1- Bundesliga Grooms Talent Better Than EPL: Jadon Sancho’s two-goal salvo in Borussia Dortmund’s 2-2 draw with Hertha Berlin proves he was right to abandon Manchester City for the German top flight division leaders.
The 18-year-old newly-capped England international has already bludgeoned 8 Bundesliga goals and also leads the assists chart.
Sancho’s season is going so well, he is keeping fleet-footed USA international Christian Pulisic out of the starting eleven.
Elsewhere, another teenage Arsenal loanee, Reiss Nelson is topping the scoring charts for Hoffenheim.
Wouldn’t be taken aback if another prodigiously talented Englishman Phil Foden abandons Manchester City for the German top flight.
2- Barcelona Can Cope Without Messi. Blagruana’s 5-1 obliteration of Real Madrid in Sunday’s El Clasico underlined how well Ernesto Valverde has coped with star striker Lionel Messi’s absence through injury.
Whereas rivals Real Madrid are so bedevilled by Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus, Barcelona are showing resilience. Saturday’s stunning display was preceded by equally edifying performances in victories over Seville and Inter Milan.
Valverde’s genius was in replacing Messi with Rafinha when a lesser coach would have gone for pricey Ousmane Dembele. This has allowed Barça to retain their balance without losing attacking impetus.
3- Reuben Loftus Cheek Can Play As A Striker: Chelsea’s 4-0 victory over Burnley underlined how well the Maurizio Sarri Stamford Bridge revolution is going.
The entire Blues squad is experiencing a surge in confidence, one would be hard-pressed to name a Chelsea player who hasn’t improved under Sarri’s. Ruben Loftus Cheek’s goal that came on the back of a hat-trick in the Londoners’ Europa League victory over BATE Borisov highlights how the 22-year-old can be utilised. Sarri needn’t agonise over choice between Cheek, Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley. Cheek can deputise Eden Hazard, Pedro and Willian.
4- Rummenigge Right And Wrong On Bayern: Karl Heinz Rummenigge’s extraordinary rant in which he berated the German media for ‘climbing’ all over Bayern Munich was well time.
The tirade has helped the Bavarians to three wins on the bounce. However, Rummenigge is blind to inertia afflicting the six-time Bundesliga defending champions.
Since Pep Guardiola left for Manchester City, Bayern Munich have taken several steps backwards. Any team dependent on a striking line with a combined age of 100 can’t be considered a European heavyweight.
Borussia Dortmund are going to upstage them if they don’t recruit wisely.
5- Tottenham Three Seasons Away From Title: I know why Mauricio Pochettino says he is at his unhappiest despite his Spurs side making their best ever start to a Premier League campaign.
It is because the Argentine feels Spurs are stagnating right before his eyes while rivals are improving.
Failure to recruit any players means the North Londoners have the smallest squad among the Top Six.
On the evidence of their output in Monday’s 0-1 loss to Manchester City, Spurs are at least three seasons away from matching the Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions.
