Eight leagues, eight different stories, but only two teams can say they haven't dropped a single point all campaign. Manchester City sit atop the Premier League on 18 points from six games, all wins, no draws, no defeats. FC Barcelona have gone further in terms of games played, eight from eight in La Liga, also with a spotless record and a goal difference of plus 27 that dwarfs almost everyone else at the summit.
The Nearly Perfect
A notch below the flawless pair sit two more leaders who have stumbled just once each, and only as far as a draw. Inter lead Serie A on 16 points from five wins and a single draw, while SC Freiburg top the Bundesliga with 13 points from four wins and one draw of their own. AS Monaco round out the group of early pace-setters with the odd blemish, leading Ligue 1 on 14 points via four wins and two draws.
Goal Difference Kings
Outside Europe, the numbers get even more extreme. Nashville SC lead MLS on 63 points from 19 wins, six draws and three losses, and their goal difference of plus 37 is the biggest of any league leader here. Flamengo are not far behind in Brasileirão Serie A, sitting on 64 points from 19 wins, seven draws and four losses, with a goal difference of plus 33. Both clubs have played a far longer schedule than their European counterparts, and it shows in the accumulated numbers, but the underlying ratio of goals scored to goals conceded tells its own story of dominance.
The Steady One
Back in England's second tier, Swansea City lead the Championship on 23 points from seven wins, two draws and one loss, a goal difference of plus 9. It is the only top-of-the-table record among this group that includes a defeat, a reminder that even the teams setting the pace in their respective competitions are not all travelling the same road to get there.
Put the eight tables side by side and the picture is one of contrasts rather than a single trend: two unbeaten juggernauts in Europe's biggest leagues, two leaders with just a single dropped point, a continental pair in Monaco with results spread more evenly across wins and draws, and two long-season leaders in Nashville and Flamengo whose goal difference numbers are operating on an entirely different scale. Whoever catches them will have to do it on very different terms depending on which division they are chasing.