City's eight-goal escape, Arsenal's first defeat, and a derby Mourinho won't let go: 14–20 September in Europe

The week of 14–20 September 2026 was the last of club football's opening block, and the busiest yet. It began with the two fixtures the previous round had left over — Leeds United 4–1 Newcastle United in the Premier League and Villarreal 1–2 Real Betis in LaLiga, both on Monday night — and then packed in a full English matchweek and two Spanish matchdays inside seven days. The Champions League did not play at all. 12345

Manchester City go into the international break three points clear at the top of the Premier League. Arsenal have lost for the first time this season. Barcelona have won all seven of their LaLiga matches. Tottenham Hotspur, who have scored twice in five games, are bottom. 67

Thirty-six clubs opened the league phase between 8 and 10 September. None of them played another Champions League match in the week to 21 September, and the single table is exactly as that first round left it. Matchday 2 is on 13 and 14 October. 4

The first night back brings Arsenal against Lille, Atlético de Madrid against Manchester United and Galatasaray against Barcelona, with Lens against Sporting CP and Sabah against Slavia Praha kicking off earlier. A day later Manchester City meet Paris Saint-Germain, Real Betis host Porto, and Roma take on Real Madrid. 4

Matchweek 4 closed on Monday 14 September and Matchweek 5 ran from Friday to Sunday, with ten fixtures. Every match produced at least one goal except the two 0–0 draws. 12

Arsenal and Manchester City began the weekend level on twelve points. 6

City led three times in one half and still needed a goal in the 82nd minute. Enzo Fernández put City ahead on nine minutes with a free-kick from a tight angle that beat Robin Roefs at his near post. Brian Brobbey equalised three minutes later from Enzo Le Fee's through ball, Rayan Cherki restored the lead on 29 minutes, Brobbey levelled again on 33, and Antoine Semenyo made it 3–2 in first-half stoppage time. That was the first time City have led three times in the first half of a Premier League match. Semenyo scored his second on 57 minutes, Brobbey completed his hat-trick on 59, and Haaland finished Josko Gvardiol's pass on 82. 1314

Sunderland finished with more expected goals than City, 4.32 to 2.72, and nine shots on target. Brobbey became the first Sunderland player to score a Premier League hat-trick since Jermain Defoe in 2016, and the first player to score a hat-trick and end up on the losing side since Roque Santa Cruz in December 2007. Haaland's late goal means he has now scored against all 25 Premier League opponents he has faced. 1314

Brighton took Arsenal apart in the first half and Arsenal never got back into the match. Pascal Gross curled a shot in off David Raya's near post on 30 minutes. Fifteen seconds after Bart Verbruggen saved Bukayo Saka's close-range effort on the stroke of half-time, Charalampos Kostoulas drove in from distance for 2–0. Chema Andrés headed Gross's corner in on 56 minutes for his first goal for the club. Brighton have scored 16 goals in five matches and sit third, two points behind Arsenal. 611

Mikel Arteta called it "a very disappointing result and performance" and said Brighton "were another gear from us in the basics of the game". Fabian Hürzeler said his players "were horrible to play against today". Arsenal had been chasing an eighth straight win to start a season, which would have been their best start in 123 years. 11

Coventry City won a Premier League match for the first time since 2001, and Tottenham's start is their worst. Jay DaSilva's second-half goal at the City Ground gave Frank Lampard's promoted side their first points and their first goal of the season; Forest had a late equaliser from Igor Jesus overturned after the referee reviewed a foul in the build-up. Aston Villa won for the first time this season too, 3–2 at Tottenham, where Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia scored and Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke replied. Spurs have two points and a goal difference of −6, worse than their 2008-09 start, and have won five of their last 36 league matches at their own ground. 1012

Brentford are unbeaten in fourth and Chelsea have conceded more goals than anyone in the league. Brentford won the west London derby 3–0 with second-half goals from Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho, and moved up to third on Friday night before Brighton overtook them the next day. Chelsea, missing the injured João Pedro and Moisés Caicedo, have now conceded 12 goals in five league matches and are still without a clean sheet. Xabi Alonso said the second half was "not enough to compete in the Premier League". 69

Spanish clubs played twice in the same week. Matchday 6 was spread across 15, 16 and 17 September, with Real Sociedad's fixture against Celta Vigo brought forward to 3 September and Levante's against Athletic Club moved to 21 October. Matchday 7 ran from Friday 18 to Sunday 20 September. 1516

Barcelona reached 21 points with a goal difference of +24. Athletic Club and Levante have each played a match fewer than the clubs around them. Valencia have won once in seven matches and Málaga not at all. 7

Raphinha scored two hat-tricks in four days and Barcelona have won all seven. Barcelona beat Racing Club 7–2 at the Camp Nou on 16 September, their seventh straight win to start a season for the first time in the club's history. Raphinha scored three, two from the penalty spot, and reached nine goals in six league matches — the most by any LaLiga player in that span since Lionel Messi in 2017-18. João Cancelo opened with a 25-yard strike and a second long-range effort went in off Asier Villalibre; Gabriel Jesus scored off the bench, and Lamine Yamal, who had a goal disallowed for offside and then missed a penalty, scored late. Barcelona's 28 goals in six league matches is the second-highest at that stage in LaLiga history behind Sevilla's 32 in 1940-41. 20

Three days later at Sevilla, Youssouf Fofana headed the home side in front on 18 minutes. Raphinha equalised within three minutes, headed a second on 51, and finished a Yamal pass on 68 for his 14th goal of the season in all competitions. Sevilla's press troubled Barcelona through the first hour, and Barcelona lost Andreas Christensen to injury shortly after the second goal. 22

The Madrid derby turned on a red card, and Real Madrid complained about the officiating in writing. Dean Huijsen brought down Giuliano Simeone inside the area just after half-time and was sent off as the last defender. Alejandro Grimaldo converted the penalty, his second goal since joining from Bayer Leverkusen, and Jonathan David made it 2–0 from Simeone's cross — his third goal in three games. António Rüdiger headed in a set piece late on, and Atlético held on to move above their neighbours in the table. 723

José Mourinho held up photographs of two challenges in his post-match news conference and said Cristian Romero should have been sent off for standing on Jude Bellingham and Lee Kang-in for a challenge on Federico Valverde. "Those were two clear red cards," he said. "We can imagine what 50 minutes of 11 against nine would have been like if justice had been done." He described the referee as a 41-year-old with no international experience who "hasn't been able to cope with the pressure", and called the atmosphere "80s-style pressure". Real Madrid then published a match report saying the derby was "marked by poor officiating". 25

The rest of the table tightened behind Barcelona and loosened at the bottom. Real Betis are third on 16 points after a 1–0 win over Getafe and a 1–1 draw at RC Deportivo, level with Atlético and a point above Real Madrid. Real Sociedad won 3–2 at Valencia through Ander Barrenetxea's 90th-minute goal. Celta Vigo beat Racing Club 5–0, and Elche, bottom after six matchdays, won 3–1 at Espanyol on Friday. Valencia and Málaga stay in the bottom two. 724

Club football stops now. The Premier League's merged September and October international break runs from 21 September to 6 October, and the league returns with Matchweek 6 on Saturday 10 October. 26

LaLiga returns with Matchday 8 across 9 to 12 October. Levante's postponed Matchday 6 fixture against Athletic Club has been rescheduled for 21 October. 16

The Champions League resumes on 13 and 14 October with Matchday 2, including Manchester City against Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético de Madrid against Manchester United and Roma against Real Madrid. 4