Pep enjoys a wonderful night as Man City smash Watford with a stunning 8-0 to record their biggest ever top-flight victory at the Etihad Stadium while Granada shocked Barcelona 2-0 in LaLiga to increase the pressure on Ernesto Valverde, who has overseen the Blaugrana's worst start to the season since 1994-95.
Here are 4 things we need to know from those two matches respectively.
Man City
1. Aguero's scoring run
Sergio Aguero stepped up to take the penalty and emphatically finished past Ben Foster, for his eighth Premier League goal of the season.
Those goals have been spread across each of the opening six games of the new season, with Aguero becoming the first player in Premier League history to achieve that feat.
2. Aguero x Etihad
Aguero is now just the third player to have scored 100 Premier League goals at a single ground, after Thierry Henry at Highbury and Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford.
And if the striker continues the kind of goalscoring form he's in, you wouldn't put it past him breaking that record this season.
3. Man City record fastest 5-0 lead
Two goals up after seven minutes, Man City went on to score another three in the following 11, with Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Nicolas Otamendi finding the net.
Over the years, the Premier League has seen a lot of 5-0 scorelines, but this was the fastest a team has ever gone 5-0 up in the history of the competition.
4. De Bruyne eclipses Ozil
The Belgian already went into the game as the Premier League's top assister for the season, having created five in the opening five games.
De Bruyne would go on to add another two on Saturday, providing for David Silva and Bernardo Silva.
The double took De Bruyne's total Premier League assist tally up to 53, overtaking Arsenal creator Mesut Ozil, joining the likes of Emile Heskey, Leighton Baines and Robin van Persie.
Though he will soon move far away from that trio.
Barcelona
1. Lack of defensive solidity could cost Barcelona
Granada's two goals against Barcelona means that Valverde's men have conceded nine from just five LaLiga matches.
In that time, they have allowed 48 shots at their goal which is simply unacceptable for a club of Barcelona's standing.
They have kept just one clean sheet this season which came in the Champions League and they largely had Ter Stegen to thank for that.
Barcelona's golden midfield of yesteryears are long gone, and though they still dominate possession (as their 74% against Granada showed), they lack the presence and control that Xavi and Iniesta in their prime offered, leading to increased pressure on their defense.
2. Griezmann puts up another disastrous showing
Griezmann was below-par during pre-season. But given the friendly and relaxed natures of those games, not too much was read into it.
He was the star of the show as Barcelona decimated Real Betis 5-2 at home, scoring a brace and registering an assist, and also put in a decent shift in another 5-2 victory over Valencia.
However, in between both matches, Griezmann had been a spectator as Barcelona drew 2-2 with Osasuna, and his no shows in the games against Dortmund and Granada reveals a worrying trend.
The Catalans have a chequered history with big-money signings, with most of them struggling to meet up to expectations and if Griezmann is to avoid falling into this infamous category, he would have to up his game considerably.
3. More away woes for Barcelona
Barcelona are without Champions League glory since 2015, and a large reason for this has been down to their disastrous performances away from home.
Some of their away displays have been truly atrocious, and the consequent scorelines and fall-backs are well known, so it is futile repeating them here.
The loss against Granada marked Barcelona's third away league fixture of the season, and they have failed to win any, while they also drew with Dortmund in the Champions League.
The Catalans are winless away from home for seven consecutive matches, and one would have to go all the way back to the end of April for Barcelona's last away win in a competitive fixture; a 2-0 defeat of Alaves at the Estadio Mendizorrozata.
4. Surprise, surprise, Granada go top of the table
A cursory glance at the summit of the LaLiga table might make one rub their eyes in disbelief as Granada are top of LaLiga at the moment.
In a league containing heavyweights like Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid, clubs in the ilk of Granda have no business being at the top end of the table, but the reality is that this is where the Andalusians currently are.
Granada had only returned to the Spanish top flight after two years away this season by finishing second in LaLiga 2 the last term.
Fulldosw
907
So lucky that Barca got Valverde to blame. Every team dreams of having just like Valverde 🤪
lukzlat910
259
After Pep and Valverde swapped tactics last week, Pep decided he would stick with his old tactics and Valverde decided he'll still be Valverde [Crylaugh][Crylaugh][Crylaugh]
Yimmntuyz
132
So far Valerde remains the coach of BARCA, nothing more you can expect from the team. It was obvious that BARCA lacks adequate defencive force, still they were running after forwards during last transfer season. The defence is so vulnerable that every team tries to explore the opportunity. They always keep two or more players at BARCA defence continuously threating the defenders. There is no frequent penetration in opposition's defence by BARCA forwards. Besides, a lot of MISPASSES are seen in the tram and sometimes, unnecessary moving of ball in the defence invites danger. Also mere passing of ball infront of opposition's defence and making no penetration in to the goal mouth absolutely spoils times. Does Valverde think all these? He shluld, as I think, retire from BARCA before BARCA is drowned.
