GOAL runs the rule over the British players earning a living away from their homeland, with plenty more stars deciding to leave their comfort zones in search of a better footballing life elsewhere. The Premier League is still obviously one of the world's most entertaining divisions and the Championship can prove fantastic for development, but there are more options out there.

This was a weekend that would have left most homegrown stars missing their old surroundings, however. There were some shock results and below-par performances across Europe's major leagues that could have a huge bearing on the race for silverware, with a certain England Under-21 international guilty of costing his team in a crucial game.

Every Monday this season, GOAL brings you the latest on British stars abroad, what they're getting up to, who is reaching the greatest heights and who needs to come home. Let's dive in…

  • AFP

    Kane spot-kick saves Bayern

    Mainz's trip to the Allianz Arena was not supposed to be a happy one. Urs Fischer's side were sat rock bottom of the Bundesliga with only six points and one win to their name from 13 games before their clash with Bayern Munich, who, in stark contrast, had picked up 37 points from a possible 39 to top the table once again.

    For much of the first half, the match went according to script, with Bayern dominating and taking the lead on the half-hour mark through 17-year-old sensation Lennart Karl. But out of nowhere, Kacper Potulski headed in an equaliser just before the break, and Jae-sung Lee nodded the visitors in front in the 67th minute, leaving Bayern staring down the barrel of a humiliating defeat.

    In the end, though, they were bailed out by the irrepressible Harry Kane. The England captain won a penalty with only three minutes of normal time remaining and stepped up to convert it in trademark fashion. Bayern pushed for a third thereafter, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw, which preserved their unbeaten league record in 2025-26, but was still a major shock, as Kane himself admitted.

    "We were in complete control for the first 44 minutes and had many chances to score. The sudden equaliser just before half-time changed the momentum. We came out of the break dominant again, but lacked the last touch," the 32-year-old told reporters. "They then scored a nice goal, and we had to fight back. Mainz fought hard and gave it their all; they did a good job. We've had a lot of games in a short period, but that's no excuse. Of course, we wanted to go into the winter break with two wins. A draw at home is disappointing, but we have to accept it and move on."

    There was, however, a notable consolation for Kane, who brought up his 50th goal for Bayern in 2025. That's the first time he has ever reached a half-century for his club in a calendar year, and new landmarks are getting harder to come by for a player who has broken records for fun since moving to Germany. Kane wasn't at his best against Mainz, but still made the difference when his team needed it most, and this will no doubt only be a hiccup for Vincent Kompany's all-conquering side.

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    Jude shines again for sloppy Real

    Dutch icon Ruud Gullit claimed Jude Bellingham is Real Madrid's best player and called the England midfielder a "victim" after Xabi Alonso's side went down 2-1 at home against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday. Bellingham certainly worked harder than any other Madrid player in that contest, and that was the case again during their latest La Liga outing against Alaves on Sunday.

    Madrid emerged 2-1 winners to ease the pressure on Alonso and stay within touch of Barcelona at the Liga summit, but it wasn't pretty. There were sloppy displays all over the pitch once again, with Toni Rudiger the man at fault for Alaves' surprise equaliser in the 68th minute. 

    Moments of individual quality from Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo got Madrid over the line, but it was Bellingham who led by example. His tireless efforts in the middle of the park prevented Los Blancos from capitulating against a determined opponent, with the 22-year-old posting six recoveries and eight duel wins over the 90 minutes.

    Speculation over Alonso's position will continue, but he is convinced that the dressing room is still behind him, as he told reporters after the final whistle: “We’re all in this together. We’re fighting through the good times and the not-so-good times. Today, with the conditions we had, the team competed very well.” And no one epitomised that fighting spirit more than Bellingham.

  • AFP

    Rashford takes backseat to Raphinha

    Barcelona maintained their four-point lead over Real Madrid with a routine 2-0 victory over Osasuna at the renovated Camp Nou. Hansi Flick's side are purring again after an inconsistent start to the campaign, and it's no coincidence their upturn in form has coincided with Raphinha's return from injury.

    The Brazilian was the match-winner on Saturday with a second-half brace, and his first goal was particularly impressive. He rifled the ball into the corner from just outside the box after picking up a pass from Pedri, showing once again that he only needs a sight of the posts to make a devastating impact.

    The same cannot be said for Marcus Rashford at the moment, though. The Manchester United loanee failed to score for the fifth league game in a row, and was largely ineffective. He missed one big chance, lost possession 20 times and didn't post a single accurate cross before being replaced by Frenkie de Jong in the 74th minute.

    Rashford was always heavily involved in Barca's build-up play, but he does not yet match up to the likes of Raphinha and Lamine Yamal for quality. He's still too wasteful in the critical moments and needs to show more composure, as reflected by his underwhelming record of just six goals in 22 appearances for the club in all competitions to date.

    Still, the fact that he is still playing regularly for one of Europe's finest teams is a real feather in his cap. Rashford has earned the trust of Flick, who hailed the 28-year-old's "fantastic mentality" in the build-up to the game. He won't start as often now Raphinha is back, but Rashford has an important role to play in Barca's latest assault on three trophy fronts, and if he can improve his decision-making, he may yet earn the permanent move to Catalunya that he craves.

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  • AFP

    Dortmund drop points after Jobe red

    Jobe Bellingham just cannot catch a break. The former Sunderland ace has struggled to prove himself since his summer move to Dortmund, but played the full 90 minutes of their 2-2 draw with Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League last week, and impressed enough to retain his place in Niko Kovac's starting XI for a trip to Freiburg on Sunday.

    Dortmund could have closed the gap on Bundesliga leaders Bayern to seven points with a victory, and they looked on course for exactly that when Ramy Bensebaini opened the scoring in the 31st minute. But early in the second half, the momentum of the game switched.

    Gregor Kobel played a hospital pass into Bellingham instead of clearing his lines as Freiburg pressed hard to win back possession, and Philipp Treu nipped in ahead of the 20-year-old. Bellingham had no choice but stick out a leg and try to stop the Freiburg full-back, but didn't make contact with the ball and inadvertently tripped him just as it looked like he would race through one-vs-one with Kobel.

    The referee had little choice but to show Bellingham a red card for denying Freiburg a clear scoring opportunity. It was his first sending off in a Dortmund shirt and only the second of his career, which must have been very hard to take under the circumstances. Kobel, after all, was the one culpable, not Bellingham.

    Dortmund subsequently lost control of the game with only 10 men, and Freiburg eventually stole a point thanks to an acrobatic finish from Lucas Holer. Bellingham will now serve a minimum one-game suspension, meaning he will miss BVB's final league game of the year against Borussia Monchengladbach. 

    There will be no rap on the knuckles for the Birmingham City academy graduate behind the scenes, though. "It was a chain of events, it was avoidable. In that action, there are many things you can do better. Jobe tries to save it. Someone always ends up being involved – this time it was Jobe," Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl said to the media.

    Kobel, meanwhile, had the good grace to accept the responsibility for the incident: "I have to see that better, I have to help Jobe there. I’m sorry for him. In the end I’m happy to take the blame, that’s okay."