Welcome to The Euro Debrief, a new Sky Sports column in which Adam Bate rounds up some of the key stories from the latest matches across the continent. This week:

• Mourinho solving problems at Madrid
• Why Bayern could be better this season
• Como win at Napoli but Inter are on top
• Monaco top as PSG drop points again
• Finally some promising signs for Ajax

LaLiga: Mourinho’s Madrid stay perfect

Real Madrid made it three wins from three under Jose Mourinho with a 4-0 dismantling of Malaga in the Bernabeu. It has not been a daunting fixture list but there are signs that Mourinho has found a way to get the best from an increasingly stacked Madrid squad.

Trent Alexander-Arnold came in and produced a trademark assist, while Kylian Mbappe added to his midweek hat-trick against Real Sociedad with another goal here. But Jude Bellingham was the best player on the pitch against Malaga playing in that No 10 role.

Bellingham has been shifted around during his Madrid career, Carlo Ancelotti taking advantage of his broad skillset to fit him in deeper, out wide or up front. But Mourinho has been clear that he sees Bellingham playing off Mbappe and it is working very well.

Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that Bellingham and Mourinho have hit it off. Back in 2024, the player did famously reveal that the coach was his mother’s crush. More seriously, they share the same intense drive, demanding everything from those around them.

Against Malaga, Arda Guler came on to score the fourth, with Yan Diomande and Bernardo Silva also introduced as substitutes from a bench that included Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries and last week’s hero Carlos Espi too. The depth at Madrid now is apparent.

It will get harder, of course, but as pointed out in the pages of Marca, how many of these sort of games have Madrid messed up in recent years? So far so good for Mourinho. With no sign yet of the feared tension with Vinicius Junior, he has the key players purring.

Elsewhere, there was a useful win for Atletico Madrid to end Sevilla’s unlikely winning run. Troy Parrott looked lively for Betis but they were battered by Levante. And the 37-year-old Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored for a third game in a row for Deportivo.

But a word for Racing Santander, who won their first game of the LaLiga season at the third attempt. Racing have been to the third tier and back since their last top-flight win and beat Elche 3-2 by playing a brand of football that no other team in Spain is playing.

LaLiga results: Racing Santander 3-2 Elche, Alaves 1-0 Villarreal, Levante 5-2 Real Betis, Real Sociedad 2-1 Espanyol, Sevilla 1-3 Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid 4-0 Malaga, Deportivo A Coruna 3-1 Valencia, Celta Vigo 0-2 Athletic Club.

Bundesliga: Bayern look even better now

Bayern Munich kicked off the Bundesliga season on Friday with a 5-1 win over Stuttgart that highlighted their strength in depth. Harry Kane did not even score. But new signing Ismael Saibari showed just why Vincent Kompany’s squad might have improved this season.

The Moroccan came off the bench to replace another new arrival in Nathaniel Brown and seized the chance by assisting Bayern’s final two goals. Speaking to sporting director Christoph Freund about Saibari just last weekend, he explained the player’s versatility.

Saturday 5th September 5:20pm


Kick off 5:30pm

“He is a little bit of a different style of player to Nicolas Jackson,” said Freund. Not just a back-up for Kane. “I think he can play very well together with Harry Kane and he can play also on the wings. He is a really important signing.” The best in Germany just got better.

For Borussia Dortmund, it was not such good news even as they beat Hamburg 2-0 with a goal from Giannis Konstantelias in his first start. That is because it will also be the Greek winger’s last start for a while. He was forced off with a cruciate ligament injury.

It is a desperate blow for Niko Kovac’s side given what an exciting start that he has made at Dortmund. But at least they won. The same could not be said of Bayer Leverkusen, who were humbled as they lost 3-2 to Elversberg, a side making their Bundesliga debut.

Elversberg were playing regional football as recently as 2022 but three promotions have put them among the elite. A victory over the 2024 Bundesliga champions on their bow is an astonishing start. The next visitors to this village club? That will be Bayern Munich.

Elsewhere, Yuito Suzuki scored a hat-trick as Freiburg beat Werder Bremen, while Augsburg enjoyed a 3-0 win over Schalke. Have a read of this interview with sporting director Benjamin Weber to find out more about how they plan to keep overachieving.

