Thirty-five matches across six major leagues highlighted a packed Saturday as Inter Miami scored seven, Liverpool remained winless, Juventus stayed perfect and Atlético Madrid climbed the La Liga table.
Soccer fans had plenty to follow Saturday, August 29, with major league action across England, Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the United States.
The Premier League featured another difficult day for Liverpool and Tottenham, Germany produced one of the season’s earliest major upsets, Juventus kept its perfect Serie A start alive, Atlético Madrid impressed in Spain, and Lionel Messi delivered the most spectacular individual performance of the day with four goals for Inter Miami.
Here is a look at Saturday’s major results and highlights.
Premier League
Liverpool 2, Nottingham Forest 2
Liverpool remained without a Premier League victory under new manager Andoni Iraola after twice coming from behind to earn a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest at Anfield.
Dan Ndoye put Forest ahead in the 24th minute before Alexander Isak equalized for Liverpool on the hour. Morgan Gibbs-White restored Forest’s advantage from the penalty spot in the 70th minute, but newcomer Victor Muñoz rescued Liverpool with a powerful equalizer eight minutes from time.
Liverpool also had a Florian Wirtz goal disallowed after VAR ruled Jeremie Frimpong offside during the build-up. The result continued an uneven opening to the season for a Liverpool team still adjusting to a new manager and several summer additions.
Tottenham Hotspur 0, Newcastle United 2
Tottenham’s difficult start continued with a 2-0 home defeat against Newcastle.
Spurs created several opportunities during the opening half but failed to take advantage. Anthony Elanga finally broke the deadlock for Newcastle in the 62nd minute before Yoane Wissa added a second with an acrobatic finish approximately 10 minutes later.
Tottenham has now opened the Premier League campaign with consecutive defeats and has yet to score a league goal. Newcastle, meanwhile, collected an important road victory after drawing Liverpool in its previous league match.
Coventry City 0, Hull City 1
Hull continued its remarkable return to the Premier League with another victory, defeating fellow promoted club Coventry 1-0.
Liam Millar scored the winner in the 82nd minute after Hull turned a Coventry corner into a quick counterattack. Mohamed Belloumi released Millar from inside Hull’s own half, and the Canadian finished the breakaway.
Hull opened its season by stunning Manchester United and now has six points from its first two Premier League matches.
Bournemouth 1, Everton 1
Everton captain James Tarkowski rescued a point in stoppage time as Bournemouth and Everton finished 1-1.
Alex Scott had put Bournemouth ahead shortly before halftime after being set up by Evanilson. Bournemouth appeared headed for three points until the home defense failed to clear a corner in the 91st minute, allowing Tarkowski to score the equalizer.
Premier League Saturday scores:
Liverpool 2, Nottingham Forest 2
Bournemouth 1, Everton 1
Coventry City 0, Hull City 1
Tottenham Hotspur 0, Newcastle United 2
Bundesliga
The opening Bundesliga Saturday produced one of the biggest surprises anywhere in Europe.
Elversberg 3, Bayer Leverkusen 2
Newly promoted Elversberg celebrated its first Bundesliga match with a stunning 3-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
Representing a town of only about 13,000 people, Elversberg raced into a 2-0 advantage behind goals from Lukas Petkov and American Cole Campbell.
David Mokwa made it 3-0 immediately after halftime. Leverkusen mounted a late comeback through Patrik Schick and Christian Kofane, but the Bundesliga newcomers held on for a historic victory.
Borussia Dortmund 2, Hamburg 0
Borussia Dortmund began its Bundesliga campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over Hamburg.
Serhou Guirassy opened the scoring inside the first nine minutes before new signing Giannis Konstantelias doubled the advantage. Dortmund later finished with 10 men after substitute Samuele Inacio received a straight red card only minutes after entering the match, but Hamburg was unable to capitalize.
RB Leipzig 3, Borussia Mönchengladbach 0
RB Leipzig produced one of Saturday’s most convincing Bundesliga performances with a 3-0 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Ridle Baku and Antonio Nusa scored for Leipzig before Rocco Reitz added another against his former club.
