Check-in on Real Madrid, Man United, Liverpool, Barcelona

Life is a funny thing. You organize and scheme with the hope that your preparations will have you ready for whatever lies ahead, but as Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face.” And when you’re a big club dealing with marathon-long seasons, truer words have never been spoken.

This upcoming weekend will mark over two months since the start of the Premier League and LaLiga (and just less in the Bundesliga), so with that in mind, we take a closer look at five teams across Europe that started with specific hopes and objectives to see whether they’re keeping up with preseason promises or flailing after the first couple months.

Do Real Madrid have too many cooks in the kitchen?

The biggest storyline of the summer was Kylian Mbappé’s arrival at Real Madrid. For the LaLiga and European champs, the world’s biggest star joining them was a clear win from the standpoint of brand optics. Madrid also won financially, given his free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. In my opinion, the move was more necessary for Mbappé than Real Madrid so that he could prove himself in a tougher league.

On his league debut, I mentioned on “SportsCenter” that manager Carlo Ancelotti’s biggest headache would be to balance the chemistry between Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior, specifically the latter two as they have an affinity for attacking from the left wing.

In other words, there might be too many cooks in the kitchen.

But Ancelotti knows that Real Madrid, as usual, will eventually figure it out. And he’s somewhat right. In LaLiga, Real Madrid are second to Hansi Flick’s Barcelona with 21 points, have not lost yet and after failing to score in his first three matches since his goal against Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup, Mbappé finally got going, netting seven goals so far with five in the league.

He was out of action for the Madrid derby (which they tied 1-1) after suffering a thigh injury, but he returned for the Champions League loss against Lille — who ended Madrid’s 36-match unbeaten run in the competition — and the following 2-0 league victory against Villarreal. Although his fitness is questionable, the Frenchman is picking up steam. Still, we’ve yet to see this Madrid team hit top gear.

Ancelotti’s confidence is only partly right because Real Madrid are competing without Toni Kroos, who retired this summer. Kroos was key in connecting midfield and attack, which is the biggest issue with the team right now.

“Real Madrid are predictable, they are slow, [and] it is very difficult for them to filter passes,” said former Madrid player Guti in the popular Spanish TV show “El Chiringuito.” “It is very difficult for them to play in space, everyone wants the passes at their feet and that is very difficult in today’s football.”

I think the perfect example of Guti’s sentiments was Madrid’s loss to Lille. There was a sense of detachment throughout the game where the front three kept swapping roles but found no success. The added headache of Dani Carvajal’s season-ending injury is also a huge problem. Meanwhile, Vinícius is also hurt but should return within a week or so.

So there you have it. Real Madrid and Mbappé are doing relatively fine and will find ways to get results. But this season, in big games against strong teams — both in the league and Europe — they will have a harder time finding success. El Clásico on Oct. 26 (stream live on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET, U.S. only) might be an early determinant for the title race, but one thing is for certain: If Real Madrid end up retaining the LaLiga trophy and winning the Champions League once again, it will have been a much tougher task than last season.

The clock is ticking for Ten Hag at Man United

On the eve of the season opener between Manchester United and Fulham, manager Erik ten Hag spoke confidently of the campaign ahead and how the past two seasons showed the blueprint for success at Old Trafford.

“We know we are in the right direction, we know we have won two trophies and we know our game model,” said Ten Hag in his first prematch conference of the season. “So, now we have to integrate the new players where we think they can improve the game model, improve the team levels and we take it from there. I always have very high expectations but we want to go for trophies.”

These were not unrealistic targets from Ten Hag, who — after all — had won the FA Cup in impressive fashion against Manchester City three months earlier. In order to build on their momentum, the club hit the third-highest net spend in the league ($145 million-plus) as Ten Hag refreshed his squad. Several players such as Scott McTominay, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphaël Varane and Donny van de Beek left while Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro and Noussair Mazraoui came in to revamp the defensive unit. Manuel Ugarte also arrived to bolster the midfield, while Joshua Zirkzee’s signing inspired optimism for the United attack.

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Eight weeks later and the Red Devils don’t look like a trophy favorite or a top-six team. They are currently 14th with eight points in the league, which is their lowest tally in Premier League history after seven matches. They are on a run of five games without a win in all competitions, and they have only two league victories.

Defensively, they have conceded eight goals, which is not so awful because Ten Hag has had to rely on Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans — not his first-choice center-back pairing. But United’s attack is what really illustrates their poor form as they have only scored five goals so far, and only last-placed Southampton have scored fewer (4).

Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Højlund have not impacted much, though the latter recently returned from injury. And Zirkzee? After scoring against Fulham in the opener, he has yet to find the back of the net. Bruno Fernandes, United’s captain and most influential player, has also been disappointing. Now, it must be said that injuries have not helped (Yoro was a big loss and now Mazraoui will be sidelined for a few weeks due to a heart procedure), but that still doesn’t excuse their low position in the table.

After drawing with Aston Villa, Ten Hag tried to calm the storm by saying that United was a “long-term” project. But the question United fans will surely ask is, “Does this long-term project have an ending?”

Flick’s impressive impact on Barcelona

Hansi Flick’s arrival at Barcelona was always in the cards. Back in 2021, after the German manager had led Bayern Munich to a historic treble a season prior, ESPN reported that Barcelona president Joan Laporta had inquired about his availability.

But in the end, Flick chose to lead the German national team, and that partnership ended last year in September after poor results and a group stage exit at the 2022 World Cup. Laporta still wanted Flick, though, because he admired the German’s philosophy of high pressing, attention to fitness and firm-hand approach.

