Man City's big men step up vs. Man United, lucky Liverpool, Madrid's ref deja vu, more

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net.

We also had talking points galore for Barcelona (who are thankful they didn't let Fermín López leave this summer), Arsenal (who stomped Nottingham Forest with a new-look attack), Milan (and a star turn by the ageless Luka Modric), and Chelsea (whose Cole Palmer dependency is a problem).

It's Monday morning, so what better time for Gab Marcotti's musings?

Big men come up big as City dominate Manchester derby, but there is room for improvement

Erling Haaland scored twice, could have had another two, and these days looks like the devastating unplayable man-child we saw two years ago.

Newly arrived Gianluigi Donnarumma (greeted by Pep Guardiola stating the obvious that "he's just so big ... Really, really big") made just two saves, but one -- off Bryan Mbeumo in the second half -- was the sort that turns games.

The baby steps of progress we've seen in previous outings are still there, it's just that Matheus Cunha wasn't and City are a really, really good side.

Still, there's a ton on which to work.

We can all second-guess, but suddenly blowing up a team that reached the Champions League final last year and should have won the title because you're new would have been silly.

Defensive error rescues Liverpool at Burnleyplay1:56

Nicol doesn't care if Mohamed Salah is just a goal scorer

Steve Nicol defends Mohamed Salah from criticisms of his overall play after scoring a last-minute penalty to Liverpool's win over Burnley.

Arne Slot said it best: against a Burnley side that parked the bus, it was going to take a moment of magic or a moment of luck to break the deadlock.

That's the sort of company he keeps.

The funny thing about Guirassy is that before he joined Stuttgart (initially on loan) at age 26 in the summer of 22, he had reached double figures in league goals just once in his career.

It's going to be a different task in the Champions League and against other opponents.

But really, once again, it's all about Cole Palmer for Chelsea, and that's not a good thing.

Coming off an injury, Palmer started on the bench and his absence was felt in the first half.