Manchester United's early season loss to Brighton is a warning sign of a possible difficult season ahead

Another jam-packed weekend of action is in the books, much of it full of good news for Europe's top teams. The trials and tribulations of a long season are already apparent for a handful of high-profile teams. I'm Pardeep Cattry with a recap of the latest to start the week.

All times U.S./Eastern

Monday, Aug. 26
🇮🇹 Serie A: Hellas Verona vs. Juventus, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network

Tuesday, Aug. 27
🇪🇺 UCL qualifiers: Galatasaray vs. Young Boys, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Cup: Birmingham City vs. Fulham, 3 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network
🇪🇸 La Liga: Rayo Vallecano vs. Barcelona, 3:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+

⚽ The Forward Line 🔴 Manchester United lose at Brighton

The Premier League weekend went according to plan for many, but not for Manchester United.

The Red Devils lost 2-1 at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday in a game that served as an early progress report for two teams with a point to prove. Though United had two goals called back, Brighton and new manager Fabian Hurzeler found a way to edge out the opposition in a relatively even match. That was especially true in attack, where the Seagulls posted just one more shot on target than United, but created a noticeable expected goals gap, notching 2.09 xG to United's 1.43.

Saturday's loss harkens back to the chaos of last season for United, when Erik ten Hag's side struggled to find a balance en route to an eighth place finish in the Premier League. A batch of summer signings, including center back Matthijs de Ligt and forward Joshua Zirkzee, were supposed to suggest that United would be on the way up this season but the loss to Brighton suggests that ten Hag's problems may be too big to solve with just a few transfers. Chuck Booth notes that United's attack might still be sputtering, especially when Marcus Rashford is in the lineup.

• Booth: "There are two Manchester United's under Erik ten Hag. One with a Marcus Rashford who can score more than 15 Premier League goals and this current iteration of the Red Devils. The makings of a dynamic attack are there with Bruno Fernandes making things happen, Alejandro Garnacho coming into his own and Zirkzee have been unpredictable in the early going but Rashford's inclusion in the lineup is causing imbalance. Amad Diallo has potential on the right side of midfield and Garnacho can play both sides so unlike in previous seasons, ten Hag does have options. In Manchester United's loss to Brighton, Rashford was anonymous in the 65 minutes that he played taking one shot and failing to create a chance. With rising expectations on the Red Devils with transfers like Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt joining, something needs to be done about the balance in attack."

How quickly Ten Hag works through his options might be a crucial story to follow at this early stage of the season. Despite the newness of the 2024-25 campaign, the high stakes games will come thick and fast for United -- their next one is home to Liverpool, who have yet to falter under new manager Arne Slot, and the schedule will soon be stacked with UEFA Europa League games for the fall. Considering the fact that ten Hag sat in a hot seat for almost the entirety of last season, the pressure for United to perform could return in no time at all.

Real Madrid may have had to wait until their second game of the season to win their first league game, but it came in resounding fashion with a 3-0 victory over Real Valladolid on Sunday.

Carlo Ancelotti went with another star-studded lineup, naming Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and last week's goalscorer Rodrygo to the starters but leaving the injured Jude Bellingham out. Much like their win over Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup, though, things got off to a sluggish start for the reigning champions. Real Madrid may have had 69% of the ball and limited the opposition to zero shots on target, but they took just four shots in total in the first half and mustered just 0.07 expected goals.

The second half was a much different story, though. Real Madrid took 13 shots and scored on three of them, the first coming from Federico Valverde's 50th minute strike. The reigning champions racked up the goals closer to the final whistle, with Brahmi Diaz notching the second and 18-year-old Endrick scoring his first goal for the club since joining over the summer. Endrick came on in the 86th minute and scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time, earning praise from Ancelotti post-match, per ESPN, even if his quick start to life in La Liga is drawing comparisons to Mbappe's two-game scoreless run in his new league. Mbappe also earned some post-match compliments from his manager, who has no reason to be panicked yet.

• Ancelotti: "[Endric] looks good. He has great potential, and with the goal, he showed all his qualities. He has good control, and a good shot. He's a penalty box forward. In small spaces, he's very, very dangerous. … [Mbappé] is a spectacular forward, he's very fast, he moves well without the ball. He had three chances. I think in that position he'll score, as he's always scored. I don't think he has to play on the left or the right. He'll score goals."

The win takes Real Madrid up to third place after just two games, two points behind Celta Vigo and Barcelona after perfect starts to their seasons.

🔗  Top Stories

🗣️ Pulisic on Pochettino: USMNT star Christian Pulisic was complimentary of the national team's potential new hire Mauricio Pochettino, saying "it's time for a change" after their Copa America group stage exit.

🤝 Transfer window latest: Ilkay Gundogan completed his return to Manchester City, Romelu Lukaku is inching closer to a move to Napoli and Weston McKennie extended his stay at Juventus through 2026.

🇺🇸 Americans abroad: Brenden Aaronson was on the scoresheet again for Leeds United, Chris Richards is increasingly becoming an important player at Crystal Palace and Folarin Balogun tops the USMNT strike power rankings after the weekend's action.

🔴 Arsenal win again: Arsenal picked up a 2-0 win at Aston Villa thanks in large part to Leandro Trossard, who was "upset" after not being named to the lineup but saved the day with his opening goal of the day in the 67th minute.

⚽ Pulisic scores: Christian Pulisic scored his first goal of the season in AC Milan's 2-1 loss at Parma on Saturday, picking up from where he left off after scoring 16 goals last campaign.

🎽 Rise for Rapinoe: The American soccer legend had her jersey retired in Seattle before the Reign notched a last second winner against the North Carolina Courage. 

💰  The Back Line 💵 Best bets

💰 THE PICK: Barcelona to win 2-1 (+750) -- Hansi Flick has two wins out of two to start his tenure as the Barcelona manager, and there's little reason to suggest that they won't pick up a third on Tuesday. While dominating games and scoring goals has not been a problem, there's one thing Barcelona have yet to perfect this season -- their defending. They have yet to keep a clean sheet this season, so it might be worthwhile to bet that Rayo Vallecano will keep things a bit tighter than Barcelona might like.

For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don't miss out on CBSSports.com's betting home page.   

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