Their teams may have endured vastly differing fortunes this weekend, but Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were united in their frustration in front of goal for Liverpool and Bayern Munich respectively.
Elsewhere, Ivory Coast defender Willy Boly appears to have burned his bridges with Wolverhampton Wanderers after going AWOL despite being included in their squad to face Newcastle United, while Jackson Muleka produced a masterclass to overshadow Dele Alli's Besiktas debut.
Liverpool's slow start to the season came to an end as they ravaged AFC Bournemouth 9-0, whereas Bayern Munich's rampant beginning to the campaign came to a screeching halt as they were held 1-1 at home by Borussia Monchengladbach.
For long-term teammates Salah and Mane, however, there were frustrations aplenty.
In front of an expectant crowd at Anfield, and keen to bury the memories of Monday's defeat by Manchester United, Liverpool were at their ruthless best as they devastated Bournemouth.
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Six Liverpool players got on the scoresheet -- with Chris Mepham adding an own goal -- but Salah's hopes of overtaking Steven Gerrard to become Liverpool's second-top scorer in the Premier League were put on ice.
The Egyptian had appeared to be a shoo-in to find the net, even before all of his teammates seemingly found their collective scoring boots.
He'd scored in all six of his previous Premier League games against Bournemouth, bagging eight goals in the process, with no player in the competition's history enjoying a longer 100% goalscoring record against a single side. Salah has also demonstrated his effectiveness against newly promoted sides -- contributing 29 goals in 29 matches against teams freshly arrived from the Championship -- and is also known as a quick starter at the beginning of a campaign; he'd previously had a hand in 17 goals in 17 league outings in August.
But Salah could only watch on as Luis Diaz, Harvey Elliott and Roberto Firmino got among the goals, with the Egyptian missing an open goal from six yards having earlier fired wide when presented with another opportunity that he'd typically gobble up. He was influential in at least two of the Reds' goals, but will surely be more concerned by a 25% shot accuracy rate that was far short of his usual standards.
Mane, like Salah, opened his account for the season early this term -- scoring three goals in his first three games -- but he drew a blank as Bayern were held by Gladbach.
The African Footballer of the Year did get the ball in the back of the net -- twice beating Yann Sommer -- but both efforts were ruled out for offside. Also contrary to Salah, Mane had four shots on target while his understanding with the likes of Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane continues to develop.
"One could say that I've been here for a while," Mane told beIN Sports during Bayern's Oktoberfest celebrations.
"I'm really very happy because it really isn't easy to change clubs. I think I'm really lucky to be here, and I'm very happy and proud to be part of this extraordinary club. Everyone's welcomed me, and I'm really very happy. It's now over to me to give back in return."
Wolves' wait for a first league win of the season continues after Allan Saint-Maximin's stunning late strike cancelled out Ruben Neves' opener, but head coach Bruno Lage appeared more preoccupied by the behaviour of one of his key defenders.
Ivory Coast defender Boly's stock has fallen at Molineux since testing positive for COVID-19 last season and taking time to recover from the after-effects of the virus. He made just 10 appearances last term, and hasn't featured at all so far this season amid speculation about his future.
Lage revealed that Boly was included in his matchday squad for the visit of the Magpies but didn't show up to the stadium as he looks to force through a move to Nottingham Forest.
"He has been a great professional but in the end, he wants to force something," Lage said. "They have to be professionals. I take my decision to put him in the squad list and he takes his decision. has a proposal in his hands and he wants to go; that is my feeling when I talk to him."
The Portuguese coach insists that he has maintained a positive relationship with the defender, but Boly has surely burned his bridges at a club that really needs to be pulling in the same direction as it looks to escape danger.
Forest have already had a bid of £1 million for the centre-back rejected; will they return with a proposal that can get this one over the line?
Boly's international teammate Serge Aurier -- currently a free agent -- is also understood to be closing in on a move to the City Ground.
In Turkey, Besiktas new boy Muleka has scored three goals in three games and may yet prove to be the Turkish giants' best signing of the summer, despite the high-profile arrival of Alli.
The two players have walked very different career pathways, but now find themselves as teammates in Istanbul.
While Alli was representing Tottenham Hotspur in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final, Muleka was still on the books of Congolese giants TP Mazembe, top scoring in that year's CAF Champions League with seven goals.
Muleka has been a big hit since signing for Besiktas from Standard Liege, netting in the 4-1 thumping of Fatih Karagumruk before scoring two first-half goals in the comfortable 3-1 victory over Sivasspor on Monday.
The Congo DR attacker is benefiting from the presence of another new signing, his compatriot Arthur Masuaku, who is on loan from West Ham United.
The left-back registered the assist for Muleka's second goal on Monday, having previously set him up for his opening Besiktas strike earlier this month.
"Same as last week, Jackson," Masuaku wrote on his Instagram handle after the match. "Another assist, another victory and top of the league - we keep flying. Thank you for the incredible atmosphere again."
Alli, who made his debut against Sivasspor, will surely be desperate to emulate the early impact of his fellow new signings at Vodafone Park, and striking up a positive partnership could be critical to his renaissance.
In France, another new arrival -- Egypt's Mostafa Fati -- opened his account in Ligue 1 before setting up Nigeria 's Moses Simon for another goal as Nantes defeated Toulouse 3-1.
Potentially still set for a move before deadline day, another Super Eagles player -- Sadiq Umar -- was also among the goals in Spain.
The 25-year-old met a cross to net Almeria 's winner as they stunned Sevilla 2-1, and there may be further talk of a move to Villarreal or Real Sociedad before the window closes.