His wish came true this summer after Flick replaced Xavi Hernández, but there was some doubt about the appointment. It was less about Flick and more about how much he would have to deal with, given Barcelona’s financial problems and that Barça seemed far off from reaching the heights of their glamorous rivals Real Madrid, who had stolen the headlines with Mbappé’s arrival.

But so far, Flick is exactly what the doctor ordered. After nine matches, Barça are top of LaLiga with 24 points, having won every game bar one. They have conceded nine in the league, which is one less than at this stage last season. Offensively, they have 28 goals, seven higher than last season at this time of the campaign.

Robert Lewandowski, who was doubted to perform given his age (36), has been in tremendous form, scoring 10 goals in nine league matches, with two more in the Champions League. Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal has remained one of the best players in the game right now with five assists and four goals in the league.

However, Raphinha, to me, is the one talk about. He has been magnificent and has made the most of Ousmane Dembélé’s departure. In his first two seasons, he managed 10 goals in each campaign in all competitions. This season? He already has six goals and five assists. In fact, no other player across Europe’s five top leagues has created more chances (39) for his team than the Brazilian. And it’s not even November! The weight of the captain’s armband has also been a positive as Raphinha has embraced the responsibility after Marc-André ter Stegen’s long-term injury.

Everything Laporta loves about Flick is working. The German has implemented more intensity and off-the-ball discipline.

“We work much harder than before,” said midfielder Pedri last month. “The new fitness coaches are really good for us. We work hard and you notice it in the games. The team doesn’t dip after the 70th or 80th minute, it maintains the same fitness levels.”

Flick has also helped integrate more La Masia players into the first team. In the 3-0 win against Alavés, Flick started six players who graduated from Barça’s famous academy, including Marc Casadó, who has been brilliant in midfield.

Now, it’s still early and there are notable injuries and issues to deal with — including those to new signing Dani Olmo and the aforementioned Ter Stegen, which forced Barcelona to bring Wojciech Szczesny out of retirement to compete with young shot-stopper Iñaki Peña. It is also vital to protect the young players from burnout, including Yamal, who suffered an injury scare during international duty.

But for the most part, Flick’s regimented, no-nonsense, super fit squad is delivering for Barcelona.

Winnings continue under Liverpool’s Slot machine, but will it last?

How do you replace a legendary manager who won multiple trophies including the Champions League (three finals) and the Premier League title at a time of Pep Guardiola/Man City dominance? Jurgen Klopp was not only a respected head coach, he was an adopted Liverpudlian, so anyone who came in to replace him had an almost impossible task of delivering success as well as earning the admiration of loyal supporters.

As of right now, Liverpool’s executive board can feel satisfied because Arne Slot has been exactly what the club needed after losing Klopp. The Reds lead the Premier League table with 18 points, but most importantly, the Dutch manager has been excellent in applying his strategy. Klopp’s heavy metal football was tattooed on the team, but Slot has been calculated in the club’s transition. He didn’t eradicate the previous philosophy; he modified it.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has gone back to his original role as a right-back rather than marauding into midfield, Ibrahima Konaté is turning into one of the best center-backs in the league, Luis Díaz is on his way to producing more goals in half a season than he did the entire previous campaign and Ryan Gravenberch could be their most important player (no other member of the squad has made more recoveries or interceptions than him, in addition to having an almost 90% pass accuracy rate).

Under Slot, Liverpool do more with less. Their possession and shot creation is relatively lower than in Klopp’s era, but their productivity and output is high.

There is one caveat, though. Liverpool has statistically played the easiest schedule out of any Premier League team so far, and once they return from the international break, things are about to get much harder. Between the end of this international window and the next one on Nov. 14, Slot’s side has to face Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton (twice), Aston Villa as well as Champions League matches against RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen. Things don’t get easier after that as they will also face Real Madrid and Man City in the space of five days.

Liverpool are currently on a great roll thanks to their Slot machine, but soon, we’ll find out whether they’re the real deal.

Kompany’s Bayern showing signs of progress, but issues remain

Admit it. Vincent Kompany’s summer arrival at Bayern Munich from newly relegated Burnley surprised you, didn’t it?

I was shocked, especially since there were other, more experienced coaches in contention. The perennial Bundesliga winners finished third in 2023-24 and trophyless for the first time since 2011-12, despite Harry Kane’s tremendous debut season (36 league goals to win the European Golden Shoe).

Ultimately, Kompany’s appointment was about methodology. The move for the former Man City captain was about returning to what was pure about Bayern Munich. They wanted to win again, but in their own way. The Bavarians wanted someone who could implement an attractive philosophy that suited their personnel. Since Pep Guardiola had been there, done that and already had a job, who better to bring in than a former student of his? Kompany is ambitious, smart and most notably, willing to carry out the teachings he learned from Guardiola, who had incredible success with Bayern between 2013 and 2016.

In the league, the club is undefeated and leads the table on goal difference, having scored a league high of 20 goals. Overall, Bayern 33 goals in all competitions and Kane has 10 of them. Their average possession (66%) is the best in the league and their pass success rate is more than 90%, also leading the Bundesliga.

However, there are elements of Kompany’s strategy that leave vulnerable gaps because their intense pressure and high-line tactics often allow smart teams to counter attack with precision. Their loss to Aston Villa in the Champions League — where Jhon Durán instinctively caught Manuel Neuer off his line — is a perfect example. In fact, the past three matches have them on a winless run (1-1 vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 1-0 loss to Villa, 3-3 vs. Eintracht Frankfurt) and much of this is because of opponents’ ability to react to the counter-pressing.

How the team wins back possession as quickly as possible will be Kompany’s most important task on his to-do list. If Bayern Munich are to reclaim their throne, they need to be smarter without the ball, not just with it.