Pyrrhic point

Jimbo, James Horncastle, Raphael Honigstein, Julien Laurens and Alvaro Romeo look back on a weekend across Europe headlined by new gaffers and late drama. Barcelona celebrate the appointment of Xavi by throwing away a three-goal lead against Celta Vigo. And champions Atletico draw 3-3 as well. Is this the worst group of defenders Simeone has ever had to work with? Meanwhile Real Sociedad stay top with their manager insisting former Newcastle man Mikel Merino is the best player in La Liga. The best player in the Bundesliga right now – outside of Munich – might be Christopher Nkunku who propels Leipzig to a huge win over Dortmund. It’s honours even in the Milan derby but former Milan man Andriy Shevchenko is making his first steps into club management….at Genoa. Plus it’s a good weekend in France for Lens and Rennes, while Claude Puel’s Saint-Etienne finally secure their first win of the season.  RUNNING ORDER:    • PART 1: Moment of the weekend (02m 00s) • PART 2: Barcelona appoint Xavi (04m 30s)  • PART 3: Serie A – honours even in the Milan derby (11m 00s)  • PART 4: Bundesliga – Leipzig on the mend under Marsch (21m 00s) • PART 5: La Liga – Atleti ship more goals (29m 00s) • PART 6a: Ligue 1 – Saint-Etienne win at last (38m 00s) • PART 6b: A look ahead to the World Cup qualifiers (45m 00s) SIGN UP TO THE ATHLETIC TODAY FOR 33% OFF THE PRICE OF AN ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION • theathletic.com/totally   GET IN TOUCH: • follow us on Instagram • find us on Facebook • send us a tweet: @TheTotallyShow   READ STUFF ON OUR WEBSITE: • check out thetotallyfootballshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices