A weekend of upsets: Europe’s powerhouses lose their grip

November 24, 2025 Oliver Obel

Arsenal’s 3–0 win over Tottenham belonged entirely to Eberechi Eze, whose performance felt like the kind that shifts a title race. Spurs supporters had once expected him to join them during the summer window; instead, they watched him orchestrate the derby from Arsenal’s right-sided midfield role.

With Martin Ødegaard still sidelined, Eze took charge early — slipping a deft chipped pass into Declan Rice to set the tone — and as the match progressed he grew more incisive. His finishing on either side of halftime pushed Arsenal out of reach, and by the final whistle he was drifting between lines with the confidence of a player fully commanding the moment.

Olise continues his rise in Germany

A day earlier, Michael Olise produced a similarly decisive performance in Bavaria. Bayern Munich trailed Freiburg by two goals inside 20 minutes, but Olise almost single-handedly dragged them back.

He set up their opener, levelled the match with a driven strike, delivered the corner for Dayot Upamecano’s volley, sliced through Freiburg’s defence to create another, and capped the comeback with a solo goal. Having already surpassed 20 combined goals and assists this season, he has quickly become one of Bayern’s most influential players — and his upcoming Champions League meeting with Eze adds a timely twist.

Read also: Rugby’s team of the week

Storm clouds gather at major clubs

Liverpool’s slump deepened with a lifeless loss to Nottingham Forest, their sixth league defeat of the campaign. The tension inside Anfield was unmistakable, and captain Virgil van Dijk summed up the mood bluntly: “At the moment it is a mess – that’s just a fact.” A side once defined by organisation and intensity now looks uncertain and short of ideas.

Manchester City faced problems of their own in a loss at Newcastle. Phil Foden, competing for minutes in an increasingly crowded England midfield picture, missed key chances that may linger in Gareth Southgate’s considerations as Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers continue to excel.

Across Europe, contenders wobble and revive

Barcelona’s return to Camp Nou — partially reopened after more than two years of reconstruction — arrived with a 4–0 win over Athletic Club. The performance carried the energy of a fresh start, and Robert Lewandowski’s admission that the team feels “slightly stronger” at home captured the mood.

In Serie A, Hakan Çalhanoğlu endured a bruising night as Inter’s hopes of a derby rescue vanished when his late penalty was saved in a 1–0 defeat to AC Milan. Napoli, however, offered a brighter storyline: Antonio Conte switched to his trusted 3-4-3 and immediately saw more pace, width and cohesion in a 3–1 win over Atalanta, cooling talk of tension inside the dressing room.

Borussia Dortmund’s familiar problems resurfaced when they let a 2–0 lead slip and conceded a stoppage-time equaliser to Stuttgart. Their early-season ambitions may already be shrinking toward securing Champions League qualification rather than chasing Bayern.

In the Netherlands, Robin van Persie’s Feyenoord let a late lead collapse against NEC — a deflating end to a match that began with optimism after the manager named his teenage son, Shaqueel, in the senior squad for the first time.

And in France, Paul Pogba made an emotional return for Monaco after 811 days away from professional football. His brief appearance in a 4–1 defeat to Rennes mattered far less than the fact he finally stepped back onto the pitch.

Sources: Reuters, BBC, AP.