Talking points from the weekend in European football leagues:
High-flying Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen have shot out of the blocks and with two wins from two Bundesliga matches so far Xabi Alonso's team are living up to their status as Bundesliga contenders.
The Spaniard, who took over the then struggling club in October last year to lead them to a Europa League spot with a sixth place finish and a brand of exciting attacking football, saw his side beat title rivals RB Leipzig 3-2 in their season opener last week.
They then eased past hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-0 on Saturday.
Alonso's new signing Victor Boniface has added to the fans' growing excitement with a flying start that includes two goals and an assist.
"Hopefully he will keep scoring and scoring in the Bundesliga," Alonso said. "But he plays for the team. He is a very generous player."
Bellingham fever hits LaLiga
Real Madrid's new-recruit Jude Bellingham can't stop making the headlines in Spain as he scored his fourth goal in his first three LaLiga games in a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo, helping his side open the season with three consecutive wins.
Only six other players have scored in their first three matches wearing Real Madrid's colours, a list that includes club greats like Cristiano Ronaldo, Jorge Valdano and Hugo Sanchez.
Real Madrid hoped the arrival of the England midfielder would help them to regain the LaLiga title from Barcelona and challenge for a record-extending 15th European Cup.
They signed the 20-year-old for 103 million euros ($111 million) plus 30 million euros in add-ons from Borussia Dortmund and he is not disappointing, helping fans quickly forget the shock departure of Ballon D'Or winner Karim Benzema to Saudi Arabia.
Lazio struggling with poor form
Last season's runners-up have experienced a tough Serie A start, suffering two losses against teams they were expected to beat.
Manager Maurizio Sarri, already under pressure following a surprising 2-1 loss to Lecce on the road, saw Genoa win 1-0 in Rome on Sunday.
Sarri admitted that Lazio are not currently in good shape.
"I am worried that our new arrivals all came in August, some were free agents and others frozen out from their squads, so had not trained for weeks," Sarri said after the Genoa match.
"However, if the attitude of the lads is the one I saw in the last 70 minutes (against Genoa), then we’ll get it sorted out soon enough."
Lazio have one more match before the international break in early September, away to champions Napoli.
Fans love Mbappe again
It did not take long for Kylian Mbappe to work his way back into the affections of Paris St Germain supporters, after his early season contract stand off saw him miss the start to the new Ligue 1 campaign.
This weekend was his first start of the season for his club, although he did score last week when coming off the bench and converting a penalty in a draw with Toulouse.
Mbappe had been frozen out of the main squad for weeks amid an ongoing contract stand-off, and plentiful rumours he wanted away to Real Madrid, but a day after missing the league opener at Lorient, he rejoined the squad in training.
Saturday marked his first start and he got two more goals in a 3-1 win over Racing Lens at the Parc de Princes. He was also applauded by fans who made a point of singling him out as the Ligue 1 champions, following an annual tradition, unveiled their newest signings to the supporters before the game.
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