Bundesliga results: Bayern Munich 5-1 Stuttgart, Elversberg 3-2 Bayer Leverkusen, Cologne 3-2 Hoffenheim, Mainz 0-0 Paderborn, RB Leipzig 3-0 Borussia Monchengladbach, Union Berlin 3-3 Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Hamburg, Freiburg 4-1 Werder Bremen, Augsburg 3-0 Schalke.

Serie A: Como beat Napoli plus Ramos scores

The standout result in Serie A came in Naples as Como went and won 2-1. Rasmus Hojlund scored a quality goal for Napoli but it proved to be in vain as Cesc Fabregas has built a really good side, with Croatian player Martin Baturina particularly impressive.

Baturina scored the opener and it was his pressing that fashioned the winner for Anastasios Douvikas. A statement win for Como, although the four teams to have won each of their first four Serie A matches so far are Inter, Juventus, Lazio and AC Milan.

Ominously, champions Inter are top of the table already. They beat Cagliari 1-0 in Sardinia but that hardly reflected their dominance as they had 31 shots for an expected-goals total of 3.91. Curtis Jones and John Stones both came on for Inter as substitutes.

Meanwhile, Milan’s 2-0 win over Venezia on Friday evening featured a busy performance from Goncalo Ramos that underlined why Milan paid that eye-catching £63m fee to sign him – and perhaps why PSG were content to allow the Portuguese striker to leave.

Ramos did eventually score the breakthrough goal midway through the second half but that was one of eight attempts at goal by the Portuguese forward – and there were no fewer than four big chances missed. Far from clinical but Ramos is a chance magnet.

Serie A results: AC Milan 2-0 Venezia, Fiorentina 0-3 Frosinone, Monza 2-3 Udinese, Sassuolo 2-1 Torino, Juventus 2-0 Parma, Napoli 1-2 Como, Cagliari 0-1 Inter, Lazio 1-0 Genoa.

Ligue 1: PSG wobble again but scrape a point

Paris Saint-Germain’s uncertain start to the season continued as the reigning European champions needed two goals in stoppage time to salvage a 2-2 draw at Lille. Vitinha and Marquinhos managed the rescue job but PSG are now without a win in three games.

Nottingham Forest loanee Dilane Bakwa’s strike on debut deserved to seal it for Lille. That was assisted by Olivier Giroud after the veteran had produced an even better pass to set up the first. But Vitinha scored a beauty then crossed for the leveller. Resilience from PSG.

Another caveat is that the two Ligue 1 games have been at Rennes and Lille – among the tougher tests. But it does mean that there is already only one team in the competition with a 100 per cent record – and that team is Monaco after their 2-0 win over Marseille.

The talented youngster Paris Brunner scored both goals in that one but when it comes to the actual city of Paris, the capital’s highest-placed club as it stands is not PSG but Paris FC. Their 3-0 win over Nice takes them up to second spot in the fledgling Ligue 1 table.

Ligue 1 results: Lille 2-2 Paris Saint-Germain, Strasbourg 2-1 Lens, Auxerre 1-3 Angers, Brest 2-2 Toulouse, Lorient 1-2 Troyes, Lyon 1-1 Le Havre, Paris FC 3-0 Nice, Rennes 3-2 Le Mans, Monaco 2-0 Marseille.

Elsewhere: Perfect Porto and Ajax positives

Having dropped points at home to Academico de Viseu in their opening game, Benfica boss Marco Silva already looks to have his work cut out if he wants to prise the Portuguese title away from Francesco Farioli and his ruthlessly efficient Porto team.

The reigning champions made it four wins from four in the league and are yet to concede a goal in their title defence. Over in the Netherlands, it is AZ Alkmaar with the only perfect record. They are chasing a first title since Steve McClaren was in charge in 2009.

But the holders PSV signalled their intent with a 6-1 thrashing of Utrecht – despite conceding the first goal. Meanwhile, Ajax’s new striker Tolu Arokodare continued his strong start by lashing in a fourth goal in three games in their 4-0 victory away to Telstar.

Ajax’s struggles have become a soap opera but new boss Michel has delivered seven wins and two draws across all competitions to ensure they at least have a Conference League campaign to look forward to. An encouraging start but it is PSV next weekend.

Ricky Ponting said Marnus Labuschagne’s spot in the Australia Test team has become “untenable” as he insisted England have the talent to “serve it up” to the Baggy Greens during The Ashes next summer.

