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We are well into the thick of the action in the 2019/2020 European footballing season and there are already clear indications of clubs that would achieve their goals and those who would fall short.
With over half of the total matches already played in the top five leagues, fans have been treated to unending excitement and thrills, with some players stepping up to the plate, while others failed to step up to the plate.
Goals are the aim of every game and the more goals scored in a match, the more value for money gotten by fans (unless their club are on the receiving end of a whooping).
The competition and strength of teams present in Europe's top five leagues means that matches between clubs here are generally more evenly matched and rarely do we have scandalous scorelines as is the case in lower leagues, where monopolies make trashing a more regular occurrence.
However, the top five leagues do serve us their own fair share of high-scoring fixtures every now and again and this season has been no exception.
With six months gone in the 2019/2020 season, we shall be having a rundown of the five highest-scoring fixtures in Europe's top five leagues.
Honourable mention: Villarreal 4-4 Granada (Spanish LaLiga)
#5 Atalanta 7-1 Udinese (Italian Serie A)
Atalanta have been one of Europe's most exciting teams over the last few seasons, with their brand of football under Gian Piero Gasperini drawing praise from revered figures such as Pep Guardiola.
Last season, the Bergamo outfit finished as the highest-scoring side in Serie A, secured Champions League football for the first time, and made it to the final of the Coppa Italia, with players like Papu Gomez, Josip Ilisic, Duvan Zapata, and Luis Muriel leading their charge.
This term, they have continued from where they left off and even though their home form has left a lot to be desired, Atalanta still put up one of the host domineering displays across Europe in October.
They came up against Udinese at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia in a Serie A matchday 9 fixture and the home side totally obliterated their opponents.
The visitors went ahead through a goal by Stefano Okaka in the 11th minute but that proved to be the opening of the proverbial floodgates and Atalanta quickly turned it around to go into half-time with a 3-1 lead.
Four goals in the second half wrapped things up, with Luis Muriel the star of the show, helping himself to the match ball with a well-taken hat-trick.
#4 Manchester City 8-0 Watford (English Premier League)
In its 120-year history, the English game has not seen a force as dominant as Manchester City over the last three years, with the Mancunians practically obliterating all in their way en-route each of their last two Premier League triumphs.
The Cityzens are no strangers to whitewashes under Pep Guardiola, putting to shame the 'most competitive league' tag assigned to the Premier League and although they have not matched their lofty standards this term, opponents have still been on the receiving end of some big defeats.
Having fallen to a shock 3-1 defeat to Norwich City on matchday 8, City smelt blood and their next opponents were perfect fodder to unleash their anger upon.
In what was an absolute rout, the hosts raced into a five-goal lead by the 20th minute and the Hornets would have been grateful that only a further three goals were scored over the next 70 minutes.
There were six different scorers on the day and Bernardo Silva got his first City hat-trick, while this proved to be the beginning of the end for Quique Sachez Flores on the Watford bench.
#3 Leipzig 8-0 Mainz (German Bundesliga)
RB Leipzig captured the imagination of many when they finished in second position in their first-ever season in the Bundesliga.
Julian Nagelsmann has built on the impressive work done by Ralph Hasenhuttl and Leipzig currently top the Bundesliga with a four-point gap after 18 matches.
They are also the highest-scoring side in the German top-flight and remarkably, they scored eight of their 51 goals thus far in a matchday 10 clash with Mainz 05.
Midfielder Marcel Sabitzer opened the scoring in the fifth minute and this was to be a foreboding of what was to come, as Leipzig scored a further seven goals without reply to send a statement of intent to the rest of the league.
Star striker Timo Werner was the standout performer, scoring the second, sixth, and eighth goal to help himself to a hat-trick.
#2 Augsburg 3-5 Dortmund (German Bundesliga)
Borussia Dortmund have had a stop-start campaign to this point but for all of their inconsistencies, the Rhine side still find themselves in with a shot at the Bundesliga title which is testament to the struggles of the top guns.
Lucien Favre's side are as capable of the spectacular as they are of mediocrity, making them one of the most unpredictable sides in all of Europe although their potent attack and non-existent defence mean that goals flow aplenty in matches involving them.
That proved to be the case in Dortmund's first fixture of the new decade, with Augsburg racing into a 3-1 lead by the 49th minute.
The introduction of the newly-signed Erling Haaland from the bend turned the tide and the 19-year-old scored a spectacular hat-trick in 23 minutes to help his side climb up to fourth on the standing.
#1 Southampton 0-9 Leicester (English Premier League)
Leicester City have not achieved a top-right league finish since their improbable title win in 2016 but they are on course to achieve this and more, come the end of this season.
The Foxes have impressed since the appointment of Brendan Rodgers last February and went on an amazing run of eight consecutive Premier League wins earlier in the season to establish themselves as an unlikely challenger to Liverpool at the top.
The second match in this sequence came at the St Mary's in a matchday 10 fixture, with Southampton the opponents on a cold and rainy Friday night.
Left-back Ben Chilwell opened the scoring for the visitors in the 10th minute and a red card for Ryan Bertrand for Southampton just two minutes later proved to be their undoing and a further eight goals were scored to equal the mark for the biggest wins in Premier League history.
Striker Jamie Vardy currently leads the scorer's charts with 17 goals and he was one of two players to score a hat-trick in this fixture alongside Ayoze Perez, while James Maddison and Youri Tielemans also got on the scoresheet.
