From Man Utd's derby demolition to Barcelona opening the door for under-fire Real Madrid in La Liga title race: Winners and losers from the weekend's European football

Where better to start than Manchester as United and City played out the 198th derby between the two sides at Old Trafford? Michael Carrick's first game of his interim tenure could not have looked more daunting on paper, but the Red Devils produced their best performance in almost two years to rip Pep Guardiola's side to shreds on Saturday.

Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu's second-half goals were the least United deserved for their dominance, as they also had three goals ruled out due to tight offside calls, hit the woodwork twice and forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into at least three top-class saves. City's makeshift defence had no answers as they showed why Guardiola is so keen to get Marc Guehi in the building sooner rather than later.

Questions were asked of Carrick's appointment to replace Ruben Amorim as United again dipped back into their old-boys club for answers in the dugout, but if this display was a preview of what is to come through the second half of the season, then the ex-England midfielder should at least be in contention to take the job permanently. Though Carrick failed to get Middlesbrough promoted out of the Championship during his time in the north east, his team were always in contention, and that experience should help him as he navigates through the next four months.

"We had to defend with our lives and when we play, we had to play with confidence, and I think we did it," said Lisandro Martinez after he pocketed Erling Haaland throughout the encounter. "Three goals, with a minimal offside - I think we deserved this win... What Carrick did with his staff was unbelievable, especially in a short time, that’s why I’m impressed about that."

Thomas Frank continues to hang onto his job as Tottenham manager, but for how much longer? Saturday's last-gasp loss to West Ham saw Spurs' season hit a new low point, and the home fans in north London didn't hold back in showing what they thought of Frank as they called for his head with gusto through the final whistle.

Failure to beat the relegation-threatened Hammers means Tottenham have won just one of their last eight games in all competitions, and are beginning to look over their shoulders towards the drop zone rather than upwards in hope of earning European qualification. Despite that, Frank is set to remain in charge for Tuesday's visit of Borussia Dortmund, though the club are reportedly looking at alternative options should what now seems to be an inevitable sacking come to pass.

"It also seems to be the perfect storm at the moment in many ways," Frank said after his side's 2-1 loss, their eighth defeat in 14 matches. "We have a last-minute defeat. I think when everyone feels that everyone has given everything, including the fans, to back the team, and you get nothing out of it and you get a sucker punch in injury time, it's unbelievably tough to take.

"It's unbelievably tough to take for the fans, for the players, for me, everyone involved. And football is emotion, so I understand why it's tough. I can promise everyone it's extremely tough for me as well. So I think everyone involved in football knows this is just tough. But there's only one way. It's keep going. You can't feel sorry for yourself."

Barcelona headed into Sunday's clash with Real Sociedad having won each of their previous nine matches in La Liga, with their last dropped points coming in October's Clasico defeat to Real Madrid. Hansi Flick's side had managed to enact some level of revenge for that loss last week when they beat Los Blancos in the final of the Supercopa de Espana, and thus arrived in San Sebastian full of confidence.

However, having been dealt a blow with the news that in-form Raphinha would miss the game due to injury, the Blaugrana produced their most disappointing domestic performance for months as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Anoeta. Lamine Yamal produced plenty of magical moments while Marcus Rashford came off the bench to score, but Barca goalkeeper Joan Garcia produced perhaps his worst performance of the season which allowed La Real to secure a surprise win.

"I’m not happy. I’m disappointed, we had a lot of clear chances and the result doesn’t reflect what we’ve seen," said Flick post-match. "But I like how we played. We made mistakes in defence, we have to defend better. We were unfortunate in attack as well. We have to accept it."

Barca's defeat, coupled with Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Levante a day earlier, means the gap atop La Liga is down to just one point in the Blaugrana's favour. However, despite that boost to their title hopes, the mood at the Bernabeu shows few signs of being lifted after a rough start to 2026.

Saturday's game was the first home match for Madrid since the Supercopa loss to Barcelona, subsequent sacking of Xabi Alonso as manager and the embarrassing Copa del Rey defeat to second-division side Albacete, and the Blancos' fans were keen to make their feelings known. With player power having been blamed for Alonso's demise, the whole squad was booed as they took to the pitch for their warm-up, though once the match started, the most vociferous jeers were aimed at Vincius Jr, Jude Bellingham and captain Fede Valverde.

There were also calls for club president Florentino Perez to resign, with the atmosphere poisonous despite goals from Kylian Mbappe and Raul Asencio securing a much-needed victory. Reports have since suggested that Vinicius was so unhappy with the fans' reaction to his recent form that he is ready to leave the club, most likely in the summer, as things continue to unravel at Europe's most successful club.

No such issues exist for Bayern Munich, who continue to march towards the Bundesliga title with ease. Saturday's 5-1 win over RB Leipzig means Vincent Kompany's side have now scored 16 goals in their first three games since the winter break as they continue to look like Europe's most devastating attack.

The goal-scoring form of Harry Kane, instant impact made by summer signing Luis Diaz and emergence of wonderkid Lennart Karl have all grabbed headlines around Europe, but that does mean that Michael Olise's form is going a little under the radar. Against Leipzig, however, the France winger again showed just why he should be considered one of the best forward players on the continent.

Bayern found themselves 1-0 down at the break, and while Serge Gnabry equalised early in the second half, Bayern were still in need of a spark when Olise was introduced in the 56th minute. The ex-Crystal Palace star proceeded to provide three straight assists - for Kane, Jonathan Tah and Aleksandar Pavlovic, respectively - before rounding out the scoring himself.

