Leeds United finally defeated Manchester City 1-0 with Vardy's header.
It was also Vardy's sixth Premier League goal of the season.
Scoring 6 goals in 8 games is an eye-catching record.
If not for Mbappé's 8 in 8, and Mané shining as the new focal point at Chelsea, Vardy would surely be considered the best-performing striker in the Premier League.
By contrast, Harry Kane, who joined Manchester City, is still adapting.
Although both Manchester City and Leeds United favor high pressing, it will take time for Kane to fit into Guardiola's possession system. A seamless transition is impossible.
Liverpool's Salah is also less efficient in front of goal than Vardy at the moment.
It is interesting to note that among the Premier League's big six this season, the star players in many teams are former Leeds men.
Liverpool's Salah, Manchester United's Martial and Alli, Chelsea's Mané, Manchester City's Harry Kane and Mahrez, and Arsenal's Icardi all came from Leeds United.
This has shocked many British media and fans.
Looking at world football history, which club has achieved such a feat in just a few years?
This has led to almost mythical reverence for Leeds United's youth development and talent production.
Many seemingly ordinary managers at Leeds United suddenly became department heads after moving to other clubs.
But the facts also show that those who left Leeds United have failed to recreate a second Leeds elsewhere.
The reason is simple. Leeds United's greatest pride is the entire platform.
It includes the largest database in world football, a player tracking and analysis system iterated over years, a global scouting network, and the carefully built academy.
Most importantly, the club operates with professional and efficient management from top to bottom.
Poachers paid big money for staff, only to discover that these individuals possessed only a small portion of the know-how. Without Leeds United's vast platform and resources, they lost the shine they had at Leeds and blended back into the crowd.
Gradually, competitors realized that such poaching was useless against Leeds United.
They even tried to imitate Leeds by building their own player databases, but with little success.
Data can be purchased and collected, but without the supporting chain, those cold numbers are largely useless.
In the end, they poached people and spent money, but saw minimal returns. Some persisted, but most gave up.
As for truly core staff such as Paco Cerullo and Juan Villa from the methodology department, Victor Horta, director of the big data center, and Steve Walsh, head of scouting, although they all hold key posts, Leeds offer high salaries and a great platform, and they all understand that without it, they would lose their halo.
So it is basically impossible to poach from the outside.
On the other hand, youth coaches have been leaving constantly, which has also led to the loss of some academy players.
But with Gao Shen's attention, most of Leeds United's talented youngsters have been retained.
This has led to Leeds United's favorable situation today.
After beating Manchester City, Leeds United climbed to the top and became the new Premier League leaders.
Many media and fans criticized the match between Leeds United and Manchester City, saying both teams were too conservative and it did not look like a Premier League top clash.
But as Pochettino said at the post-match press conference, the most important thing in such matches is to get three points.
"Do not forget, we are the only team to have had more possession than Manchester City so far this season."
Pochettino was quite proud of that.
…
Just as Leeds United moved top, the international break arrived, and more good news came from France.
In recent years, European football's awards have become increasingly segmented.
After the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year merged, UEFA launched the UEFA Best Player award, so that after the Ballon d'Or and FIFA split again, there were effectively three major awards in parallel.
For young players, Tuttosport's Golden Boy has always drawn the most attention.
But now, Tuttosport has found a contender.
In addition to the Ballon d'Or, France Football launched a new individual award, the Kopa Trophy.
Named after France's first Ballon d'Or winner, Raymond Kopa, it recognizes the best player under 21 in a calendar year. The jury is made up of 33 Ballon d'Or winners.
This year, Messi and Ronaldo are both on the panel.
Among the inaugural ten-man shortlist, besides the heavy favorite Mbappé, there are Leeds United's full-back Arnold and midfielder Valverde, Roma's Dutch winger Justin Kluivert, AC Milan's talented goalkeeper Donnarumma, Lyon's Aouar, and Dortmund's American winger Pulisic.
These are among the best-performing youngsters in Europe.
There is no doubt that Mbappé of Leeds United is the overwhelming favorite, with virtually no suspense.
What really drew attention was that Leeds United had three players on the ten-man shortlist for the first Kopa Trophy, an undeniably impressive result.
Apart from Leeds, with three nominees and the top favorite in Mbappé, most other clubs have only one player shortlisted. This also reflects Leeds United's level in youth development.
Although this first Kopa Trophy is considered a foregone conclusion, the ceremony is still scheduled for December 3.
…
As October began, there were two weeks of international fixtures, but Real Madrid continued to struggle.
The reason is simple. In the eighth round of La Liga, Real Madrid lost 0-1 away to Alavés.
Both Marca and AS unanimously described it as a disgrace.
Although Alavés have had a strong start and sit sixth, Real Madrid were last season's La Liga and Champions League double winners. Even if they are not as strong now, they should not be in this state.
Especially away from home, Real Madrid struggled to breach Alavés' goal for the entire match.
Three straight league defeats and four in all competitions is a first for Real Madrid in the past 30 years.
No one can understand what has gone wrong this season.
Worse still, Di María was injured in the Alavés match.
He became Real Madrid's sixth injured player this season.
Isco, Marcelo, Carvajal, Benzema, Pogba, and now Di María.
There are also players such as Modrić, Benzema, Varane, and Casemiro whose current form is not satisfactory and slow to adjust, which baffles everyone.
Is the team's chance creation too poor?
Actually, no.
AS listed the data. In the past four games, Real Madrid had 84 shots and did not score once.
That is definitely a problem.
Real Madrid's former technical director Valdano addressed the situation in an interview on Spain's Midnight Radio.
First, Valdano said sacking Benítez now would be a sign of failure, proving all pre-season planning had failed. This option requires caution.
He also believes both Real Madrid players and the Bernabéu faithful miss Gao Shen.
"I have said Real Madrid's most serious problem now is the players' lack of confidence. If you watch their matches, in many cases the players simply do not dare to attempt what they did before. They are afraid of making mistakes."
Valdano believes this is related to Benítez's tactics and the team's poor results. Real Madrid have fallen to seventh in La Liga, their lowest position in years.
"More importantly, Real Madrid have lost the greatest manager in their history. It is as if their soul has been drained away."
"In matches, I have seen more than once that when the team encounters difficulties, the players look instinctively toward the bench. We all know what they saw on that bench over the years."
"But now, they see nothing, which leaves them without confidence or courage."
"This is a fatal mindset. You can see the players worrying about winning and losing on the pitch. This mentality makes them more fragile and more susceptible to injury."
Valdano believes this is a pain all top teams must endure, and it requires the club, players, and fans to overcome it together.
How long it will take, no one knows.
"In fact, even now, Manchester United have not emerged from Ferguson's shadow. It has been five years."
Valdano believes Gao Shen's influence on Real Madrid is even deeper than Ferguson's at Manchester United because his achievements are greater. That means it will be an even more difficult and painful process for Real Madrid to leave Gao Shen's shadow.
"I said this last season when the boos rang out at the Bernabéu. He was burdened with many faults that were not his. Only when Real Madrid fans lost him would they realize how important he was."
"Now, I feel this is the price."
When Gao Shen was coaching, Real Madrid were renowned for having few injuries. Now that he is gone, a wave of injuries has struck.
Last season, when the team struggled, Gao Shen still led them to classic wins again and again, and the players had absolute faith in him. Now, Benítez cannot do that.
So far this season, Real Madrid players have publicly expressed their longing for Gao Shen more than once.
This growing longing has gradually overwhelmed Real Madrid, turning last season's double winners into a toothless tiger, easily bullied and even slaughtered.
(To be continued.)