Gameweek 6 of the 2024/25 European football season will perhaps be best remembered for the fiery Madrid derby clash between Real and Atletico.
And while the drama was thrilling, there was also plenty of great football played across Europe this weekend too.
Here’s our picks for the six best-performing players across the continent over the weekend.
Osasuna were not expected to beat Barcelona at the weekend.
33-year-old Ante Budimir was not expected to score a brace at the weekend either.
And yet, that’s exactly what happened.
The veteran forward cause havoc for Barca’s backline, netting two goals in the surprise 4-2 victory.
September was a pretty barren month for Dusan Vlahovic in front of goal. The striker really struggled to make an impact in Juve’s three consecutive Serie A 0-0s, only lasting 45 minutes of the draw with Napoli.
With those performances in mind, it was pretty clear heading into the clash with Genoa at the weekend that Vlahovic was in dire need of a goal. And, in the end, he got himself two.
The Serbian showed off what he’s all about with two sharp finishes.
If he can do that a bit more often, he has the potential to become one of the best strikers in the world.
Speaking of the best strikers in the world, here’s Lautaro Martinez.
The Inter captain took the game against Udinese by the scruff of the neck over the weekend, bundling home his side’s second with a bit of luck before half time, and then showing off his class by firing into the bottom corner for his side’s third in the eventual 3-2 win.
Nice one.
Benjamin Sesko was a man on a mission to score his first Bundesliga goal of the season at the weekend.
The young striker did exactly that in the 10th minute of the game against Augsburg with a thumping 25-yard effort, and then added another to his tally with a well-taken header five minutes later.
He then set up Xavi Simons’ goal in the 4-0 win for good measure.
In the space of just 23 minutes in a game against Hoffenheim, Jens Stage equalled his career best single Bundesliga season goal tally.
So yes, it’s fair to say that absolutely no one in the world thought that Stage was going to score a hat-trick at the weekend.
It was quite the hat-trick too. Stage’s three goals helped Werder Bremen complete a remarkable turnaround to earn a 4-3 win in the Bundesliga.
The fact that none of Europe’s elite have snapped up Jonathan David yet remains one of life’s great mysteries.
Their loss has very much been LOSC Lille’s gain, as proven by his fantastic hat-trick against Havre AC at the weekend.
Check out his second goal in the win if you haven’t seen it yet, it was a wonderful piece of forward play.
