Morgan Rogers keeps running riot while Bernabeu boo-boys turn on Vinicius Jr: Winners and losers from the weekend's European action

Outside of Erling Haaland, is there a Premier League player producing better performances right now than Morgan Rogers? Certainly, the Aston Villa midfielder has catapulted himself into the Player of the Year conversation with a run of form that has seen him score six goals in his last six league games for Unai Emery's surprise title challengers.

His double to down Manchester United on Sunday was absolutely sublime, too. After scoring stunning knuckleball goals against both Leeds United and West Ham in recent weeks, Rogers showed he is also capable of spectacular curling efforts with the inside of his right foot with his fine finishes at Villa Park. His opening goal, netted from 25 yards out after he plucked a long ball out of the air and left Leny Yoro for dead, showcased the confidence the ex-Manchester City academy starlet is playing with right now.

"I’m so, so happy because he’s a fighter," Emery said of his match-winner. "He’s a good guy, very good guy. His commitment with Aston Villa is massive, and his attitude every day is really fantastic."

Rogers' latest showcase came less than 24 hours after Jude Bellingham had netted for Real Madrid in their win over Sevilla, and the debate regarding who should start as England's No.10 at the World Cup is going to intensify if both players continue to produce at their current levels. Right now, it's difficult to argue against Rogers getting the nod against Croatia in Dallas in the Three Lions' opener.

Saturday should have been a day of celebration for Alexander Isak. Summoned from the bench at half-time as Liverpool looked to break down 10-man Tottenham, the British-record signing needed just 11 minutes to open the scoring, firing in just his second Premier League goal since arriving at Anfield from Newcastle.

However, what should have been a springboard moment for Isak as he looks to establish himself on Merseyside while Mohamed Salah is away at the Africa Cup of Nations instead proved to be particularly bittersweet for the Sweden international as he was left in severe pain by Micky van de Ven's attempt to stop him from scoring.

Isak had to be helped from the pitch before being substituted following his impactful cameo, and reports have since suggested that he has suffered a leg fracture that threatens to sideline him for months. Given Hugo Ekitike went on to score the winner in Saturday's eventual 2-1 victory, the Frenchman will almost certainly now have a free runway to lock down the starting striker's role for the Reds while Isak recovers.

The ex-Borussia Dortmund man will only be able to watch on while ruing a moment of bad luck that could yet also rule him out of Sweden's crucial World Cup qualification play-offs in March.

Raphinha became a topic of discussion in Spain last week after the Barcelona forward was omitted from The Best FIFA Men's XI for 2025. The Brazil international contributed a combined 60 goals and assists to Barca's cause last season, but was beaten out by the likes of Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham when the team was announced at the ceremony in Doha.

Hansi Flick described the failure to reward Raphinha as "a joke" ahead of Sunday's meeting with high-flying Villarreal, but the winger has been keen to do his talking on the pitch rather than dwell on a lack of individual prizes, and he maintained his good form since returning from injury at Estadio de la Ceramica when he opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the Blaugrana's 2-0 win over the Yellow Submarine.

In his four La Liga starts since missing almost two months with a hamstring injury, Raphinha has now scored four goals and provided an assist to help Barca build and maintain their four-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the table. And while he is still not quite at the same levels he showed last term yet, all signs point to 2026 being another year of attacking success for the former Leeds man, regardless of whether he gets the recognition his output deserves.

Things aren't going so well for Raphinha's international team-mate Vinicius Jr, however. The Real Madrid forward promised a revenge tour for the ages when he missed out on the 2024 Ballon d'Or, but the past 12 months have not gone to plan for the Brazilian. He will end 2025 having scored just eight goals in 34 La Liga appearances over the course of the calendar year, and is currently enduring a 14-game goal drought that stretches back to the first week of October.

Amid claims of a breakdown in his relationship with manager Xabi Alonso that has put contract talks on hold, Vinicius hasn't looked himself at all in recent months, and things hit a new low on Saturday when he was booed off by the Bernabeu crowd when he was substituted in the second half against Sevilla.

"The fans are sovereign and free to express themselves, but it was a complicated match," said Alonso of the reaction to his No.7. "I value the team's moment, and with this time off, we are going to use the moment to rest and start with enthusiasm."

Vinicius is far from the first Madrid star to feel the wrath of his own supporters - just ask Gareth Bale - but there's arguably not a player in the Blancos' ranks who needs the winter break more than the 25-year-old as he looks to put this nightmare year behind him and begin looking forward to 2026.

