Mbappé Wins the Clásico, Villa Stop City, Kane Ten in a Row: The Striker Report

Barcelona had won all nine league games. Real Madrid came to the Camp Nou without Vinícius and without Thibaut Courtois. With two minutes left it was 1-1. Then Bellingham won the ball, Camavinga pulled it back, and Kylian Mbappé scored his second of the night. Barcelona 1, Real Madrid 2.

That was Sunday. The rest of the week was nearly as loud: PSG beat Barcelona and lost Kvaratskhelia, Aston Villa ended Manchester City's perfect start, Phil Foden scored a hat-trick, and Harry Kane scored in his tenth Champions League game in a row, on the eve of the Ballon d'Or.

I'm Etienne Noumen, and this is the written version of this week's Black Mambas of Football and Soccer. Here are this week's top strikers, sorted into three tiers, with what each one did, how his club is doing, and how he compares with a legend at the same age.

The tiers are strikers of the week: picked on this week's form, and open to new names as the week goes on. Mbappé, Haaland, Kane, Yamal and Olise will be in Tier 1 almost every week. Everyone else earns it week by week.

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Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid, Sunday night at the Camp Nou.

• 41 minutes, 0-1. Yan Diomande's low cross from the left came off Gerard Martín's clearance and hit Mbappé on the way in. It's Mbappé's goal on the match reports, though some coverage called it close to an own goal.
• 61 minutes, 1-1. Pedri's reverse pass, and Raphinha curled it low past Andriy Lunin.
• 88 minutes, 1-2. Jude Bellingham won the ball on halfway, substitute Eduardo Camavinga ran into the box and cut it back, and Mbappé finished.

No red cards. Lunin was in goal because Courtois had the flu. Barcelona lost Xavi Espart to injury after half an hour, and Madrid lost Fede Valverde in the second half.

It's Barcelona's first league defeat of the season, and the gap is down to three points: Barcelona 27, Atlético 25, Real Madrid 24, all after ten games.

• PSG 4-2 Barcelona. Désiré Doué scored first, Yamal made it 2-2 on 79 minutes, and Vitinha scored 109 seconds later. Fabián Ruiz added a fourth. It was Barcelona's first defeat of the season. It cost PSG too: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia tore his ACL and is out for months, and Dembélé and Marquinhos are out for several weeks with thigh injuries.
• Bayern 2-2 Arsenal. Kane scored a penalty, his tenth Champions League game in a row with a goal, and Declan Rice equalised late. Bukayo Saka went off after about ten minutes and is out for at least six weeks.
• Manchester City 5-1 AEK Athens. A Phil Foden hat-trick, with Haaland on the bench all night.
• Como 4-1 Manchester United. Two from Nico Paz.
• Real Madrid 4-1 Leipzig. Mbappé's 73rd Champions League goal, and one for Yan Diomande against his old club.
• Lille 2-4 Galatasaray. Lille's 19-year-old Soriba Diaoune scored twice; Victor Osimhen scored and was Player of the Match.
• In the Europa League, Milan lost 3-0 at Bournemouth after Mike Maignan was sent off. In the Conference League, Mohamed Salah scored for Trabzonspor in his 150th European game.

Then the weekend: Aston Villa beat Manchester City, Bayern won at Freiburg without their coach, and Manchester United lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth.

Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid, 27

His 73rd Champions League goal against Leipzig on Wednesday, set up by Diomande. Then both Real Madrid goals in the Clásico, including the winner on 88 minutes. That takes him to 11 La Liga goals if both stay credited to him, two behind Raphinha.

Madrid are third, three points behind Barcelona, and they did it without Vinícius, who is serving a four-match ban.

At the same age: Cristiano Ronaldo was 27 when he scored the winner at the Camp Nou on 21 April 2012, the night that decided the title in his 46-goal La Liga season under José Mourinho. Same coach, same stadium.

Erling Haaland, Manchester City, 26

A strange week. He was an unused substitute in the 5-1 against AEK, then headed City's goal at Villa Park on Saturday, and had a late header blocked on the line. City lost 2-1, their first defeat of the season, ending Enzo Maresca's perfect start.

He has 9 Premier League goals, four more than anyone else had going into Sunday, and 4 in the Champions League, joint top. City are still top, level with Arsenal on 21 points and ahead on goal difference.

On the Premier League's case against City: no hearing date has been set for the sanction, and no panel has been named for the appeal yet.

At the same age: Alan Shearer was 26 in 1996-97, his first season at Newcastle, and won the Golden Boot with 25 Premier League goals. Haaland has nine after eight games.

Harry Kane, Bayern Munich, 33

He scored a penalty against Arsenal: ten Champions League games in a row with a goal, and 58 in his career. He set up Alphonso Davies's goal too. At Freiburg on Sunday he didn't score; the keeper saved twice from him. Bayern won 3-1 anyway and are top, level on 17 points with Dortmund.

The bigger news in Munich: Vincent Kompany collapsed at training on Friday and is in hospital. Max Eberl says he is stable. His assistant, Aaron Danks, took the team.

And on Monday Kane is the bookmakers' favourite for the Ballon d'Or. That's the betting market, not a result.

At the same age: Luka Modrić won the Ballon d'Or in 2018, at 33.

Lamine Yamal, Barcelona, 19

He scored in Paris on 79 minutes to make it 2-2. PSG scored twice more. In the Clásico he started but didn't score, and Barcelona lost for the first time in the league. Two defeats in five days.

