La Liga
Real Madrid opened the league section of our roundup in emphatic fashion, putting four past Real Sociedad. A 4-1 scoreline sends a clear early-season statement: Madrid are in no mood for a slow start. Sociedad will be deflated to concede four in that defeat and will need to regroup quickly. It is the kind of result that sets the tone for a title conversation before August is even out.
Champions League
The Champions League qualifying rounds produced four results on Wednesday evening, with Lyon 1-2 Fenerbahçe, AEK Athens FC 4-0 Levski Sofia, Viking 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb, and Celje 1-2 Slovan Bratislava.
The headline act in the qualifiers was AEK Athens FC’s commanding 4-0 dismantling of Levski Sofia. That is a ruthless scoreline at any stage of a competition, and AEK will head into the next round brimming with confidence. For Levski, conceding four without reply represents a sobering evening and leaves them with a steep mountain to climb if a second leg follows.
The most striking upset of the round came in France, where Fenerbahçe edged Lyon 2-1. Lyon, playing on home soil, will feel the result keenly. Fenerbahçe demonstrated exactly why they deserved to travel back with the victory, winning away from home in a Champions League qualifying tie being no small achievement. Lyon's supporters will expect a response, and quickly.
The third qualifying tie saw Viking claim a 3-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb. Viking lead with two goals to spare heading into what should be a tense second leg, should one be scheduled. The Norwegian side have given themselves a real platform, while Dinamo's evening unravelled in a way their fans will not have anticipated.
Fenerbahçe won 2-1 at Lyon and Viking beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-1 on a night that produced two away wins in the Champions League.