Barcelona sizzles, PSG simmers and Spurs struggle: The story of Europe’s top leagues this season

[AP Photo]

Just as Europe’s top soccer leagues are really hitting their stride, here comes a longer-than-usual break — three weeks! — for international matches.

A few early-season, post-World Cup themes are already developing, however, around the continent.

Hot start for Raphinha and Barcelona

It was the transfer saga of the summer: Would Argentina striker Julián Álvarez get his wish and secure a move to Barcelona from Atletico Madrid?

It never happened, leaving Barca without a world-class striker in its squad while bidding to retain the La Liga and win the Champion League for the first time in more than a decade.

You’d never know.

With 31 goals in seven straight league wins — that’s an average of 4.3 goals per match — Barcelona has the hottest attack in Europe, with Raphinha scoring 12 of the goals including back-to-back hat tricks.

The Brazil international typically plays as a winger but has been deployed in a central role following the departures of Robert Lewandowski ( out of contract ) and Ferran Torres ( sold to Paris Saint-Germain ), and is thriving.

Julian who?

Making the start of the season all the sweeter for Barca is some early troubles for the returning José Mourinho at fierce rival Real Madrid, which has lost twice and is already six points off the pace.

Mourinho has been box office, as usual, and has already been criticizing referees and complaining of “strange” things happening to Madrid, a sign that Barca’s fast start might be getting to him.

Big spenders are worlds apart

Manchester City and Tottenham each spent more than $400 million on new players in another summer transfer window dominated by the Premier League.

The clubs have gone in opposite directions.

While City has made an ominous start to the post-Pep Guardiola era with five straight victories to top the nascent Premier League standings, Tottenham is in last place, has yet to win and only recorded its first goals this past weekend.

After back-to-back 17th-place finishes in England’s 20-team top flight, it has somehow got even worse for Tottenham despite its biggest ever summer spend and no European competitions for distraction.

New players, new coach — Roberto De Zerbi was only hired in late March and saved the team from relegation — but the same old cultural problems?

Similar could be said of Manchester United, once the giant of English soccer and now a faded force with just one win from its first five games — and that was against a promoted team.

Slow start by PSG, to no real surprise

The European champions might be up to their usual tricks.

PSG has become the master at pacing its season, knowing full well it’s the second half of the campaign that really matters.

It means PSG’s slow start in the French league — the team has two wins from five games and is languishing in sixth place — should be nothing to worry about, given its experience in reeling in any fast starters. In this case, it’s Monaco with 13 points from a possible 15.

Many players in its star-studded squad had long World Cup campaigns. None more so than Torres, who scored the winning goal for Spain in the final, then moved to PSG, and has scored seven times in six matches — including some big late goals and a Champions League hat trick.

Kane, Mbappé and the Ballon d’Or

In what seems an unusually open race for the men’s Ballon d’Or award, could the decisive votes be won this month outside the official eligibility period?

Rules set by the organizers, French sports outlets France Football and L’Equipe, set a deadline of July 19 — the day of the World Cup final — as the last day for players to be judged.

The criteria: Individual performances, decisive and impressive character; collective performances and titles won; class and fair play.

Games played this season should not technically factor into the votes by a global panel of 100 journalists.

Still, when Harry Kane keeps breaking scoring records at Bayern Munich, could this tilt the balance ahead of the voting deadline this month for the Oct. 26 ceremony in London?

Lobbying is already underway, with Kane and Kylian Mbappé being made more available than usual for interviews with international media.

Hangover for last season’s darlings

The price for a historically good season at an unheralded, low-budget club seems to be a hangover in the next season after major changes.

Lens, Heart of Midlothian and Thun were media darlings last season making bold runs at their first league titles for many decades. Only Switzerland’s Thun ended up with the trophy.

The almost inevitable offseason result at all three was coaches and star players leaving for bigger and wealthier clubs. Lens already has fired the new coach, Dino Toppmöller, within weeks of replacing Pierre Sage who was lured to Crystal Palace.

The standings Monday reveal the challenges: Lens is 15th in 18-team Ligue 1 and Thun is ninth in the 12-team Swiss Super League. Hearts, at least, is third in the 12-team Scottish Premiership.

In Europe, Thun and Hearts each was ousted in July in Champions League qualifying rounds though will start in the third-tier Conference League next month.

Free agents could offer some salvation

Instant help is at hand for clubs that have made slow starts or didn’t get all their business done in the transfer market.

Karim Benzema can be signed right now. So can Paul Pogba, who once joined Man United for a world-record transfer fee. Or Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial, Mauro Icardi.

Players that are free agents or whose contracts were terminated can join a new club at any time outside a formal transfer window.

They will not be cheap but they are available. GRAHAM DUNBAR & STEVE DOUGLAS, Sports Writers, MDT/AP