This was the final weekend without elite-level club football around most of Europe prior to the World Cup, but if you looked closely enough, there was lots of action to tuck into. That included the UEFA Nations League and Liga MX among other competitions, which we will cover in this edition of Last Weekend.
By Neel Shelat
đ UEFA Nations League, League A: Italy 1-0 England
For many sides in the Nations League, their matches would serve as dress rehearsals ahead of the World Cup. Italy, of course, were not one of those sides since they failed to qualify, but their opponents England had more on the line too, as a loss would mean relegation from League A for them.
While the Italians experimented with a back-three, Gareth Southgate named a fairly strong XI, although there were a couple of interesting decisions he made such as deploying Bukayo Saka at left wing-back and starting Harry Maguire on the left of defence. Frustratingly, Englandâs performance was about as bland as it had been in the last few matches. They kept a good amount of possession but simply failed to create any meaningful chances, so their non-penalty goals tally in this Nations League campaign remained zero.
Overall, the visitors did a decent job defensively, but a slight lapse led to the decisive moment of the match. Giacomo Raspadori wonderfully plucked a long ball out of the air at the edge of the box, and he navigated his way around Kyle Walker before finding the far corner with a superb finish.
That goal sealed Englandâs fate, as they suffered Nations League relegation against the very same opposition that prevented them from lifting the Euro 2020 trophy at home a little over a year ago.
Italy, on the other hand, have much to play for when they face Hungary on Monday evening. The Azzurri will have to defeat them in order to secure a place in the Nation Leagues Final.
đ´ó §ó ˘ó Ľó Žó §ó ż England: Arsenal 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Over in England, we were treated to a full round of top-flight fixtures as the second matchday of the 2022/23 Womenâs Super League was played. The majority of those matches were played on Sunday, but Saturdayâs solitary fixture will live long in the memory of all those who were watching, whether at the stadium or at home.
With no fixtures for the menâs side this week, Arsenal Women were able to play their match at the Emirates Stadium, and their opponents were none other than local rivals Tottenham Hotspur. That attracted a WSL record crowd as over 53,000 tickets were sold, and none of the Arsenal faithful would have regretted spending their money to see this match.
The home side were utterly dominant from start to finish as they kept over two-thirds of possession and outshot their opponents 16 to 3. Beth Mead opened the scoring within five minutes, and Vivianne Miedema ensured Arsenal took a two-goal lead into half-time. On the other side of the break, centre-back Rafaelleâs header and Miedemaâs second capped off an unforgettable win for Arsenal.
They cannot afford to celebrate too much, though, because a tough Champions League qualifying play-off tie against Ajax awaits them in midweek. It is all to play for after the first leg ended 2-2 in London, so this is set to be a tough fixture that will have major ramifications on both sidesâ seasons.
đ˛đ˝ Mexico: Puebla 2-1 Pumas UNAM
There wasnât a full round of Liga MX fixtures over the weekend, but a couple of rescheduled fixtures had to be played ahead of the final set of league fixtures for the 2022/23 Apertura next weekend.
Unsurprisingly at such a crucial time in the season, a lot was on the line in these fixtures. Pumasâ visit to Puebla proved to be the decisive match for both sidesâ league campaigns. The visitors needed to win to realistically keep their hopes of qualifying for the play-offs alive, while Pueblaâs target was to come away with three points and confirm a postseason berth.
The home side proved to be successful after a superb start to the match, which saw them establish a two-goal lead in the first half hour. Pumas naturally tried a lot harder to score thereafter and finished the match with thrice as many shots as their opponents, but they only found the back of the net in the 83rd minute, and that proved to be a case of too little too late.
Necaxa and MazatlĂĄnâs draw in the other match leave just two play-off spots open, but with five teams still in contention for them, there will be lots to keep an eye on in Mexico next weekend.
đŚđˇ Argentina: Gimnasia 0-1 Tigre
The Argentine top-flight was one of the few leagues to remain undeterred by the international break as there was a full round of fixtures held over the weekend. There are twists in the title race at effectively every turn at this point, and it was no different this time around.
After both Boca Juniors and HuracĂĄn won their matches on Friday night, the first big result came on Saturday when River Plate conceded in the final minute of their match against Talleres, drifting seven points away from their arch-rivals.
Then, on Sunday, Gimnasia La Plata had the opportunity to go back above Boca Juniors and temporarily occupy the top of the table when they took on Copa de la Liga finalists Tigre. It was a close match, but the home side were defeated thanks to the only goal of the match, scored at the half-hour mark after a well-worked team move.
The defeat meant that Gimnasia lost their unbeaten home record in the league this season, leaving AtlĂŠtico TucumĂĄn as the only side to have one. They preserved theirs thanks to a 3-1 win over Estudiantes, restoring their two-point lead at the top of the table in the process,
đşđ¸ MLS: San Jose Earthquakes 2-3 LA Galaxy
There was lots of action in LaLiga this weekend, so we were spoilt for choice while picking the match to cover. The Madrid derby obviously stood out, while the high-flying Athletic Club provided an alternative. Naturally, therefore, we decided to go with the Friday night clash between Real Valladolid and CĂĄdiz.
Up in the States, there was just one MLS match this weekend as the rest of the league got some much-needed rest in the international break. The solitary match was a pretty important one â a California ClĂĄsico which had the potential to severely impact LA Galaxyâs chances of qualifying for the play-offs.
On the back of his impressive season, there was a fair amount of clamour surrounding a potential return to the Mexican national team for Javier HernĂĄndez. Gerardo Martino decided against that, though, and LA Galaxy fans will sure be glad about that after this match. Chicharito put in a man-of-the-match performance as he scored two very well-taken goals to help the visitors come away with three crucial points.
That brace took his tally up to 17 MLS goals this season, matching his best-ever tally in the league that he set last year. More importantly, the win placed the Galaxy back in the top seven, but they are just one point above the play-off line.
Their next match sees them take on eighth-placed Real Salt Lake, so this could be a make-or-break match in the context of their season.
UEFA Nations League, League B: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 Montenegro
Back in the UEFA Nations League, Bosnia and Herzegovina ensured that they would go in the opposite direction to England by sealing promotion to League A on Friday.
Going into the match, they were at the top of the table with a one-point lead over Montenegro, so they knew that a win here would ensure promotion with a match to spare. They looked to be the better team for most of this game, but of course, the most important thing was to score.
Ermedin DemiroviÄ thought he had done that after the half-hour mark, but his goal was ruled out due to offside. He put the ball in the back of the net again on the stroke of half-time, and on this occasion, VAR did not spoil the party. That strike proved to be enough for the hosts to secure the three points, and with them a spot in League A next season.
đ Sidemen Charity Match: Sidemen FC 8-7 YouTube AllStars
You know itâs the international break when you see this.
The first Sidemen Charity Match in four years was played at The Valley on Saturday, and it was indisputably the most entertaining 90 minutes of football on offer this weekend. The match produced 15 goals that had it all â incredible long-range strikes, stunning passing moves, dodgy defending and poor goalkeeping. All of that led to the creation of one of the greatest-ever shotmaps that has graced the FotMob app.
The YouTube Allstars may have lost, but it was the xG Gods who were truly defeated in this fixture. Miniminter in particular was out to get them, as he scored a hat-trick from 10 shots worth a cumulative 0.37 xG.
Ultimately, though, it was all for a good cause, as over a million pounds were raised for charity by the time the trophy was lifted. That tally can continue to go up, as donations are still open here.
Cover Image from IMAGO