ronnie_luv
112
now i think Granada gonna win la liga😂
RoverSanil
94
Man city is the 8th wonder of world They just cant stop scoring even if they are losing
raynknight
66
We have started to Play LonG diagonal Balls and Gone r Those Tiki - Taka and One touch Passing , Our FuLL Backs r worst among any Elite side , We Can't play ouT from the Back anymore , We Don't press opponents now , we Can't cope with Physicality and Pressing of Opponents, Our Midfield Lacks precision and Vision, None Take risks with Passing other Than Messi , We used to attack from The Center noT from The winGs , 4-3-3 was oUr inFamous Playing style but Our Coach don't even likes To stick With That anyMore and is Applying his Very Own 'Valverde Ball ' in oUr beloved cLub , Defence is Our biggest Problem since some seasons now but their is no reinforcement in Our Back Line , When u have Got a Midfield three then why would u even change those three in every damn Match , Suarez must Be benched and so does Roberto or Semedo , Semedo is our Worst player in the squad unarguably but still he Gets every Damn chances even at odd positions , Valverde benches a Full fit Messi and What more can we ask from our CLown , Valveree can't even our Coach Barca under 10 but still he is our Coach for last two years and Saddest part is That Our Board doesn't even want to sack him , i dont why ....... We have problems at each and every position and StiLL this Clueless is our coach in hope that he will suddenly cjange into Cryuff overnight and transform our Fortunes forever...... This Board is Ruining Messi's Career but still Our board supports him , i dont why ....... Maybe its tiMe to leave Football for us Cules coz we dont even matter for Barca board and its Better to Live Stress free than watching a Clown killing us day by day...... ForCa Barca
Poyabcklz
65
i am a madrid fans..but seeing barca in this bad form make me a little worry..cause madrid n barca were always compette each other..now currently both madrid n barca were in bad form..how can we dominate europe again like last 6 years..keep it together barca fans..#hala madrid#forcabarca
Nesaiknruy_Legend
41
City has a better team than Barca if you take Messi out the equation, that is literally fact. People wont accept it but in a Barca shirt, Messi has carried his team so much that when he doesnt play they look beatable. Barca used to have this free flowing style of football but clearly that ain't happening anymore. I think it's down to the coach cos his tactical ability is awful and the players he brings in are mostly good in name compared to the quality they need to bring in....I told people Griezmann is overrated. Idk what people see in him but to me hes just a glorified version of Dele Alli when he first burst on the scene at Spurs. Someone who can run between pockets of space to score but he isnt an overall world class player. Messi, Busquets and Ter Stegen are the only real established world class players in that side. Pique has always been protected by Busquets and the Barca system that requires him to barely see the ball however when that system is beaten Pique gets ran over year in year out as we all seen. Barca had this coming and now their reality is once again coming to light with the absence of Messi....
judailsu
37
I have said it several times that life is in different phases... It doesn't matter what you are doing, there are good and bad phases that one must pass through in life. It is non negotiable. The notion above is not only limited to human life but even career and chief among them is football. Every club has their moment of ups and downs. In such period, a true fan will stick to the club no matter what, instead of looking for who to blame (coach, players, board members). Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Bayan Munic and lots of big clubs have all gone through such phases and are still going through them. So Barcelona is not the first and won't be the last. Let us support our respective clubs in the face of difficult times and not just when they are winning. That's my humble submission and I stand to be corrected. Thank you all.
sasadprsu
36
Wisdom is an inborn attribute unfortunately Valverde is a natural fool who can't change a team even if he stays in that position for five seasons....He has no mentorship skills to build a formidable team that can compete in Europe.A top class coach has massive input on the kind of signings he wants to make in order to achieve his vision for the club remember his famous signings include Boateng, Murillo .This shows how thick headed he is. He has left full responsibility of signing players to other departments within the Barca hierarchy and that's how incompetent managers destroy top teams. Klopp,Pep and other top managers i believe they give a list of players they want in their project unlike Valverde.To build a formidable team doesn't mean u break the bank but is about tactics, believe and hardwork orchestrated by the manager.The teams who who have harvested points from their matches against Barca have very little budget but determined when in the field.
cosackntz
27
From his very first season, I have been saying he isn't a coach for Barcelona but people kept calling me names. His tactics are weak, we narrowly win of which most of the wins came as a result of individual performances/brilliance, he's too defense minded forgetting that the best form of defense is attack, he isn't bold nor have strong mentality, he's always trying to play safe and finally, I kept saying he was eroding our philosophy even when we had an unbeaten run in his first season because our matches were boring to watch. I don't blame this negative Mr Bean of a coach alone, he wasn't suppose to return to the club after Roma disaster yet he did, the same disaster came last season with Liverpool yet he was retained and to crown it all, he lost our birth right (Copa De Rey) by losing the final to Valencia that Arsenal flogged home and away in Europa and yet the board still didn't sack him. Let's motivate all the Camp Nou fans who will be watching our matches live at the stadium starting from midweek to raise banners with Bartomeu Out, Valverde Out massively, maybe we might still be able to redeem this season but we obviously don't need Mourinho, he doesn't play Barca pattern of football nor possess our DNA. It will just amount to panic signing just like what Man U did and we all know the result. Mourinho doesn't fit into our long term goal, Barcelona is known for having a long term project where young talents are being groomed to become superstars, let's get Ajax coach cos I know we can't get Guardiola back for now.