There were a host of big fixtures as Rivalry Week continued in MLS while the final round of the Group Stages provided drama at the Euros. Elsewhere the 2022/23 season began, in earnest, across Europe, thus signalling the return of the ‘winter leagues.’
We will be covering all that and more in this edition of Last Weekend.
?? MLS: New York Red Bulls 0-1 New York City
The final day of Rivalry Week saw the Hudson River Derby between the sides placed second and third in the Eastern Conference. Both teams had two wins and a draw in their last three games so this was set to be a very even encounter.
That is indeed how it turned out to be, although NYCFC dominated possession, as they typically do. That would not have been concerning for the hosts because they tend to thrive in transition and were unbeaten in home clashes against their rivals since 2017.
This was a match of very few clear-cut chances, but the decisive moment came in the 69th minute when Santiago Rodríguez floated a ball over the top for Valentín ‘Taty’ Castellanos, with the Argentine striker nudging the ball home after some very clever movement to create space for himself. It was hardly a surprise to see him on the scoresheet as this was his sixth goal in his last four matches.
Last season’s Golden Boot winner finds himself at the top of the scoring charts yet again, and with the highest xG and second-highest xGOT tallies in the league, he has a very good chance of staying there – should a much rumoured move to Europe not come to fruition in the coming days. The rumour mill was churning after he appeared to be bidding farewell to the fans and his manager after being substituted.
Of course, Castellanos could just have been enjoying his role as derby-day match winner.
? UEFA Women’s Euros: Austria 1-0 Norway
With England having secured progression to the knockouts and Northern Ireland already eliminated, the big decisive match in Group A saw Austria take on Norway with the two sides level on points. Naturally, the winner would advance to the quarter-finals but in case of a draw, Austria had the upper hand thanks to Norway’s inferior goal difference after England put eight past them in midweek.
So the onus was on Norway to chase the game, but they looked very flat in the first half while Austria created a few decent chances before taking the lead in the 37th minute, via the head of Nicole Billia. Even after trailing, Martin Sjögren’s side never really looked threatening as Manuela Zinsberger faced just two shots on target.
For a side that features forward talent from the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea plus Ada Hegerberg – the Champions League’s all-time top-scorer in a must-win match, a shotmap like this is incredibly disappointing.
Austria, therefore, deservedly progressed to the knockouts where they will face Group B winners Germany. That should be a very tight affair as the Germans are the only side apart from England to have kept a clean sheet in all of their group matches, while Austria have conceded just once.
?? Switzerland: Young Boys 4-0 FC Zürich
The Swiss Super League returned with a blockbuster clash between defending champions FC Zürich and Young Boys, who had won the title in four straight seasons prior to 2021/22. There were new head coaches in both dugouts – ex-MLS and USA Under-17 manager Raphael Wicky for the hosts and ex-Austria manager Franco Foda for FC Zürich.
There were no goals and truthfully, barely any noteworthy openings in the first half as both sides were cautious in their approach, but the second half was filled with action. 10 minutes after the break, Zürich were awarded a penalty for handball, but Antonio Mascherano skied his kick. Seven minutes later, Christian Fassnacht headed the home side in front.
After the first round of substitutions, Cedric Itten came off the bench to score ion debut in the 77th minute. And in a nine-minute period thereafter, Young Boys scored twice more through Fabian Rieder and Wilfried Kanga, making the final score quite flattering.
In reality, the two sides were very evenly matched in terms of xG and in fact, Zürich had a slightly greater tally, but they were left ruing missed opportunities.
?? Denmark: FC København 0-1 Horsens
In Scandinavia, the Danish Superliga is the only top-flight winter league, and it was back for the 2022/23 season this weekend. Defending champions FC København were playing on Sunday as they hosted newly-promoted Horsens at Parken.
The visitors thought that they had gotten off to a perfect start when Casper Tengstedt, who scored 15 league goals in the second tier last season, put the ball in the back of the net but a VAR review saw the goal ruled out for offside. Nonetheless, they continued to defend resolutely and create chances but it was FCK who were celebrating next – at least until another VAR review ruled their goal out for the same reason.