No 3 batter Labuschagne made scores of one, 31 and four during the recent 1-1 series draw at home to Bangladesh and has not registered a Test century in 43 innings.

The 32-year-old, hoping to be included in the squad for the three-Test series in South Africa from October 9, last hit a ton in the Manchester Ashes Test against England in 2023.

Ponting – speaking to Sky Sports News in his role as ambassador, investor and global advisor for Century Cricket, a coaching and talent ID centre launching in Manhattan, New York – had already noted Labuschagne’s troubles scoring off the back foot while analysing the Bangladesh series for Australian broadcaster Channel 7.

The 51-year-old said of Australia: “This has been a very dominant side for a long period of time but I think they have been carrying few guys through the last couple of years.

“I think it is inevitable that change is made going to South Africa – Labuschagne’s spot in the side is almost untenable, so they have to look at someone at No 3.

“Eventually they will also want Travis Head back at No 5 rather than opening, so that could present a chance for a youngster to come in and open the batting.

“It won’t be easy against that South Africa attack but we have got to the point where we have to try something. I don’t think we are going to get any worse or lose anything and may just unearth a really good talent as well.”

‘England have talent to serve it up to Australia’

There has been change for England’s Test side this summer.

Captain Ben Stokes quit international cricket and Brendon McCullum was sacked as head coach after a run of seven defeats and just two wins in his final 10 matches in charge, including an error-strewn 4-1 Ashes drubbing over the winter.

Joe Root has replaced Stokes and began his second stint as skipper with a series win over Pakistan, while former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has been named McCullum’s replacement and will take over properly ahead of the winter tour of South Africa.

Ponting, speaking before England completed victory over Pakistan at Lord’s, said: “I wasn’t surprised to see changes after The Ashes, although the way it came around was maybe a bit different than what I thought.

“With Joe back as captain and a different personality altogether in Fleming, there is no doubt the talent is there to really serve it up to the Australians in the next Ashes.”

England’s four-pronged seam attack of Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson have impressed against Pakistan in recent weeks, albeit against a fragile batting line-up.

‘Hussey could slip back into England role’

Ex-Australia batter Mike Hussey has been linked with the position of England batting coach, having performed that role for IPL team Chennai Super Kings while Fleming was head coach, but Ponting feels other job opportunities could soon come his former team-mate’s way.

Hussey, who played 79 Tests, 185 one-day internationals and 38 T20 internationals for his country between 2005 and 2013, previously served as England’s batting consultant during their T20 World Cup triumph in Australia in 2022.

Ponting said: “I saw Mike Hussey last week and said, ‘if you take that job I will never speak to you again!’ I think I have scared him off!

“I am not sure what he is going to do. I believe there might be a job in the pipeline for him around the Australian team, so I am not sure of his status.

“I also read a report he might be the next head coach of Chennai Super Kings, which could rule him out of everything anyway.

“At the end of the day, we are all coaches and in it to do whatever we can do. He has done [the England job] before and could easily slip back into that role again.”

Ponting eager to grow cricket in the USA

On his role with Century Cricket, Ponting – head coach of Punjab Kings in the IPL and Washington Freedom in the US-based Major League Cricket – added: “To be involved with a platform like this that I can use as a coaching and talent-identification tool and to get down to growing the game in the US is the major reason I am involved.

“Cricket hasn’t grown as rapidly as I would have thought in the US, but with what we have been able to create, it will allow people of all ages to sample what the game is all about skill-wise.

“It’s a platform like I’ve never seen before. The technology is second to none and I can’t wait to watch.”

Training can be pre-set for particular deliveries, bowlers and match scenarios, with Century Cricket’s global CEO Chris Millard adding: “It really is a global platform that can change cricket for the better.

“People can face a Jasprit Bumrah or a Moeen Ali in whatever setting they want. We have the data to pull that off and if we are able to scale that globally we will be starting the future of cricket.”

The transfer window for clubs in Europe’s major leagues opened on various dates in June and July, although in reality deals were being negotiated in advance ready to be completed and registered when allowed.

Due to today being a Bank Holiday in the United Kingdom, the ‘summer’ transfer window for English clubs will actually close tomorrow at at 11pm BST, which is 6pm ET and 3pm PT for readers Stateside.

That deadline applies to players signing for clubs in England. For players leaving them, different times can apply — more on that shortly.