European Football: Five talking points from the week gone by

16-year-old Ansu Fati starred again for Barcelona as the Spanish giant capitalised on Atletico Madrid's slip-up, while Bundesliga table topper RB Leipzig held top gun Bayern Munich to a draw.

Ansu Fati stole the headlines on the weekend with his Barcelona performance against Valencia.

Barcelona and PSG registered wins in La Liga and Ligue 1 respectively, but Bayern Munich and Juventus were held to draws in Bundesliga and Serie A respectively. Here are some of the talking points from those results, and more:

1) Teenager Fati stars again as Barca capitalises on Atletico slip-up

Ansu Fati celebrates scoring for Barcelona against Valencia in La Liga.

 

16-year-old Ansu Fati produced another star performance as Barcelona routed Valencia 5-2 at Camp Nou.

The youngster got a goal and an assist for Frenkie de Jong in the first seven minutes of his full debut for the club, thereby becoming the youngest player to both score and assist in a La Liga game in the 21st century.

Fati started the season pushing for a regular place in Barca's B team, making his emergence under Valverde all the more remarkable.

With the result on Saturday, Barcelona also closed on the gap between Atletico Madrid, which is now second, after it dropped points against Real Sociedad.

READ | The rise of Ansu Fati: Barcelona wonderkid breaks records

2) Juventus drops first points; winless in last three away games

Juventus was held to a 0-0 draw against Fiorentina in Serie A.

 

Held to a goalless draw away from home against Fiorentina at Stadio Artemio Franchi, Juventus dropped points for the first time this season.

Juventus' perfect start - two wins in as many games - was brought to an end as Maurizio Sarri watched on from the dugout.

Fiorentina was without a point heading into this match - and without a Serie A win since February - but looked the more likely to score against a lacklustre Juventus, which is now two points behind table topper Inter Milan.

Juventus is winless in its last three games away from home in Serie A following an International break. It had won only one of its last six Serie A away games, after five wins in the previous six.

3) Bayern left frustrated by leader Leipzig, hit by Alaba injury blow

Emil Forsberg celebrates his goal against Bayern Munich.

Robert Lewandowski's 199th goal for Bayern Munich was not enough to claim full points as RB Leipzig fought back through Emil Forsberg's penalty to draw 1-1, continuing to dominate Bundesliga standings.

The result at the Red Bull Arena meant that Bayern has only won four of its 25 away games in Bundesliga history against the team which was on top of the table going into the matchday.

In addition to upsetting draw, Bayern was hit by the injury news of David Alaba, who is set to miss the start of Bayern Munich's Champions League campaign after tearing a muscle in his left thigh.

READ | Real Madrid needs to recover hunger for success, says president Perez

4)  Neymar booed but scores stunning winner on PSG return

Neymar had not played for PSG in four months having spent the close season trying to push through a return to his former club Barcelona, two years after moving in the opposite direction.

 

Neymar was given a hostile reception by Paris Saint-Germain supporters but scored a brilliant volleyed winner in a 1-0 victory over Strasbourg on his return to action.

Neymar was booed by large sections of the home support whenever he touched the ball but he had the last word in injury time with a stunning overhead kick to give PSG the points.

Neymar had not played for PSG in four months having spent the close season trying to push through a return to his former club Barcelona, two years after moving in the opposite direction.

The Brazilian was also greeted with loud chants in Spanish aimed at his mother. A banner briefly unfurled at one end of the ground in Portuguese, aimed at Neymar's father who is also his agent, read: “Neymar Senior, sell your son in the Vila Mimosa”.

 

5) Simeone's Atletico handed first league defeat by Sociedad

A fired-up Real Sociedad silenced Atletico Madrid in the first competitive fixture played at the Reale Arena.

 

Atletico Madrid's 100 per cent La Liga record was emphatically ended on Saturday as it lost 2-0 to Real Sociedad. Diego Simeone's side had managed three straight wins prior to the international break but turned in a below-par performance on the road, conceding two goals in a costly three-minute spell in the second half.

After a trio of away games at the start of the 2019-20 campaign, Sociedad excelled in front of a raucous crowd at its revamped home.

These are exciting times for Sociedad, which has upgraded both on and off the field in the hope of becoming serious contenders again in Spain.

As for Atletico, its slip-up helped Barcelona close on the gap with table leader Sevilla, which has 10 points in its kitty. Atletico stands second with nine.

( With inputs from Omnisport ).