Horsens had less than a quarter of possession in the game, but they went toe-to-toe with their opponents as they contained them very well in their 5-4-1 defensive shape while also posing a regular counterattacking threat. Their hard work paid off just after the hour mark when Zambian left wing-back Lubambo Musaba directed his finish in to the top corner from the edge of the box.
The home side tried hard to find an equaliser thereafter, but as this shotmap shows, they were not allowed to create any serious goal-scoring opportunities and had to resort to potshots by the end.
?? Belgium: Club Brugge 1-0 Gent
Belgian football was back with the Super Cup, the traditional season-opener featuring the previous winners of the league and cup. That meant Gent visited Club Brugge, for whom Carl Hoefkens was making his managerial debut after he stepped in following Alfred Schreuder’s move to Ajax.
Hoefkens stuck to the 3-5-2 formation that worked wonders in the second half of last season but Gent were seemingly able to neutralise it in their 3-4-1-2 shape. The visitors were the first to hit the back of the net through Tarik Tissoudali less than 10 minutes prior to half-time, but the assistant referee’s flag was raised. With effectively the next attack at the other end, Brugge scored after Andreas Skov Olsen cut inside from the right and found the bottom corner.
The Danish international looks set to have a standout season in his first full campaign in Belgium. After joining from Bologna, he played a massive role in Club Brugge’s title charge as he contributed with five goals and six assists in 739 minutes of action in the league, averaging 1.34 goal involvements per 90.
Coming back to the match, Gent were unquestionably the better side in the second half as they pushed for an equaliser, but their efforts proved futile despite the fact that they attempted thrice as many shots as their opponents.
?? Germany: Kaiserslautern 2-1 Hannover 96
Our beloved 2. Bundesliga also returned this weekend. Kicking us off were four-time Bundesliga champions Kaiserslautern, who were last seen in the top flight over a decade ago, and had been down in the third tier since 2018. They finished third last season, securing promotion only after beating Dynamo Dresden in the play-offs.
This was a big game for the visitors too, as Stefan Leitl, who recently led Greuther Fürth to the Bundesliga, was taking charge of them for the first time in a competitive fixture. His side lined up in his favoured 4-1-2-1-2 formation. For the hosts, Dirk Schuster made just two changes from the XI that beat Dresden in May.
The away side unsurprisingly dominated possession, but early on, Kaiserslautern looked more dangerous going forward, with the deadly duo of Terrence Boyd and Mike Wunderlich looking in the mood. Indeed, those two combined for the opener in the 11th minute after a very loose backpass from Julian Börner.
Kaiserslautern looked fairly comfortable after taking the lead and continued to pose a threat going forward, but as we entered the second half and inched closer to the final whistle, the nervousness surrounding the slender lead was palpable in the Fritz-Walter-Stadion. The home fans’ fears came true in the 80th minute when Håvard Nielsen, who had followed Leitl from Fürth to Hannover, came off the bench and grabbed an equaliser.
The visitors would have hoped to push on and score a winner thereafter, but the final twist in the tale in stoppage time saw centre-back Kevin Kraus redirect Kevin Prince Redondo’s bicycle pass towards the net following a corner, sending the stands into a state of absolute delirium.
This was a dream start to the season for Kaiserslautern, but their focus should remain on avoiding relegation for now.
?? Norway: Viking 2-1 Kristiansund
We’ve looked at a lot of positive stories this week, but there is a less optimistic one from our home league, the Eliteserien, where Kristiansund are still winless after 12 matches – picking up just one solitary point way back in April when they drew with HamKam.
Their loss to Viking on Sunday was the second time in three games when they have lost from a winning position. After going into the half-time break with a clean sheet, they took the lead through Bendik Bye in the 52nd minute but conceded the equaliser almost straight from kick-off. They were still looking set to hold on to a point but a penalty conceded in the 89th minute stripped them of that as well.
It will take nothing short of a miracle for Kristiansund to survive as they currently sit 12 points away from safety and they could even break the unwanted record of fewest points in a league season (in the three points for a win era). This is held by Aalesund and Start, who managed 11 points in 2020 and 2002 respectively.
Written by Neel Shelat.
Cover Image from IMAGO