Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Monaco
Monaco shocked the whole of France at the start of the Ligue 1 season, beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 at the Parc des Princes to take nine points from nine and confirm themselves as the most dangerous early challengers in the division.
Luis Enrique’s side have suffered from defensive inconsistency since the opening weekend, conceding four goals in draws with Rennes and Lille while twice needing two stoppage-time goals to avoid defeat.
This time there was no rescue. Marquinhos gave PSG the lead in the 31st minute, heading in at the back post from Hvicha Kvaratskhelia’s cross, but Monaco’s quality throughout the evening was top-notch and they took all three points in Paris for the first time since March.
Paris Saint-Germain are winless in their first three league matches, a devastating start for a team bidding for a sixth consecutive Ligue 1 title.
Monaco, managed by Filipe Luis and led by former Paris Saint-Germain target Lukas Hradecky in goal, sit top of the table and have now beaten their rivals home and away in the calendar year.
VfB Stuttgart 4-1 Cologne
Stuttgart rebounded from the humiliating defeat it suffered in the opening round against Bayern Munich, with a score of 5-1, by crushing Cologne 4-1 at the MHParena Stadium, depriving the visitors of achieving their first Bundesliga win in Stuttgart since 2015.
Bilal Al-Khannous opened the scoring in the 40th minute, his shot deflecting off Gideon Mensah on its way into the corner, and Stuttgart never looked back.
Cologne, who produced an impressive performance by defeating Hoffenheim 3-2 in the opening round, found nothing of that quality on the road and were demolished by the hosts who were clearly affected by the scale of Bayern’s defeat.
Deniz Undav was influential throughout as Stuttgart’s creative engine, and the result propelled them up the table after what looked like a worrying start to the season.
Genoa 1-4 like
Como Cesc Fabregas is the early story of the Serie A season after a win over Luigi Ferraris sent them to the top of the division.
Genoa took the lead in the 19th minute through Milutin Osmajic, the former Preston North End striker who with his first touch scored a real Serie A score, calmly converting a diving Lorenzo Colombo ahead of Trevo Chalupa.
Justin Bigelow had already saved Yann Couto’s shot with his fingertips before the opener, and a repeat of last season’s woes appeared on the horizon for a Genoa side who had conceded three goals and none in their opening two games.
Como equalized within six minutes. Martin Baturina scored from the edge of the penalty area in the 25th minute and Assane Diaw added the second goal in the 30th minute. Nico Paz scored the third goal before the end of the first half to put the visitors firmly in front.
The second half was more balanced, but Como maintained his dominance, and Diaw completed his brace in the 78th minute to settle the score.