With the top three sides in Serie A - Inter, Napoli and AC Milan - all taking part in the Supercoppa Italiana in Saudi Arabia, fourth-placed Roma had the opportunity to improve their title chances when they took on Juventus on Saturday. Victory for Gian Piero Gasperini's side would have seen them move level on points with leaders Inter at the summit, but they missed that opportunity by going down to a 2-1 defeat in Turin.

Roma actually sat atop the Serie A standings in late November after a strong start under new boss Gasperini, but they have now lost three of their last four league matches to leave themselves three points adrift having played a game more than their rivals. In fact, they will now be nervously looking over their shoulders as Juve moved to within a point of the top four with their victory that was secured by goals from Francisco Conceicao and Lois Openda.

At the other end of the Serie A table, it has been a miserable campaign for Fiorentina. La Viola had forced themselves into title contention this time last season, but have fallen off a cliff since, and went into Sunday's clash with Udinese still looking for their first league win of the season as they sat rock bottom of the table.

It proved to be 16th-time lucky this weekend, however, though they needed a huge helping hand from their visitors. Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was sent off after just eight minutes in Florence for a dangerous challenge on Moise Kean, and Fiorentina were able to take full advantage of their superior numbers to run out 5-1 winners, with Kean scoring twice in the second half to cap a confidence-boosting victory.

Paolo Vanoli's side still need to prove they can beat a team with 11 players before they can think about surviving relegation, but as they prepare to face 17th-placed Parma next time out, Fiorentina fans can now dream of a great escape heading into the New Year.

Bayern Munich remain well out in front at the top of the Bundesliga as the German top-flight breaks for the winter, and thus the intrigue heading into 2026 will likely focus on the teams immediately behind them and the battle for Champions League places. Given that context, Saturday's clash between RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen was the main event of the final weekend before Christmas.

Leipzig have been sat in second behind Bayern for much of the campaign thus far as they take advantage of not having European football to occupy their midweeks. However, after losing at Union Berlin last week, they again fell to defeat against Leverkusen, losing 3-1 despite taking the lead through Xaver Schlager's 35th-minute strike.

Ole Werner's side actually found themselves behind before half-time despite how late in the first half they broke the deadlock, and despite taking 21 shots in the match, they couldn't find a second goal before teenager Montrell Culbreath settled the contest in second-half stoppage time. The result has seen them drop below Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund into fourth, and they will return to action in January with fifth-placed Hoffenheim just two points behind them and breathing down their necks.

Another title race that looks to be over already is in the Eredivisie, where PSV have opened up a nine-point gap at the summit at the halfway mark. Sunday's come-from-behind win over Utrecht stretched their winning run in the league to 11 games, and Peter Bosz's side have only dropped points in two of their opening 17 matches of the campaign.

Goals from Ricardo Pepi and the evergreen Ivan Perisic secured this 2-1 victory as PSV again took advantage of main title rivals Feyenoord dropping points. Robin van Persie's side had been the early leaders, but they have won just three of their last eight league games following Sunday's draw with Twente to fall further and further behind the defending champions.

Ligue 1 is already on its winter hiatus, allowing the Coupe de France to take centre stage for the final weekend before Christmas. The ninth round is where top-flight clubs enter the competition, and while the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille and Lyon eased past lower-league opposition, Brest were the major casualties, losing to third-tier Avranches on Friday.

One of the surprise packages of last season's Champions League, Brest are comfortably midtable in Ligue 1 this time around, but were left to lick their wounds as they were beaten 5-4 on penalties after playing out a 1-1 draw with their unheralded hosts. The top-flight side had played the majority of the match with 10 men after Julien Le Cardinal was sent off after just 21 minutes, and that came back to bite them as it meant they were unable to overwhelm Avranches as many would have expected.

And finally, in Scotland, there was relief for new Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy who, at the fifth time of asking, finally registered his first win in charge of the Bhoys. However, Sunday's 3-1 win over Aberdeen was not as straightforward as it should have been, as despite their visitors being down to 10, Celtic surrendered the lead with just 16 minutes left, and required goals in the 88th and 92nd minutes from Kieran Tierney and James Forrest, respectively, to get over the line.

"I can see an improvement every game," said Nancy, who had overseen four consecutive defeats to begin his reign following his arrival from the Columbus Crew. "I'm happy for the players because they deserved it. I'm happy for the fans, I'm happy for the club, I'm happy for the board.

"The players did really, really well. We hit the post five times and I've never seen that in my life. Many teams could've been down with all the chances that we had, but we kept going wave after wave after wave, and I'm really proud of that."

Celtic remain six points behind leaders Hearts in the Premiership table, albeit with a game in hand, and Nancy will be keen to now build some momentum ahead of his first Old Firm derby against Rangers on January 3.