GOAL US unpacks the main weekend storylines from the Premier League, La Liga and other top competitions in The Euro XI
The first round of matches after an international break always feel a bit weird. Most players have been away for a couple of weeks. Their brains are still whirring back into gear. Some tactical ideas are filed away, while new ones are brought back to the fore. Not everything clicks. It's all a little disoriented.
The good news is that it usually leads to one of two things: either, the games are really good and entirely silly. Or, they're frightfully boring, 22 guys just playing it safe. This weekend yielded a bit of both.
Serie A (usually bad) was good. Liverpool (usually very good) were bad - but got away with it, anyway. Arsenal (usually boring) were very exciting. And Erling Haaland scored two very good goals. It all offered quite a bit of content - which is ultimately what this sport is for.
GOAL US presents The Euro XI, with 11 key observations from the weekend.