When the first international break hit last week, a quick glance at Europe's top divisions brought a raft of rather different names topping the tables.
It's extremely early days, granted, but it was encouraging to see very few of 2018-19's title winners in pole position. In some cases, it's an early-season quirk. But in others, it's a sign there's a genuine race in place.
Oh, do we need a few of those.
Outside of Manchester City vs. Liverpool for the Premier League crown last season, few other leagues offered us drama in that department. Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain all won at a canter, while Bayern Munich wedged themselves into the driving seat with a month to go.