This weekend in European football saw plenty of great goals, drama, action and a whole lot of sensational play. ESPN India picks out a selection of the best to give you a quick review of the weekend went by:
Results: Premier League | LALIGA | Serie A | Bundesliga | Ligue 1
Match of the Weekend: Bayern Munich 2-2 Borussia Dortmund
Yes, this match had a stream that used Playmobil toys instead of actual humans playing football. Yes, that is wildly dystopian and wildly cute at the same time.
Yet, Der Klassiker lived up to its billing (and then some).
An end-to-end contest saw Michael Olise hit the bar, Jobe Bellingham force Jonas Urbig into a stunning save at full stretch, Ismael Saibari run clean through before Gregor Kobel made an incredible double save, Bellingham witness a great goal overruled by VAR because Carney Chukwuemeka crashed into Urbig... all before Konrad Laimer gave Bayern the lead in the 38th minute after shooting twice on goal in as many seconds.
The highlights editor had plenty of material to work with, as ten minutes into the second half, Felix Nmecha handled in the box and Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane stepped up to make it twooowwhathowdidhemiss as the Englishman's penalty cannoned off the bar (only the third of FORTY-FIVE penalties Kane has missed in a Bayern shirt).
Even Dortmund would not spurn that much of a gift and Serhou Guirassy equalised on the hour mark with a quick snap-shot inside the box. Dayot Upamecano restored Bayern's lead eight minutes later as Kane would not consider the notion of going one game without a goal contribution, heading across goal for the Bayern defender to bundle home.
Dortmund kept pushing, and got their reward in the 89th minute, when Fábio Silva pounced on a loose ball in the box, swiveled and let a low drive sink into the opposite bottom corner to level the scores. Lennart Karl then decided to give us some more drama in injury time, lining up a curled shot from the left that looked like it was dipping into the top corner, but instead hit the bar.
2-2. Now that's Der Klassiker.
Goal of the Weekend: Yan Diomande vs Racing Santander
He's making a habit of this isn't he?
The slander names for Vinicius Jr. kept flowing as Yan Diomande turned in another superlative performance on the left wing for Real Madrid, and the Ivorian capped it off with a stunning goal.
Yan Diomandé WITH AN ABSOLUTE RIPPER ��
#LALIGA https://t.co/BVcyK6Uvkm
- FanCode (@FanCode) November 1, 2026
Arda Güler's corner was only half-cleared to Diomande on the edge of the box, and as the ball bounced awkwardly in front of him, the Ivorian kept his eyes on the ball, and with almost nonchalant ease, sent a thunderbolt into the top corner on the volley. That outrageous fee Madrid paid for him in the summer looks ever more justified. Vini who?
Upset of the Weekend
Upsets were hard to come by this weekend as the big guns mostly won, so we've opted for Brighton & Hove Albion's 1-0 win over Manchester City.
Brighton are the only team City have yet to beat in the last three seasons (0-2-3 W-D-L) and they are the team who've earned the most points (45) against the traditional 'Big 6' over the last three seasons. In that vein, this was somewhat of an expected result against a City side that also lost to Villa last weekend.
Yet, even when Yasin Ayari turned in a loose ball from close range in the 11th minute, the atmosphere within the Etihad remained calm, almost defiant. City would come back -- Enzo Maresca had rested most of his big hitters in the midweek win over Brighton in the Carabao Cup, and they'd have the comeback sown up in no time.
City finished the game with 63 touches in the opposition box (Brighton had nine), had 21 shots on goal (Brighton had seven), had eight corners (Brighton had two), made 518 passes (Brighton had 285), battled 115 charges (Brighton had none) and yet Fabian Hurzeler's side walked away with all three points and murmurs of an unlikely title challenge as they sit third in the PL table, just two points behind City.
Quote of the Weekend
In a week when World Cup winner Unai Simón noted that a Copa del Rey win with Athletic Bilbao meant more to him, it takes a special quote to top that. And it came with some pain.
Aurelien Tchoameni's shot against Racing Santander vent viral for all the wrong reasons, as it found the face of a young Racing fan in the stands instead of the net -- resulting in plenty of tears. Real Madrid invited the young fan and his father in the tunnel after the match, where Tchouameni apologised and offered him a signed jersey, but the crowning moment came when the fan, cradled in his father's arms was approached by Kylian Mbappé in the tunnel, who consoled the boy before letting this zinger drop:
"It's Tchouameni's fault. He doesn't know how to shoot."
Cue laughter and smiles, and a high-five. Worth it.
Moment of the Weekend
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite was in tears. The entirety of the San Siro was applauding him as Kaka, as he's better known, broke down while being inducted into AC Milan's Hall of Fame ahead of the Derby della Madonnina.
That right there was enough to be the moment of the weekend, but what transpired on the pitch simply added to just how special a night it was.
Wearing Kaka's #22, Diego Moreira turned in an inspired performance as Milan romped to a 3-1 win over Internazionale. Plenty of Milan fans were left confused when the club parted with upwards of €50m to prise the Belgian international away from Strasbourg. Nervous, timid performances in his first few games did not help matters, but against Inter, Moreira's first 45 minutes were the stuff of dreams.
First, he toyed with Carlos Augusto down the right wing, before cutting back (and thus sending Inter's Brazilian wingback to the cleaners) and curling an inch perfect cross for 178cm-tall Christian Pulisic to head home, unmarked in the box. The Moreira show continued, as an inch perfect corner from the left wing allowed Adrien Rabiot to curl an ingenious first-time chip into the corner to make it 2-0 in the tenth minute. Firmly in control, Moreira drew memories of Kaka with nutmegs, flicks and first-time passes that left the crowd gasping in awe. His crowning moment, however, came in the 43rd minute.
Stepping up to a free kick 30 yards from goal, Moreira took a breath, paused and channeled his inner left-footed Kaka to send a curling, powerful shot into the top corner, with Inter keeper Josep Martínez diving in vain. Up in the rafters, Kaka smiled - #22 was in safe hands.