems to be a perfect fit for the team and is expected to shine all season long.

Manchester United Suffered A Home Loss As Cristiano Ronaldo’s Future Remains Uncertain

Manchester United suffered their first loss against Brighton when playing at home in six matches going 2-1 on Sunday at Old Trafford Stadium. Pascal Grob was the hero for Brighton scoring twice in the first half before Alexis Mac Allister scored an own-goal to hand a consolation goal for United. United who finished in the sixth position in the EPL last season was expected to start brightly under a new manager Eric Ten Hag. But the side was no near close to being regarded as league contenders.

The biggest question surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s future remains unanswered. The 37-year-old Portuguese striker started on the bench on Sunday coming on shortly at the second stanza. It was reported that Ronaldo is desperately in need of Champions League football and wants out of the Red Devils. Even during the pre-season, Ronaldo wasn’t involved that much.

Can Sundowns Make It Six In A Row?

Whenever the DStv Premiership resumes, Mamelodi Sundowns are tipped as the favourites to clinch the league title. It is not surprising though as they scooped the league crown for five seasons in a row. They started this season on a similar note as they ended the last one. A 2-0 victory on the road to Cape Town City ensured their title defence start brilliantly. The Brazilians have been known for making quality signings to bolster their squad and this season they haven’t stopped doing that. This is one of the reasons other teams find it hard to compete with them. 

Despite, Orlando Pirates winning 1-0 against the Swallows, they didn’t display a kind of football that can one regard them as the league contenders. Plus Kaizer Chiefs is still in the building phase under new coach Arthur Zwane and that was seen on Saturday when suffering a 1-0 loss to Royal AM. It remains to be seen if there is any team close to challenging Sundowns for the league honours. 

Can Mitrovic’s Brilliance Keeps Fulham In The Top-Flight?

One of the standout players in the English Premier League opening round of fixtures was Aleksandar Mitrovic. The 27-year-old Serbian striker continued with the bright form he showed last season when he scored 43 goals from 44 matches in the English Championship to ensure that Fulham gained promotion to top-flight football. On Saturday, he started the new season with a brace in front of the home crowd at Craven Cottage to earn his team a hard-fought point against a quality Liverpool side. In the first goal, he jumped high in the air to beat Trent Alexander-Arnold to give Fulham a lead from a header. His brace was completed from a penalty spot which was awarded after being brought down by Virgil Van Dijk. 

His aerial presence plus his ability to hold the ball for attacking players to join the play will cause all sorts of problems for clubs this season. If Fulham is hoping to stay in the top flight then Mitrovic needs to continue to put in these splendid performances.