He's on the Ballon d'Or shortlist and the Kopa Trophy shortlist, and the bookmakers have him second for the main prize.

At the same age: the youngest Ballon d'Or winner ever is Ronaldo Nazário, who was 21 in 1997. Yamal is 19.

Michael Olise, Bayern Munich, 24

He served his one-match ban against Arsenal. Then at Freiburg he set up Dayot Upamecano's opener and scored in the 95th minute to finish it 3-1. He has 5 Bundesliga goals on the official count, which may not include Sunday's yet.

At the same age: Franck Ribéry was 24 in his first Bayern season, 2007-08, and won the league and cup double.

Phil Foden, Manchester City, 26

New in Tier 1 this week. A hat-trick against AEK: 34, 65 and 76 minutes. He has three Champions League goals this season.

At the same age: Frank Lampard was 26 in 2004-05: 13 Premier League goals from midfield, the title, and second place in the Ballon d'Or.

Désiré Doué, PSG, 21

New in Tier 1. He scored the first against Barcelona and has scored in each of his last three games. With Kvaratskhelia and Dembélé out, PSG need him. They're top of the Champions League table, and play Lyon on Monday night.

At the same age: Lionel Messi was 21 when he scored in the 2009 Champions League final.

Nicolas Jackson, Aston Villa, 25

New in Tier 1. Both goals against Manchester City, the first after six minutes. Four Premier League goals, three in the Champions League, and Villa are second in the Champions League table.

At the same age: Didier Drogba was 25 in 2003-04 at Marseille: 19 Ligue 1 goals and a UEFA Cup final.

Alexander Isak, Liverpool, 27

His sixth goal of the season in a 2-0 win over Brighton, Liverpool's fourth win in a row. Liverpool are fourth, and have won all three in Europe. Thierry Henry, at 27, scored 25 Premier League goals in 2004-05.

Victor Osimhen, Galatasaray, 27

A goal and Player of the Match in a 4-2 win at Lille, Galatasaray's first points of the Champions League. At 27, Samuel Eto'o scored 30 La Liga goals in 2008-09 and scored in the Champions League final.

Scott McTominay, Napoli, 29

Four goals in a week: two in a 4-3 over Bodø/Glimt, then two in a 3-3 with Roma. At 29, Steven Gerrard scored 16 Premier League goals from midfield and was Footballer of the Year.

Nico Paz, Como, 22

Two goals against Manchester United in a 4-1 win, and Player of the Match. Como are fourth in Serie A. Paulo Dybala turned 22 in his first Juventus season and scored 19 Serie A goals.

Niclas Füllkrug, Werder Bremen, 33

Two penalties in a 3-2 win at Mainz: 8 Bundesliga goals, top of the chart. Luca Toni was Serie A's top scorer at 37 going on 38. Late bloomers last.

Lionel Messi, Inter Miami, 39

On the bench at the Red Bulls, on after 56 minutes, and Miami lost 2-0. He still leads MLS in goals (25) and assists (15), and is the first player with 15 assists in three straight MLS seasons. Zlatan Ibrahimović scored 15 Serie A goals at 39.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nassr, 41

A goal at Al-Faisaly in a 3-1 win. Several data companies first called it an own goal; the league gives it to Ronaldo. That's career goal 982, eighteen short of 1,000. Roger Milla scored at the 1994 World Cup at 42.

Yan Diomande, Real Madrid, 19

A goal against Leipzig, the club he left in August, in the Champions League. Then in the Clásico his low cross made Mbappé's first goal. Real Madrid paid 125 million euros for him in August. Cristiano Ronaldo was 18 when Manchester United paid 12.24 million pounds for him in 2003.

Soriba Diaoune, Lille, 19

Two goals against Galatasaray in the Champions League, both in the first 40 minutes. Lille lost 4-2. Kylian Mbappé was 18 when he scored six Champions League goals for Monaco in 2017.

Max Moerstedt, Hoffenheim, 20

Scored in stoppage time to finish off a 3-0 win over Leverkusen, who had won six in a row. Thomas Müller was 20 when he scored 13 Bundesliga goals in 2009-10, then won the World Cup Golden Boot.

Monday 26 October: the Ballon d'Or at the London Palladium, hosted by Thierry Henry and Kate Scott. The same night, PSG play Lyon, moved because of demonstrations in Paris. Tuesday to Thursday: the Carabao Cup (Liverpool vs Chelsea, without the suspended Cole Palmer) and the German Cup. Saturday: Chelsea vs Manchester United, City vs Brighton. Sunday 1 November: Liverpool vs Arsenal, without Saka. In MLS, the regular season ends on 7 November.

Mbappé at the Camp Nou. The first goal went in off his knee. The second came with two minutes left, after Barcelona had come back and the crowd was loud again. He was in the right place both times.

That's the idea. You can't choose which chances come to you. You can choose to be standing where they land.

Runner-up: Michael Olise, back from his ban, with an assist and a 95th-minute goal at Freiburg in the week his coach was in hospital.

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Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, and tell me who your striker of the week is.

This report is researched and produced by Etienne Noumen, Professional Engineer and passionate football dad from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Sources for every number in this post: UEFA, AFP, Reuters, AP, NBC Sports, Sky Sports, Yahoo Sports, Al Jazeera, VAVEL, Foot Mercato, Bundesliga.com, RDS, MLSsoccer.com, Goal.com and others, all current to 25 October 2026. The full source list is on the showupandplay.com version of this post.