Union Berlin 3, Eintracht Frankfurt 3
One of Europe’s most entertaining matches ended in a six-goal draw.
Younes Ebnoutalib scored a hat trick as Frankfurt built a 3-1 advantage, but Union Berlin fought back. Tim Skarke completed the comeback with a 92nd-minute equalizer to make it 3-3.
Cologne 3, Hoffenheim 2
Cologne rallied late for a 3-2 victory over Hoffenheim. Thijs Dallinga scored twice during the final 18 minutes to turn the match in Cologne’s favor.
Mainz and Paderborn played to the only scoreless draw of Saturday’s Bundesliga schedule.
Bundesliga Saturday scores:
Borussia Dortmund 2, Hamburg 0
Elversberg 3, Bayer Leverkusen 2
RB Leipzig 3, Borussia Mönchengladbach 0
Mainz 0, Paderborn 0
Union Berlin 3, Eintracht Frankfurt 3
Cologne 3, Hoffenheim 2
Serie A
Juventus 2, Parma 0
Juventus improved to two victories from two Serie A matches with a 2-0 home win against Parma.
The Juventus bench made the difference. Nico González entered in the 57th minute and scored five minutes later after initially hitting the post. Teun Koopmeiners came on late and scored almost immediately, putting the match away in the 88th minute.
Juventus moved level with AC Milan on six points from its first two matches.
Fiorentina 0, Frosinone 3
One of Italy’s biggest surprises came in Florence, where newly promoted Frosinone ruined Fiorentina’s centenary celebrations with a 3-0 victory.
Antonio Raimondo scored twice, opening the scoring in the 26th minute and adding another in the second half. Gabriele Bracaglia also scored as Frosinone took a stunning road victory.
Udinese 3, Monza 2
Udinese collected its first victory of the season with a 3-2 road win over Monza.
Jakub Piotrowski, Hassane Kamara and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp scored for Udinese, while Andrea Colpani and Gustavo Varela answered for Monza.
Sassuolo 2, Torino 1
Cristian Volpato opened the scoring for Sassuolo before Torino equalized through Pietro Comuzzo.
Domenico Berardi then delivered the winner in the 78th minute, giving Sassuolo its first victory of the new Serie A campaign.
Serie A Saturday scores:
Fiorentina 0, Frosinone 3
Monza 2, Udinese 3
Sassuolo 2, Torino 1
Juventus 2, Parma 0
La Liga
Sevilla 1, Atlético Madrid 3
Atlético Madrid produced the headline result in Spain with a 3-1 road victory over Sevilla.
Álex Baena gave Atlético a dream start by scoring in the third minute. Ademola Lookman added another in the 25th before Baena scored his second of the match seven minutes later.
Miguel Sierra pulled one back for Sevilla in the 66th minute, but Atlético’s three-goal first-half performance proved decisive.
Levante 5, Real Betis 2
Levante produced Saturday’s highest-scoring La Liga victory, hammering Real Betis 5-2.
Adrián de la Fuente opened the scoring before Enzo Bardeli added another shortly before halftime. Roger Brugué scored twice during the second half and Jon Ander Olasagasti added a fifth in stoppage time.
Marc Bartra and Rodrigo Riquelme scored for Betis, but the visitors could not keep pace with Levante’s attack.
Real Sociedad 2, Espanyol 1
Real Sociedad earned a 2-1 home victory over Espanyol.
Ander Barrenetxea scored after only three minutes and Orri Steinn Óskarsson added another in the 60th. Roberto Fernández scored for Espanyol shortly before halftime.
La Liga Saturday scores:
Levante 5, Real Betis 2
Real Sociedad 2, Espanyol 1
Sevilla 1, Atlético Madrid 3
Ligue 1
Lyon 1, Le Havre 1
Lyon was held to a dramatic 1-1 draw by Le Havre in a match heavily influenced by VAR.
Corentin Tolisso appeared to put Lyon ahead in the 62nd minute before the goal was disallowed for offside. Le Havre then took the lead through Ally Samatta in the 74th.
Loïs Openda rescued Lyon with an 87th-minute equalizer.
