European Paper Review

Madrid’s new Magician, Barça batter Betis, PSG continue to disappoint while there are shocks in Germany.

‘Magic Asensio’ reads the double front page of Monday’s Marca. That’s Marco Asensio, the 20-year-old Mallorcan left winger who scored on his Real Madrid league debut in a 3-0 win at Real Sociedad. Gareth Bale got the other two. Double front page? Another Spanish Olympic gold medal is also celebrated.

Rival Madrid supporting newspaper AS went for Bale on their cover under the headline ‘Power’ as they praised the makeshift attack of Bale, Morata and Asensio. The paper had asked: ‘Is this going to be the La Liga of Bale?’ before the first game, evidence that he’s now seen as one of Madrid’s two main men, albeit still behind Ronaldo.

Madrid’s performance was picked up elsewhere. Under the heading ‘Madrid immediately responds to Barça’, Italy’s Corriere dello Sport wrote: “Cristiano absent, Bale takes the weight of the team upon him once again and opens and closes the scoring. Between them, the diamond that is Asensio, again ahead of James and Lucas Vázquez.”

Barça had hammered Betis 6-2 on Saturday, with a Luis Suarez hat-trick and two from Lionel Messi. “Barca are back, full of vigour,” wrote Alfredo Relano in AS. “Even while being short of Neymar and Iniesta, the culé attack moved well.”

Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 at home to promoted Alaves. “Alaves treat themselves,” observed Marca after the Basques got a 94^th minute equaliser - following Atletico’s 92^nd minute opener.

In France, Marseille have started this season as they finished the last. “Laughable, mediocre, shameful!” slammed local La Provence after OM followed up their opening day 0-0 draw with Toulouse with a 2-1 defeat away at village club Guingamp.

PSG made it two wins in two with a 3-0 win against promoted Metz, Layvin Kurzawa again on the scoresheet. “Kurzawa is unstoppable” said Le Figaro. “PSG a pleasure to watch,” purred Le Parisien.

“WIR SIND GOLD!” – “We are golden!” screamed BILD on Sunday morning after Germany’s women secured Olympic football gold in Rio with a 2-1 win over Sweden. “Another German dream in the Maracana!” added the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, but Die Welt hinted at a darker side of things to come.

“Unsporting fans give foretaste of men’s final,” they said after Silvia Neid’s team were roundly booed by the Brazilian fans – behaviour which was repeated on Saturday night as Horst Hrubesch’s men’s side settled for silver after losing to the hosts on penalties.

The German press reacted with rather more grace, Die Welt summing up the general mood: “It’s a shame that we lost but it’s also good. Brazil isn’t well; the country faces so many problems and is caught in perpetual crisis. Which makes it even nicer that the people have something to be proud of again, even if it’s only a football match. But that means a lot in Brazil.”

Back home, competitive football finally got underway with the first round of the DFB Pokal and the usual giant-killings, Werder Bremen crashing out away at third Sportfreunde Lotte.

But the biggest shock came in Saxony as second division Dynamo Dresden knocked out controversial Bundesliga newcomers RB Leipzig (above). “Against 28,000 fans in Dresden cup hell” predicted BILD ahead of the hotly anticipated derby, and so it proved as the Red Bull-backed side relinquished a 2-0 lead amid a boiling atmosphere and temperatures hitting 30°C. “You are destroying our sport, so we will destroy you,” read one banner in a raucous home end, and so it proved as Dynamo prevailed on penalties after levelling the score at 2-2.

“Dresden embarrass Leipzig!” screamed BILD, “Promoted Red Bull in turmoil before the Bundesliga season has even begun!” “Dresden turn off the taps” added Express – a reference to the Leipzig side’s energy drink backers. “Dramatic football fest in Dresden!” enthused local Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. “Leipzig out! Dynamo win eastern cracker!” added SportBILD, whilst Sport1 said: “RB not looking ready for the Bundesliga.” “One thing is certain,” concluded Süddeutsche Zeitung, “there will certainly be more beer consumed tonight than caffeine-based energy drinks.” RB begin their debut Bundesliga campaign away at TSG Hoffenheim next week.

Ahead of Bayern Munich’s trip to Carl-Zeiss Jena, SportBILD revealed “11 Ancelotti secrets” including “different approaches, different tactics, cigarettes and red wine,” while describing the Italian’s more flexible football style as the “anti-Pep.” If there have indeed been changes on Säbener Straße then Robert Lewandowski hasn’t noticed. “Lewandowski still on fire under Ancelotti” said Süddeutsche Zeitung as the Pole hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 win. Spiegel described Bayern’s victory as a “stroll through the beer garden and into the second round – no shocks, nothing special.”

Following an impressive 3-1 win away at Young Boys Bern in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier in midweek, a much-changed Borussia Mönchengladbach narrowly avoided embarrassment with a 1-0 win away at fourth tier Hamburg outfit SV Drochtersen/Assel. “Back to earth from the Champions League!” said the Express, “Lots of possession, few chances” summarised Kicker, “Job done,” concluded the Rheinische Post as André Schürrle’s side look ahead to their Bundesliga opener against Bayer Leverkusen next week.

SportBILD are already asking questions of Thomas Tuchel’s Borussia Dortmund side following last week’s Supercup defeat to Bayern (0-2). “Can Dortmund not win titles anymore?” they asked. “They’ve already lost the first cup and there’s little to suggest at the moment that BVB can really pose a threat to Bayern.” Dortmund start their cup campaign against Regionalliga side Eintracht Trier this evening, where 17-year-old American Christian Pulisic will replace an already injured Mario Götze.

In Italy, the headline on the front of Monday’s Gazzetta Dello Sport is ‘Bocca Lets Loose, De Boer Struggles’. AC Milan won 3-2 against Torino on the opening day of Serie A. “ The striker goes from being on the market to a hat-trick against Torino,” writes Gazzetta. But in the 96th minute Donnrumma, one of Sinisa’s favourites, saves Belotti’s penalty which would have made it 3-3.”

Champions Juventus won at home to Fiorentina, Roma hammered Udinese 4-0, but Chievo beat Inter 2-0. “A Nerazzurri disaster: brace from Birsa and a good Chievo win 2-0. Icardi was never dangerous. The coach: “We will improve.” That coach quoted in Gazzetta is De Boer.

There’s been another sideline story in Italy about Gonzalo Higuain’s weight. Serie A’s record signing responded to talk about his somewhat bulkier figure, saying: “I’m fat? Say it so I can score.” The Argentine scored the winner in Juventus’ opening win, but his coach Massimiliano Allegri admitted his record signing is “not in shape yet”.

“I’ve been in training for 20 days and I know I can improve my shape, but I never had any doubts about myself,“ said Higuain. And scoring the winner on your league debut for your new club is hardly a bad start, is it?