JuicyTalk
Some of Europe’s top clubs were in action across Saturday as the domestic season rumbled on across the continent.
Real Madrid dispatched of Espanyol to cement their place at the top of La Liga – and Kylian Mbappe was the man to lead them to victory once again.
Elsewhere, Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich were back in action with a trip to Hoffenheim, and Juventus were on the road to Hellas Verona.
In the late window, Udinese hosted AC Milan in Serie A.
Read on to see how the games unfolded.
Hoffenheim 1-4 Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich continued their dominant start to the Bundesliga season with a commanding 4-1 victory at Hoffenheim.
Harry Kane was the star of the show, netting a first-half opener thanks to a low delivery from 17-year-old Lennart Karl, who displayed impressive vision from a right-sided corner.
Kane then doubled his tally early in the second half, converting a penalty after a Hajdari handball, before completing his hat-trick inside the final 15 minutes following a foul on Olise.
Hoffenheim did pull one back in the 82nd minute when Vladimir Coufal’s left-sided free-kick, deflected by Joshua Kimmich, found the net, giving the home fans hope.
However, Bayern quickly restored their three-goal cushion as Serge Gnabry reacted fastest to a rebound from Kimmich’s shot to slot home the fourth.
Despite Hoffenheim creating some promising opportunities and outperforming their expected goals, they were undone by Bayern’s clinical finishing and intelligent play.
Kane’s treble marked his eighth Bundesliga goal of the campaign and underscored Bayern’s ruthless efficiency.
The visitors now lead the league, having amassed 2.9 xG from a dominant performance that left Hoffenheim chasing shadows for most of the match.
Hellas Verona 1-1 Juventus
Juventus’ perfect start to the Serie A season came to an end as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Hellas Verona.
The visitors started sluggishly but eventually took the lead in the 19th minute when Conceicao produced a sublime solo effort.
Receiving the ball in space from Khephren Thuram-Ulien, the Portuguese winger beat three defenders before curling a finish from outside the box into the bottom-left corner.
Verona responded strongly, and just before half-time they were awarded a penalty after Mario handled the ball from a long throw.
Gift Orban stepped up and confidently converted, firing to the right as Di Gregorio dived in vain to keep it out, restoring parity at 1-1.
The second half saw chances for both sides, including a late moment when Verona appeared to take the lead through Serdar from a Nunez flick-on, only for VAR to rule it out for offside.
Udinese 0-3 AC Milan
AC Milan cruised to a 3-0 victory over Udinese in Serie A, with Christian Pulisic grabbing a brace either side of a Youssouf Fofana strike.
The opener arrived in the 39th minute when Pulisic reacted quickest to a rebound inside the six-yard box, firing home after an Estupinan cross deflected off a defender.
The first half was cagey, with limited clear-cut chances, but Milan’s dominance in possession laid the groundwork for their second-half surge.
Just after the interval, Pulisic played a key role again, winning the ball in the box before it fell to Fofana, who curled a composed effort into the far corner to make it 2-0.
Pulisic added his second and Milan’s third in the 53rd minute, connecting with a reverse pass from Adrien Rabiot and firing a first-time strike that the Udinese keeper could only parry into his own net.