Le Havre nearly stole all three points when Sota Nakamura scored in stoppage time, but another VAR review overturned the goal for handball.
Elsewhere in France, Strasbourg defeated Lens 2-1, Angers won 3-1 at Auxerre, Troyes earned a 2-1 road victory at Lorient, and Brest and Toulouse played to a 2-2 draw.
Ligue 1 Saturday scores:
Strasbourg 2, Lens 1
Auxerre 1, Angers 3
Brest 2, Toulouse 2
Lorient 1, Troyes 2
Lyon 1, Le Havre 1
MLS
Saturday night’s Major League Soccer schedule produced the day’s biggest individual performance.
Inter Miami 7, CF Montréal 1
Lionel Messi scored four goals and added an assist as Inter Miami destroyed CF Montréal 7-1.
It was the first four-goal MLS match of Messi’s career and ended a five-game winless stretch for Miami. The performance also moved Messi to the top of the MLS scoring race.
Casemiro scored his first goal for Inter Miami, while Luis Suárez and Alex Shaw also found the net.
At age 39, Messi continues to produce some of the league’s most extraordinary performances.
Seattle Sounders 2, Chicago Fire 2
Dejan Joveljić scored twice in his Seattle debut, but Chicago answered through Maren Haile-Selassie and Robert Lewandowski as the teams shared the points in a 2-2 draw.
Nashville SC 4, FC Cincinnati 0
Nashville strengthened its position near the top of the Eastern Conference with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Cincinnati, one of the biggest MLS results of the night.
Philadelphia Union 3, New York Red Bulls 1
Philadelphia earned an impressive 3-1 road victory against the Red Bulls, while Charlotte FC also won away from home, defeating Atlanta United 2-0.
Minnesota United 3, Orlando City 3
Minnesota and Orlando produced a six-goal thriller and split the points 3-3.
Houston and San Jose finished 0-0, while Vancouver continued its strong season with a 3-0 victory at Sporting Kansas City. Colorado defeated Real Salt Lake 1-0.
San Diego FC 3, LA Galaxy 1
San Diego FC won the Southern California matchup 3-1 at Snapdragon Stadium.
Elias Achouri opened the scoring, Kieran Sargeant doubled the advantage early in the second half and Amahl Pellegrino added San Diego’s third. Hirving Lozano scored for the Galaxy against his former club, while another Galaxy goal was overturned by VAR.
Austin FC also earned a 2-1 road victory over Portland in one of the final matches of the night.
MLS Saturday scores:
Seattle Sounders 2, Chicago Fire 2
Inter Miami 7, CF Montréal 1
New York Red Bulls 1, Philadelphia Union 3
Atlanta United 0, Charlotte FC 2
D.C. United 0, LAFC 0
Toronto FC 1, New York City FC 1
Houston Dynamo 0, San Jose Earthquakes 0
Minnesota United 3, Orlando City 3
Nashville SC 4, FC Cincinnati 0
Sporting Kansas City 0, Vancouver Whitecaps 3
Colorado Rapids 1, Real Salt Lake 0
Portland Timbers 1, Austin FC 2
San Diego FC 3, LA Galaxy 1
Saturday’s Biggest Soccer Stories
Messi’s four-goal performance was the obvious individual highlight of the day. Inter Miami entered the match struggling and left with a 7-1 victory after one of the most dominant games of Messi’s MLS career.
In Europe, Elversberg supplied perhaps the biggest upset by beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 in the club’s first Bundesliga match. The result immediately gave Germany’s newest top-flight club one of the most memorable victories in its history.
England provided early-season warning signs for two traditional powers. Liverpool remains without a league victory under Iraola after another 2-2 draw, while Tottenham has lost both Premier League games and has yet to score.
Juventus and Atlético Madrid had much more encouraging Saturdays. Juventus remained perfect in Serie A with its second consecutive victory, while Atlético scored three first-half goals in an impressive road win at Sevilla.
With 35 games played across these six top-flight leagues alone, Saturday offered the first truly packed soccer day of the late-summer club season — and Sunday brings another full schedule across Europe and MLS.