Harry Kane laid on both goals in Bayern Munich’s 2-1 win at Mainz, a result that keeps the champions at the top of the Bundesliga. Kane has not scored in four straight games, which has happened only once before in his Bayern career, but his creativity is filling the gap. He now leads the Bundesliga with eight assists, and only Lamine Yamal matches that total across Europe’s major leagues this season.
Bundesliga: Kane is the assist king
It is not a concern for Kane or his club. The England captain set up the first goal for Joshua Kimmich with a square pass, then laid the ball off for Lennart Karl to finish the second. The move followed his lofted assist for Konrad Laimer against Atletico Madrid in midweek, which shows that setting up teammates is becoming a growing part of his game.
Kane has already matched his best-ever Bundesliga season for assists. His presence alone draws defenders toward him and opens up space for others. That shift explains why Bayern were confident enough to give him a long-term contract. The Ballon d’Or winner is adapting his game further, and it is a fascinating evolution.
Borussia Dortmund kept pace with Bayern at the top with a 2-1 win over Elversberg. Without top scorer Serhou Guirassy for the first time in the Bundesliga this season, Felix Nmecha stepped up and scored twice in the second half.
For Brajan Gruda, two assists set RB Leipzig on their way to a 5-2 win over Augsburg. Niclas Fullkrug saw his eight-game scoring streak end at Stuttgart, but Patrik Schick was on the scoresheet again, scoring Leverkusen’s winner in the derby in Cologne.
LaLiga: A big moment in the title race
Atletico Madrid were heading to the top of LaLiga when Julian Alvarez set up Giuliano Simeone for the opening goal against leaders Barcelona at the Metropolitano on Sunday evening. Then Fermin Lopez scored twice to turn the game around and secure a big win for Barcelona, 2-1.
The start was typically competitive from Diego Simeone’s side and fueled the argument that Hansi Flick’s Barcelona struggle to assert themselves against the strongest teams, especially after back-to-back losses to Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. Flick will be encouraged by the response. The winner, set up by Lamine Yamal, was excellent, but the control Barcelona showed in seeing out the game mattered even more. Instead of Atletico leapfrogging them, Barcelona now sit five points ahead.
Real Madrid moved up to second and returned ahead of their city rivals after a convincing 3-0 win away to Valencia, whose struggles continue. Kylian Mbappe scored again despite being booed by the home fans, but Arda Guler impressed most. Guler scored one goal and assisted Mbappe’s, bringing a creativity that cuts inside from wide. Yan Diomande has taken over Vinicius Junior’s spot on the left while the Brazilian is out, and Guler’s balance in the attack has made Vinicius’s return a problem for Jose Mourinho. Fede Valverde also scored one of his trademark stunners, this time from right-back, which offers promising signs for Madrid.
Newly promoted Racing Santander won at Malaga and may be the most entertaining team in LaLiga. They have conceded more goals than anyone else but still rank in the top half for possession, and that is what matters most: points.
Serie A: Inter close the gap on Lazio
Lazio’s run of six consecutive Serie A wins ended in a draw at Napoli. It was still a good result for Gennaro Gattuso’s surprise leaders, and Kevin De Bruyne came closest to winning it for the hosts.
Inter moved to within one point of Lazio after a 2-0 win over Como at San Siro. Cesc Fabregas’ side enjoyed plenty of possession but lacked the cutting edge of the reigning champions, who scored twice early to control the match.
Roma also closed the gap, extending their unbeaten run with a 3-0 win over Sassuolo. Rodrigo Mora, who was substituted in Roma’s two-goal lead at Old Trafford on Tuesday, was involved in all three goals and scored the last himself. The Portuguese teenager is a tremendous talent. “Inter are best placed to win,” said coach Gian Piero Gasperini afterwards. “For the rest, all of us are in the mix, us included.”
Elsewhere, Torino and Lecce traded own goals in a 1-1 draw, and Milan picked up three points at Genoa to put their alarming European defeat to Ferencvaros behind them. Juventus came from behind twice to draw 2-2 at Fiorentina but remain six points adrift of the top four.
Ligue 1: Eleven in a row for PSG
Paris Saint-Germain followed their six-goal demolition of Villarreal in the Champions League with a less impressive 1-0 home win over Troyes. The result extends their run to 11 straight wins in all competitions under Luis Enrique. They stay two points clear at the top because Lille and Paris FC both won away from home.
Lassine Sinayoko scored the only goal at Auxerre to take his Ligue 1 tally for the season to nine, two clear of anyone else in the league.
Monaco dropped points late against Le Mans, and Lyon, who are between coaches with Carlos Vicens set to replace Paulo Fonseca, lost 2-0 at Brest. That has allowed Marseille to climb to fourth. Marseille beat Lens 2-1 to record their fifth consecutive domestic win under Bruno Genesio. They have improved significantly since the transfer window closed.
Lens gave Marseille the opener after 90 seconds through a poor defensive mix-up, and even after they equalized, they lost late on. The club and coach have changed a lot since their second-place finish under Pierre Sage, and the 9-1 defeat by Como in midweek, overseen by Yannick Cahuzac, will be hard to forget.
Elsewhere: Weghorst denies Ajax
It was a strange Sunday in the Eredivisie. The big three all returned different results away from home and each spent time on top of the table. In the end, reigning champions PSV finished back on top after beating Cambuur 5-2.
Feyenoord led 2-0 at Heerenveen but lost 5-3, which gave Ajax the chance to move top and confirm their progress under Michel. Instead, Twente came back from two goals down to earn a point, thanks to Wout Weghorst’s 95th-minute penalty. Weghorst left Ajax in the summer, and his replacement Tolu Arokodare, who opened the scoring, has been impressive, with nine goals in 12 appearances for Twente.
In Portugal, Benfica scored a 95th-minute goal through Vangelis Pavlidis, but Marco Silva’s side remain five points behind Porto, who have won all 11 of their matches, including another late winner.