On Saturday, Barcelona came from a goal down to beat defending LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid, 4-2. Dusan Vlahovic scored on his debut as Juventus beat Hellas Verona 2-0 in Serie A. Meanwhile, in Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund conceded five against Bayer Leverkusen.
Barc went behind in the eighth minute of their LaLiga clash against Atletico when Yannick Carrasco sent the ball past Marc-Andre ter Stegen. However, a stunning volley from Jordi Alba – from the left side of the box – restored parity just two minutes later. Xavi Hernandez’s men then took the lead in the 21st minute, courtesy of new signing Adama Traore.
The ex-Wolves winger raced to the byline before hanging a cross in the air for Gavi to head in. Centre-back Ronald Araujo put the game to bed two minutes before half-time by smashing a loose ball past Jan Oblak.
Gavi combined with Frenkie De Jong to set up Barcelona’s fourth – for Dani Alves. The right-back found himself in the centre of the box and unleashed a fierce drive into the corner, the first time of asking. Former Barca man Luis Suarez pulled a goal back for Atleti, but it proved to be nothing more than a mere consolation for the Rojiblancos.
Thirteen minutes into his Juventus debut, €82 million-man Dusan Vlahovic lifted the ball over Lorenzo Montipo, who, arms flailing, could do nothing but watch as it nestled into the corner of his net.
The Bianconeri led and doubled their lead a minute past the hour when Alvaro Morata dribbled through a horde of bodies in the middle of the pitch before setting up the shot for another debutant, Denis Zakaria, for a first-time finish into the corner.
Bayern Munich opened up a nine-point lead in the Bundesliga title race after Borussia Dortmund’s humiliating defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen. Twenty minutes in and, after players on both sides had put the ball past their goalkeepers, once each, Florian Wirtz gave Leverkusen a 2-1 lead with a confident, close-range finish.
Robert Andrich curled a free-kick past Gregor Kobel in the 28th minute to put his side 3-1 up, and Jonathan Tah scored an unstoppable volley after the break to compound the lead even further.
Moussa Diaby joined in on the act with three minutes left to play by converting a Jeremie Frimpong cross to make it 5-1. Steffen Tigges pulled one back for Dortmund two minutes later to soften the blow, but the defeat, nonetheless, left them trailing in the wake of runaway leaders Bayern.
2021/22 Bundesliga Top 4
| # | Team | Games played | Goal difference | Points |
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 21 | +47 | 52 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 21 | +18 | 43 |
| 3 | Bayer Leverksuen | 21 | +20 | 38 |
| 4 | Union Berlin | 21 | +2 | 34 |
