leviticussports reporter Rickyben gives his views on how leagues across Europe are shaping up

Gareth Bale 'celebrates first goal for Real'

Many of their top players may have left Spain to join other leagues, but there's no doubt La Liga still entertains and thrills with those who remain, as well as those who have joined.

Real Madrid's 7-3 thriller against Sevilla at the Bernabeu was proof enough, with Gareth Bale producing a morale-boosting performance and Cristiano Ronaldo at his devastating best.

And yet that has been just an incidental twist in a fascinating season, where Barcelona and Atletico Madrid continue to maintain their domination.

Tata Martino's now finally settled in at the Nou Camp, employing a slightly more direct style and rotating his regulars, particularly senior citizens such as Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, with little detriment to the overall outcome.

But perhaps Martino's greatest achievement so far has been overseeing Neymar's gradual improvement and increasing influence...not so much as to unsettle Lionel Messi, though.

He knows the Argentine is still the main man at Barca, but Messi needs to be managed carefully after a couple of niggling injuries, especially in World Cup year.

Barca's only blemish so far has been a goalless draw at Osasuna, whereas Atletico lost their 100 percent record at Espanyol - slightly surprising, but Javier Aguirre's men are well-organised, and especially effective at Cornella El-Prat.

Diego Simeone's starting XI names itself most weeks, and that consistency has been one of the reasons they've prevailed, along with the still-prolific Diego Costa, who now has 11 goals in his last nine games.

Aside those, Marcelino's Villarreal are a breath of fresh air and they very much look like they belong back in La Liga after a season in the Segunda Division last year, while Getafe have stormed up to sixth with five wins in six games.

But alarm bells will be sounding at the Mestalla with Valencia in a slump and being called "clueless" by coach Miroslav Djukic, while Real Betis are another big name finding the going tough, languishing in the bottom three heading into November.

Italy

The only perfect record in Europe's top leagues belongs to Roma, with 10 wins out of 10.

Coach Rudy Garcia is enjoying the perfect mix of youth and experience, with an Italian core (Morgan de Sanctis, Daniele de Rossi and Francesco Totti) allied to some exciting foreign imports (Kevin Strootman, Miralem Pjanic and, yes, Gervinho).

Perhaps most impressively, Roma's defence has only been breached once all season, and not for the last 591 minutes.

Champions Juventus are giving chase, as are Napoli, although Juve coach Antonio Conte hasn't been in the best of moods of late.

He lashed out at the press for suggesting a rift between himself and director general Beppe Marotta and then blanked them ahead of the 4-0 thrashing of Catania. Juventus head to Parma this weekend in one of the classic clashes of the 1990s.

Italy's real crisis club is AC Milan, who are closer to the relegation places than the Champions League spots. 12 points from 10 games is a poor return and although reinforcements are coming (Adil Rami and Keisuke Honda confirmed in the New Year), Massimiliano Allegri is simply fighting fires.

Mario Balotelli and Philippe Mexes' recent bans both could have been avoided, and the Rossoneri almost got hit with having to play a match behind closed doors too.

Milan welcome Fiorentina on Saturday, and one point and a place above the Viola are Serie A's surprise package so far - Hellas Verona.

The promoted side have won four out of their last five to sit fifth, and they'll be enjoying the season all the more so with local rivals Chievo bottom, five points from safety.

France

Paris Saint-Germain have turned on the style in recent weeks, both in Ligue 1 and in Europe, especially Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Swede has scored an incredible nine goals in the last five games, including an outrageous donkey-kick strike against Bastia and then a blistering four-goal haul at Anderlecht. No wonder PSG bosses are delighted Ibra's signed a lucrative new contract.

However, other well-known Ligue 1 stalwarts are struggling, particularly the two Olympique sides: Marseille have lost five in a row in all competitions, so patience is wearing particularly thin at the Stade Velodrome, while Lyon have one win in nine domestically and are 14th.

Bordeaux lie 13th and are only just starting their recovery after a truly awful first two months of the season for the Coupe de France holders.

But teams who came up from Ligue 2 last season are all impressing in France's top division.

Monaco were always expected to, given the riches at Claudio Ranieri's disposal, but less predictable was the success of fourth-placed Nantes and particularly Guingamp in fifth - not a bad effort for a parish of less than eight-thousand people.

Germany

The Bundesliga already looks like a three-horse race, with Bayern Munich leading Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen by a single point, and those two nine points clear of the rest.

Pep Guardiola seems to be getting his tactical points across, but he'll soon have to incorporate Thiago Alcantara, who has resumed training after an early-season injury.

It's not clear where he'll fit in, with Javi Martinez, Philip Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger sharing the holding midfield roles - Guardiola would rather play one than two in that position.

Leverkusen were the beneficiaries of the major controversy in Germany so far this season - 'Das Phantomtor' or 'the ghost goal'.

In the end, the authorities decided their game at Hoffenheim won't be replayed, despite the fact Stefan Kiessling's ultimately winning header went through a hole in the side netting.

Still, keeping pace with Bayern and Dortmund is a clear sign that Sami Hyppia is cut out for management.

Dortmund have secured manager Jurgen Klopp's future through until 2018, despite the fact he only signed a new deal a year ago.

There is arguably no better pressing team in Germany, perhaps in Europe, but the opposition will now have wised up to that, and it's not an absolute given that the Germans will get out of their Champions League group.

Stuttgart and Hamburg have reaped the rewards of changing coaches early in the campaign - both have improved with Thomas Schneider and Bert van Marwijk at the helm respectively.

Nuremberg will be hoping that trick works for them too, as they, like Hamburg, swapped German for Dutch, sacked Michael Wiesinger and installed Gertjan Marbeek as the man to take them forward.

They face Freiburg this weekend, neither having managed a single win this season.

Europe's leagues are just starting to open up now, and this next month will sharpen the focus even more.

The fast-starters are hoping to prove themselves as contenders, while the established names will hope the strength and depth of their squads can keep them pushing on all fronts, league and cup, domestic and continental.