With the October international break now in the rearview mirror, club football returned in style over the weekend, with some huge clashes headlining Europe's biggest leagues. Manchester United plunged great rivals Liverpool into even deeper crisis in the Premier League, Bayern Munich got the better of Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker while there were changes of leader in both Serie A and Ligue 1.
On an individual level, some of the main contenders for the 2026 Ballon d'Or continued their fine starts to the season while there was a managerial sacking in England that many saw coming a mile off but still generated huge headlines around the world for just how quickly it came once the action got back under way.
GOAL breaks down the 10 biggest winners and losers from around Europe this past weekend…
Getty Images SportWINNER: Ruben Amorim
It might have taken him 11 months and 51 matches, but Ruben Amorim has won back-to-back matches as Manchester United manager. For so long the Red Devils have lurched from one crisis point to another, so it actually feels a little strange to be talking about them being in a position to capitalise on some forward momentum.
That Amorim backed up the win over Sunderland from before the international break with victory over United's eternal rivals Liverpool will have made this even sweeter for Red Devils supporters. Not since Wayne Rooney netted the winner on Merseyside in 2016 had United won at Anfield, but their performance in Sunday's 2-1 was not only deserving of the three points but also pointed to Amorim being able to eventually bring some consistency to Old Trafford.
Ever since he replaced Erik ten Hag at the helm, questions have been asked as to whether Amorim can actually bring sustained success back to the Theatre of Dreams due to his insistence on playing a 3-4-3 formation that his squad aren't a fit for. However, if Casemiro can continue rolling back the years, Bruno Fernandes can maintain his current energy levels and Senne Lammens can build on his solid start to life in the United goal, then they certainly have the talent in attack to turn this ship around.
Time will tell as to whether this result truly was lift-off for Amorim, but he couldn't have (eventually) got himself a better launching pad.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportLOSER: Ange Postecoglou
Has there ever been a more inevitable sacking coming back from an international break than Ange Postecoglou's dismissal by Nottingham Forest? Probably not, and even then it came as a shock that the Australian's removal from the City Ground dugout was confirmed just following Forest's 3-0 loss to Chelsea on Saturday.
Postecoglou was on a hiding to nothing following his appointment in September after replacing the immensely popular Nuno Espirito Santo, with few seeing many similarities between the two coaches' respective footballing philosophies, and thus he needed results to win over both the Forest fans and players. Instead, Postecoglou oversaw a 39-day tenure that resulted in six defeats and two draws across all competitions and that leaves them inside the Premier League's relegation zone just six months on from being entrenched in the top four.
Of course, the former Tottenham boss didn't help himself by insisting pre-match that, if given the time, he has proven he will win a trophy in his second season in charge. Unfortunately for 'Big Ange', the most likely piece of silverware Forest would have been chasing in 2026-27 would have been the Championship trophy had he remained in charge.
Quite where Forest go from here is anyone's guess. Evangelos Marinakis sounded out both Sean Dyche and Roberto Mancini to potentially replace Postecoglou, with the former the most likely to take over, but whomever takes over has a real job on their hands to meet the ambitions of the club's owners. Forest again spent big over the summer following their qualification for Europe, but that has only resulted in a bloated squad that would threaten to make Chelsea blush.
On Saturday, £113 million ($152m) worth of recent arrivals – James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson, Dilane Bakwa and Arnaud Kalimuendo – failed to make the bench, while £36.5m ($49m) forward Dan Ndoye was an unused substitute. Factor in that club-record signing Hutchinson wasn't even named to Forest's Europa League squad, and this is clearly a club whose thinking is anything but joined up. If Postecoglou's replacement isn't able to create a sense of unity, relegation could become a serious possibility.
Getty Images SportLOSER: Bundesliga title race
Seven games in, and it seems the notion of there being a title race in this season's Bundesliga is already over. For the past two years, Bayer Leverkusen have challenged Bayern Munich's supremacy in Germany, but the departure of Xabi Alonso and a glut of key players from the BayArena was always likely to lead to Leverkusen falling away (even if the short-lived Ten Hag era accelerated matters!).
Borussia Dortmund looked likely to re-take up the mantle of being Bayern's biggest challengers after going unbeaten through their first six matches, but Saturday's 2-1 win for the defending champions in Der Klassiker means that Vincent Kompany's side already look uncatchable at the top of the table. Harry Kane continued his all-worldly form while Michael Olise netted the winner as Bayern moved five points clear at the top of the table after winning each of their opening seven games.
They are averaging almost four goals a game in that time, and as long as they aren't hit by a ridiculous injury crisis, a 27th Bundesliga title already feels assured before October is even over.
AFPWINNER: Marseille
While the title race might already be over in Germany, it's rather surprisingly up for grabs in France right now. Paris Saint-Germain's injury issues have led to some underwhelming results to start the season, and they again dropped points on Friday as they fought back from 3-1 down to draw with high-flying Strasbourg.
That result has seen the European champions sacrifice top spot in Ligue 1, with Marseille the beneficiaries. Roberto De Zerbi's side thrashed 10-man Le Havre 6-2, led by four goals from last season's top scorer Mason Greenwood, on their way to being the only team from within the top five at the start of the weekend to record a victory. This was also the fourth time already this season that OM have scored at least four goals in a game, with their high-powered attack proving to be a handful for all defences.
Whether they can sustain this form remains to be seen, with De Zerbi's sides not known for their consistency, and it would be a shock if PSG didn't rattle off a run of wins once they get back to full strength, but they could yet face something of a fight to retain the crown many presumed they would be able to claim without breaking a sweat over the coming months.