Olise became just the second substitute since Opta's records began in 2004-05 to provide three assists in a Bundesliga match (the other was Franck Ribery in 2019), while he now has 33 combined goals and assists this season across just 28 games in all competitions. Amid tough competition, it's hard not to think that Olise will be a starter for France at the World Cup this summer if he maintains this form.

With Bayern running away with the title, much of the excitement in the Bundesliga through the second half of the season is set to focus on the battle for Champions League qualification. Borussia Dortmund seem pretty entrenched in second after opening up a six-point gap on those behind them, but there is set to be an almighty fight over the next few months for the final two - or perhaps three - spots.

Right now, Hoffenheim are in pole position to claim one of those places after Saturday's 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen saw them climb up to third. Christian Ilzer's side have lost just one of their last 11 league matches, winning eight of them, which has allowed them to climb above the likes of Leverkusen and Leipzig in the table.

Hoffenheim have come a long way in a short space of time. They finished one place above the relegation spots last season, but have already surpassed their points total from 2024-25 (32) with half their fixtures still to play this time around.

"The lads put in a lot of effort, so I'm full of praise for them. It's important for us to take the next step," Ilzer said. "We wanted to show, to solidify our claim, that we can beat a team like this. With this victory, we've shown that we deserve our high position in the standings."

While Hoffenheim are dreaming of Champions League qualification, over in Italy, Juventus' hopes of securing their place in Europe's premier club competition next season were dealt a blow by Saturday's shock defeat to struggling Cagliari. Despite registering 22 shots compared to their hosts' two efforts on goal, the Bianconeri couldn't find a way through on their way to losing 1-0.

That ended a seven-match unbeaten run for Luciano Spalletti's side and saw them fall three points behind fourth-placed Roma in the standings. It also proved to be another disappointing night for star striker Jonathan David, who has mustered just three league goals since arriving in Turin as one of the most-heralded free transfers of the summer following his departure from Lille.

"They weren’t able to find the finishing touch. They should have relied more on speed, which would have allowed them to create more space to get shots off and be more dangerous," was Spalletti's assessment of David and substitute striker Lois Openda's performances as Juve's attacking players showed exactly why the club is trying to sign Crystal Palace star Jean-Philippe Mateta this month.

Roma, for their part, also came into January on the lookout for attacking reinforcements, but they wasted little time in adding to Gian Piero Gasperini's options up front. They spent €25 million on Marseille teenager Robinio Vaz before forking out another €23m to bring Donyell Malen to Stadio Olimpico from Aston Villa.

And so while Villa, shorn of their best forward option off the bench, failed to break down Everton on Sunday, Malen was marking his Roma debut with the opening goal in their 2-0 win at Torino.

"He scores goals," Gasperini said of his newest arrival. "He has the characteristics I was looking for: he can free himself both with diagonal runs and when attacking space. He has speed and power, which are fundamental for the way we want to play. We want to build a team that can make the most of his qualities. He needs to play close to the penalty area."

The Giallorossi scored just 24 goals through their first 20 games of the Serie A season as the meanest defence in the league drove their bid for a top-four finish. However, with Malen and Vaz now on board, there is hope that Gasperini will be able to guide the club back into the Champions League for the first time since 2018-19 with relative ease.

In France, Paris Saint-Germain continue to trail behind surprise leaders Lens at the top of Ligue 1, but after a week to forget for the European champions as they lost out to neighbours Paris FC in the Coupe de France, Friday's 3-0 win over Lille was more than welcome for Luis Enrique's side.

The star of the show was reigning Ballon d'Or winner, Ousmane Dembele. Injuries have meant that Dembele hasn't been able to show the same form this season as he did on his way to claiming the Golden Ball last term, but there were some signs at Parc des Princes that he could be about to embark on another exhilarating run of goal-scoring form.

Dembele scored twice, including a remarkable chipped finish that Luis Enrique dubbed a "PlayStation goal" due to its similarities with those scored in video games, to take his season tally to eight goals in 18 matches. Four of those strikes have come since the turn of the year, however, meaning that writing Dembele off from launching another Ballon d'Or bid would be foolish at this stage.

Sunday should have been a day of celebration for Feyenoord manager Robin van Persie and his family. His son, Shaqueel, came off the bench for just his fourth senior appearance and proceeded to score two audacious goals in the final three minutes to draw Feyenoord level at 3-3 against city rivals Sparta Rotterdam.

However, despite the 19-year-old's goal-scoring exploits, Feyenoord could not hold on in injury time, and succumbed to a Joshua Kitolano goal that condemned Van Persie's side to defeat, and subsequently stretched their winless run in all competitions to six games. Though they remain second in the Eredivisie table, Feyenoord are now 16 points behind leaders PSV, with the title race in the Netherlands already well over before the end of January.

Furthermore, Van Persie came under attack from star midfielder Quinten Timber after opting to name the Netherlands international among the substitutes for the derby. Timber told ESPN: "There is a limit. Everyone at the club knows I give everything, always, for the club. And I did that again today. Even if I have to play right-back, I do it for the club. It's like a charade, that they say I don't do anything. That has to be clear."

Timber, whose contract is set to expire this summer, now looks set to leave De Kuip and join Marseille, leaving Van Persie to pick up the pieces as he fights to save his job all while ensuring his own son is rewarded for his eye-catching cameo.