THERE’S little doubt that Liverpool’s problems have developed into something of a mini-crisis after they were humbled 3-0 at home by Nottingham Forest. People are now talking about the future of coach Arne Slot, just a few months after he led the Reds to the league title. They have now lost six out of the last seven Premier games, but a 3-0 home defeat against a team near the foot of the table was a genuine shock. It was a weekend in which Manchester City were also beaten, by Newcastle United, and Arsenal strengthened their position at the top with an oustanding 4-1 victory in the North London derby against Spurs. Recent signing Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick for the Gunners. Chelsea are in second place after winning 2-0 at Burnley. Wolves look in a very precarious position after another defeat, this time at the hands of Crystal Palace.
**Serie A: Tough at the top**
MILAN won the _Derby della Madonnina_ at the San Siro 1-0 to move up to second in the table. Although Christian Pulisic was the matchwinner (54 minutes), it was a missed penalty by Hakan Calhanoglu and Milan keeper Mike Maignan’s unusual positioning – standing almost far left in his goal to tempt the penalty taker – that captured the headlines. Inter struck the woodwork twice and generally had more chances to win the game. Napoli went top after winning 3-1 against Atalanta, David Neres scoring twice and Noa Lang netting his first for the club. Antonio Conte was happy with the win and way it was earned. He also dismissed any claims he was going to leave the club. Roma are still in the hunt, they won 3-1 at Cremonese with Irish striker Evan Ferguson scoring his first goal for the club. Juventus were frustratingly held to a 1-1 draw by bottom club Fiorentina. Parma, one of the teams struggling to win games, got off the mark with a 2-1 victory at Verona.
**Ligue 1: Marseille’s challenge is real**
OLYMPIQUE Marseille underlined their title bid with another emphatic performance, beating Nice 5-1 away from home. Mason Greenwood, who is now the leading scorer in Ligue 1 with 10 goals, scored twice and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also getting on the scoresheet. Paris Saint-Germain went back to the top after beating a spirited Le Havre side 3-0. PSG’s neighbours, Paris FC, went ahead at Lille but were beaten by a late surge by the home side. Olivier Giroud scored twice for Lille. Rennes beat Monaco 4-1 who brought on Paul Pogba for his first appearance in over two years, while Lens were 1-0 winners against Strasbourg in a match that saw both teams receive red cards.
**La Liga: Barca close the gap at Camp Nou**
REAL Madrid had to thank Jude Bellingham for an 87th minute equaliser as the league leaders were held 2-2 by Elche. The home team were ahead twice and it was not until the 78th minute that Dean Huijsen equalised for the first time. Elche had a man sent off in the closing seconds of the game. Barcelona, playing at the Camp Nou in front of 45,000 people, won 4-0 against Athletic Bilbao, who were also reduced to 10 men. Ferran Torres scored twice and Barca’s other goals came from Robert Lewandowski and Fermín López. Atlético Madrid won 1-0 at Getafe, the winner an own goal, while Betis and Girona drew 1-1 with 64,000 in attendance. Betis’s former Manchester United striker Antony, was sent off. Villareal won 2-1 at home to Mallorca and maintained third place in the table.
**Bundesliga: Goals galore**
A TOTAL of 34 goals were scored in nine games, with Bayern Munich netting six against Freiburg. Michael Olise was the star of their 6-2 victory, scoring twice and assisting in three goals. Harry Kane also added to his total for the season. Freiburg had taken a two-goal lead inside 17 minutes but Bayern got back to 2-2 by half-time. Leipzig won 2-0 against Werder Bremen and are in second place. Borussia Dortmund and VFB Stuttgart shared six goals with VFB’s Deniz Undav scoring a hat-trick. Köln and Eintracht Frankfurt went one better with the latter winning 4-3. Frankfurt led 4-1 with an hour gone and despite a plucky fight-back by Köln they held on to win the points. Bayer Leverkusen continued their good form with a 3-1 win at Wolfsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach made it three wins in a row with a 3-0 success at Heidenheim.
**Eredivisie: PSV take advantage**
PSV EINDHOVEN went six points clear at the top of the table after winning 1-0 at NAC Breda, with Guus Til scoring the winner. Feyenoord are in second place but went down 4-2 at home to NEC Nijmegen. Two late goals by Kento Shiogai clinched the points for NEC, who won at De Kuip for the first time since 2011. Ajax’s malaise continued with a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Excelsior, whose goals came from Noah Naujoks. Ajax, who are still managerless, pulled one back through Kasper Dolberg.
**Scottish Premiership: Pressure building on Hearts**
HEARTS lost for the first time in the league, their third game in four in which they have dropped points. Aberdeen beat them 1-0, the vital goal coming from Topi Keskinen in the 39th minute. Hearts are four points clear of Celtic, who won 1-0 at St. Mirren, but the reigning champions have a game in hand. Rangers recent improvement continued with their fourth consecutive win, a 2-1 home success against bottom-placed Livingston. Hibernian, who beat Dundee 2-0, are in third, level on points with the Gers.
**Attendances**
1. Borussia Dortmund v VFB Stuttgart – 81,365
2. Inter v AC Milan – 75,562
3. Bayern Munich v Freiburg – 75,000
4. Real Betis v Girona – 64,268
5. Liverpool v Nottingham Forest – 60,419
6. Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur – 60,345
Game of the People was founded in 2012 and is ranked among the 100 best football websites by various sources. The site consistently wins awards for its work, across a broad range of subjects. [View all posts by Neil Fredrik Jensen](https://gameofthepeople.com/author/georgefjord/)