This weekend saw plenty of great goals, drama, action and a whole lot of sensational football. ESPN India picks out a selection of the best to give you a quick review of the weekend went by:
Results: Premier League | LALIGA | Serie A | Bundesliga | Ligue 1
Match of the Weekend: Paris FC 4-3 Rennes
A match between top-end rivals early in the season usually lead to cagey affairs, but no one told Paris FC and Rennes that was the script to follow. The goalscoring started in the 14th minute, an intense high press leading to Maxime López sitting the goalkeeper down with a stepover and passing it in. Paris were utterly dominant, until a handball in the box saw Esteban Lepaul equalise with a penalty (spoiler alert: there's more of that coming). Lopez, though, got Paris the lead again in the 4th minute of three minimum added on at the end of the first half.
Le match de l'année !! ���� https://t.co/yCovFWgTSU
- Ligue 1 McDonald's (@Ligue1) October 18, 2026
Early in the second, a screamer from Rennes' Sebastian Szymanski was ruled out for a foul in the buildup but in minute 74, Lepaul equalised with another pen. Just two minutes later, Paris were ahead again with a sensationally improvised bicycle kick from just outside the six-yard box by Lassine Sinayoko. Another handball in the Paris box, though, saw Lepaul complete his hattrick from the spot to make it 3-3 in the 88th minute. And then even more drama... Sinayoko was brought down just inside the Rennes box and stepped up to convert it. 4-3 Paris, minute 98, and the home crowd lost it.
The result sees Paris stay third, behind Lyon on goal difference and PSG on goals scored (all on 14 points after seven games) and Rennes drop from third to sixth (they're on 13 points).
Goal of the Weekend: Kylian Mbappé vs Sevilla
There were a bunch of long-range screamers to choose from this weekend (none longer than Diego Gómez for Brighton vs Crystal Palace), but there's something that extra bit special about a great player flexing his football ability and touch -- the kind most footballers can only dream of -- while scoring a golazo.
Which is why our pick for this weekend is Kylian Mbappé doing Mbappe™ things late on Sunday night vs Sevilla.
It started with Yan Diamonde (excellent on the left flank in the absence of Vinicius Jr) teasing a dribble before poking it forward and sideways to Jude Bellingham, the quickness of the pass catching the Sevilla defence flat-footed. Bellingham, back turned to Mbappe, flicked it first-time with his heel to his striker and then... magic.
Mbappe had made a run forward expecting the ball in front of him, but the flick meant he had to adjust his body position, and he did that with a roulette turn, Zinedine Zidane style, dragging the ball in front of him as he spun between two in Sevilla red. His next touch was impeccable, and fast, too fast for Kike Salas to get a foot in. One on one with keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, he reached deep into the centre-forward bag of tricks and brought out one that seems to be going out of style: faking a shot and rolling the ball past the advancing keeper to tap it into an empty net.
Consider that all of this was done at the warp speed Mbappe does things at, and it was a special goal.
Upset of the Weekend
New Venezia coach Davide Nicola couldn't have asked for a better start as Venezia boss. Winless in six coming into their match vs giants Napoli, Nicola got the bottom side's first win of the season with a 1-0 upset of Max Allegri's men. It was a vintage underdog performance: dogged defensively (there were two goal line clearances and many more blocks besides), riding their luck (Kevin de Bruyne's penalty saved by Venezia hero Filip Stankovic) and scoring a route one effort that took a big deflection (Akor Admas with the goal).
The pressure now mounts on Allegri, with Napoli stuck in ninth and leaders Inter Milan and Lazio already nine points ahead.
Quote of the Weekend
Jose Mourinho's post-match press conference was dominated by questions of Arda Güler's alleged elbow on Sevilla's Gerard Fernandez (happened when the game was at 0-0), but he dismissed it as an excuse from a losing coach.
When asked about the controversially disallowed Giovanni Lo Celso goal for Real Betis vs Barcelona, though, Mourinho had a memorable line ready: ""I swear I haven't seen it. I was watching Bayern [Munich] vs. Leipzig. After that, I heard things. But it isn't a surprise for me. It's one more day at the office."
Moment of the Weekend
An Argentine striker at Roma already has massive boots to fill (hello, Batigol) and that was only added to by the fact that regular striker, the very in form Donyell Malen, was absent from the squad. So, what did Santiago Castro do? Score a goal oozing with audacity, imagination and technical superiority.
Castro ����
#RomaGenoa #SerieAEnilive https://t.co/6pEmeWKePo
- Lega Serie A (@SerieA) October 18, 2026
Genoa had been keeping Roma at bay when a corner landed at Castro's feet after a half-hearted attempt from the striker to thigh it forward. Faced by a wall of Genoa white, Castro turned nimbly, kept the ball from prodding legs, and without any hesitation scooped the ball over the completely packed six-yard box and into the far corner - the Genoa defence and keeper looking at the arcing ball in awe as much as trepidation as it looped into the net. The Olimpico has seen many a cucchiaio (hello, Emperor Totti), and this was right up there with the best of them. Not too shabby a way to get your first goal for your new club, eh?
P.S. Castro's opener and Emmanuelle Lulli's second (with a lovely run and assist from Matìas Soulè) sealed a 2-0 win for Roma. They are third on the table, just two points behind Inter and Lazio.