The state of play: What do the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 tables look like?

There have been some surprising results in recent weeks

How do the top five European leagues look heading into the international break?

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The World Cup may have finished several months ago, with the international cycle already on to its next competition, but the impact the summer tournament is having on Europe’s top five leagues is throwing up some strange-looking results.

Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid are all struggling – relatively speaking - while Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus are continuing to rule the roost in Ligue 1 and Serie A respectively.

La Liga

La Liga

1. Sevilla 16 points
2. Barcelona 15 points
3. Atletico Madrid 15 points
4. Real Madrid 14 points
5. Espanyol 14 points

There’s a rather large Ronaldo-shaped hole in this season’s Real Madrid team, and it’s not just his goals that are missing. It seems that teams are less fearful when playing Real Madrid, and in turn, Julen Lopetegui is already under pressure just a few months into his tenure. Their cutting edge is gone and they have not scored a goal in four games – the second worst run in the club’s history.

Without significant additions to the squad, Madrid are also suffering in the Champions League. After beating Roma, Madrid suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against CSKA Moscow in their second group game and, in light of recent form, are unlikely to extend their winning run to a fourth consecutive European title.

Real Madrid are struggling for goals

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Barcelona are not having much joy either. Their form has suffered in recent weeks amid increasing defensive inconsistencies; indeed, they have only kept two clean sheets and conceded nine goals in their opening eight matches.

Lionel Messi is playing in a slightly deeper role following the departure of Andreas Iniests, but has continued to contribute with goals. However, there’s a sense that Ernesto Valverde’s side are over reliant on the Argentine.

Beating city rivals Real Madrid in the Uefa Super Cup and retaining the services of World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann has Atletico Madrid well set up to challenge again for the title, and things are going well. Diego Simeone’s side have lost just one match – a defeat at Celta Vigo – and have conceded just four league goals.

Andre Silva and Wissam Ben Yedder’s goals make Sevilla the surprising leaders as La Liga pauses for the international break. Manager Pablo Machin’s first season in charge has got off to a flying start, epitomised by their 3-0 win against Real Madrid. Their spell at the top of the table may not last long, though, as they continue to place importance on the Europa League.

Valencia, Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao are nowhere to be seen at the top the table, and Espanyol make up the top five. Rubi’s side are level on points with Real Madrid and Alaves after winning four of their opening eight matches.

Ligue 1

Ligue 1

1. PSG 27 points
2. Lille 19 points
3. Marseille 16 points
4. Montpellier 16 points
5. St Etienne 15 points

It may be early October but it’s already fairy safe to say that the Ligue 1 title has already been decided after PSG eased their ways to nine league wins from nine.

Mbappe, who has a goal every 51 minutes, and Neymar unsurprisingly lead the way as top scorers as Thomas Tuchel’s tenure at PSG gets underway without a hitch.

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar are leading the way for PSG 

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Of course, the Champions League will be where PSG’s success will be best judged. They suffered a late defeat against Liverpool after pulling the score back to 2-2. At Anfield they showed they can, at times, play with a decent amount of defensive structure, something which has been absent from their recent European ventures. But they were ultimately undone by a late Roberto Firmino strike.

Lille’s free flowing and attacking play has rewarded them with second place after a disastrous campaign last year where they finished in 17th and narrowly avoided relegation. They lost several key players in the summer, but their savvy recruitment has made up for some of the big names who have been lost.

After losing the Europa League final to Atletico Madrid last season, Marseille have recruited well and are in a good place domestically. Nonetheless, they have failed to beat Eintracht or Apollon Limassol in their Europa League group. Dimitri Payet continues to stand out as their key player, as seen by his five league goals, including a stunning volley against Guingamp.

Serie A

Serie A

1. Juventus 24 points
2. Napoli 18 points
3. Inter Milan 16 points
4. Lazio 15 points
5. Sampdoria 14 points

Juventus are already reaping the rewards of their huge outlay on Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, although this signing has not pleased all of the supporters. Four goals and four assists means that Ronaldo is beginning to justify his move to Turin, although it will be in the Champions League where he will truly prove his worth to the Italians.

Cristiano Ronaldo has settled quickly at Juventus

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Keeping up with Juventus, who have won all eight of their Serie A matches, seems like an unobtainable goal for the remaining sides in Serie A and the race for second is where the interest may be. Napoli, who beat Liverpool in the Champions League group stage, are second after winning six this season and Inter Milan closely follow in third, although there is no sign of AC Milan, who lag behind in tenth.

Gennaro Gattuso’s side have not made a disastrous side to the season, but there are several quality sides lurking ahead of them in the hunt for the fourth Champions League spot, including Fiorentina, Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio.

Bundesliga

Bundesliga

1. Borussia Dortmund 17 points
2. RB Leipzig 14 points
3. Borussia Monchengladbach 14 point
4. Wender Bremen 14 points
5. Hertha Berlin 14 points

Well, what on earth is going on at Bayern Munich? Not only are they not top of the table, but the gap between them and Borussia Dortmund is already four points. While a lot of top sides in Europe are experiencing players suffering from a World Cup hangover, most of Bayern Munich’s players returned relatively early compared to some of their rivals.

Niko Kovac is a young manager that was put in charge of revitalising an ageing side but there seems to be little cohesion on the pitch. Talented players are making individual errors and costing their side, while they are struggling to create chances with any regularity.

Elsewhere, Lucien Favre has wasted no time in ensuring that Borussia Dortmund quickly forget Thomas Tuchel as he begins his tenure after joining from Nice in the summer. Dortmund did not heavily strengthen after losing Andriy Yarmolenko, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Mikel Merino and Andre Schurrle to the Premier League, but keeping Marco Reus was always a bonus.

Jadon Sancho is enjoying something of a breakthrough season at Dortmund, after playing 12 times in the league last year, and has been rewarded for his early form with a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

Jadon Sancho has been rewarded with a place in the England team

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Premier League

Premier League

1. Manchester City 20 points
2. Chelsea 20 points
3. Liverpool 20 points
4. Arsenal 18 points
5. Tottenham 18 points

Manchester City’s perceived procession to their second consecutive Premier League title may not be as straightforward as initially thought as they top the top the table over Chelsea and Liverpool through their slightly superior goal difference.

Arsenal’s stuttering start under Unai Emery has evened out and they now pip rivals Tottenham for fourth place. Spurs, however, have had one of their best starts to the Premier League season, but appear to be caught short by injuries to Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli.