We are fast approaching the end of the 2022/23 season in most parts of Europe, so the stakes are getting higher and higher. This weekend saw some very meaningful results in various parts of the continent, including one title that was decided in the United Kingdom.
By Neel Shelat
Northern Ireland: Crusaders 0-2 Larne
We will go to London soon, but we will first go across the Irish Sea as there was a big development in the Northern Irish Premiership. With two rounds of fixtures still to play, the fate of the title has already been decided.
It is a historic outcome too, as the newly-crowned champions Larne lifted the first top-flight title in their 134-year history. They have secured first place ahead of defending champions Linfield – the most successful club in the country. Cliftonville were also involved in the title race early on, but have now fallen to fourth.
This triumph is the culmination of Larne’s resurgence in the last few years. Before that, the club lost its senior status at the time of the establishment of the Premiership in 2008. It was only in 2016, when the Championship was established as the second-tier, that they regained their senior status. Two years later, they had an ownership change and were back on the up, winning promotion to the top flight in the very first season after the takeover. A few years and some smart investment later, they found themselves in a title race, where they took the trophy out of Belfast for the first time in about two decades.
Consequently, Larne will make their debut in the Champions League qualifiers next season. Given the fact that no Northern Irish side has ever featured in the group stage of Europe’s premier competition, they should not have high hopes. But, a full European debut might yet be on the cards in one of the lower-tier competitions.
🏴 England: West Ham United 2-2 Arsenal
The most watched game in the UK this weekend was probably the all-London clash between West Ham and Arsenal, which had implications at either end of the Premier League table.
In spite of their continued Europa Conference League exploits, West Ham found themselves embroiled in a relegation battle in the league. They were within striking distance of the sides in the relegation zone going into the weekend, so they could not afford to give away anything cheaply. Their visitors found themselves in a similar situation but for different reasons, especially after their draw with Liverpool last weekend gave Manchester City the chance to be the writers of their destiny in the title race.
And Arsenal seemed to mean business. They got off to an absolute flyer, racing to a two-goal lead within ten minutes thanks to Gabriel Jesus and Martin Ødegaard. Given their complete and utter dominance to that point, everyone expected them to easily see out the win thereafter.
Once again, though, there was a twist in the tale. In the 33rd minute, West Ham won a penalty after a turnover in midfield. Saïd Benrahma stepped up to take it, and he brought his side back into the game by halving the deficit.
After that, it was all West Ham as they searched for an equaliser. Unfortunately, for them, they could not find one before half-time, and a few minutes into the second period, Arsenal won a penalty of their own. The in-form Bukayo Saka was poised to take this one, but he missed the target altogether and kept Arsenal’s lead very precarious indeed.
That precarity did prove costly too, as Jarrod Bowen equalised just a couple of minutes later. Having thrown away yet another two-goal lead, Arsenal seemed shaken and never looked like they were going to bounce back. So, in spite of maintaining close to three-quarters of possession, the Gunners lost control of the match and lost two points along with it.
This result cuts the deficit at the top of the standings to just four points, and Manchester City have a game in hand as well. Of course, most crucially, the top two will face off in about ten days’ time in what will almost certainly be the most important match in this title race.
🇩🇪 Germany: Stuttgart 3-3 Borussia Dortmund
After ten years of disappointment, only a fool would harbour hopes of Borussia Dortmund succeeding in a title race again Bayern Munich.
Of course, they were going to lose the pivotal Klassiker in the silliest manner possible. Of course, they would fail to capitalise when all sorts of drama was going on behind the scenes at Bayern. Of course, they would refuse to hold on to a seemingly comfortable lead to go level on points with the Rekordmeister.
The two title contenders kicked off their matches simultaneously on Saturday evening, with Bayern hosting Hoffenheim and Dortmund visiting Stuttgart. Both would have been pleased at half-time, as Bayern had a lead thanks to Benjamin Pavard while Dortmund found themselves two goals and a man up.
It was all smooth sailing until the 71st minute, when Andrej Kramarić brought Hoffenheim level with a direct free-kick to the back of the net. As things stood, Bayern and Dortmund would be level on 59 points, but of course, things were not going to stand.
The only thing more inevitable than a Bayern victory was a Dortmund collapse, and that is indeed what we got. In spite of their numerical advantage against the relegation battlers, Dortmund conceded twice in the last 15 minutes of regulation time. They even went on to retake the lead in stoppage time, but again, only a fool would harbour hopes of Borussia Dortmund in a title race. Of course, they threw the game away by conceding again in the last minute.
So, after all that, Bayern’s two-point advantage was maintained even though they dropped points. Meanwhile, this was also a significant result in the relegation battle, as Stuttgart climbed back up into the play-off spot on goal difference.
🇪🇸 Spain: Athletic Club 2-0 Real Sociedad
With the title effectively wrapped up and on its way to Barcelona, the next meaningful battle in LaLiga is the race for Europe. We had an important fixture relevant to that this weekend, which also happened to be the Basque derby.
Seventh-placed Athletic Club hosted fourth-placed Real Sociedad, who were looking to end an almost decade-long absence from the Champions League. They only had a four-point lead over fifth-placed Villarreal, so the margin for error was getting smaller and smaller.
Their hosts and near neighbours were playing catch up, so the pressure on them to get results was slightly greater. Their current position in the table would only grant them a European spot if Osasuna fail to win the final of the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid. Of course, they would not want to leave their fate out of control, so they were chasing a spot in the top six at least.
The match was an intense affair, but one with few noteworthy chances. Both sides played narrow formations and clogged up the centre of the pitch, making it very difficult to access the dangerous areas of the opposition penalty box. The winner was surely going to be the side that made the most of limited opportunities, and that proved to be Athletic Club.
Iñaki Williams did their bidding with a goal either side of half-time. First, he turned home a corner from a pretty good position, and then, he scored from a pretty tight angle at the end of a fast break. That goal, scored in the 70th minute, effectively sealed the result and gave Athletic Club the all-important three points.
The good news for Real Sociedad is that Villarreal also lost their match this weekend, so they have been overtaken by Betis who are four points behind Imanol Alguacil’s side. Four points is a relevant figure for Athletic Club too, as that is their new gap to sixth place.
🇮🇹 Italy: Cremonese 1-0 Empoli
Great escapes seem to be becoming a bit of a theme in Serie A. Last season, it was Salernitana who came back from the dead and survived by the skin of their teeth. This year, Cremonese seem to be on course to follow suit, though there is a long way to go yet.
It should be noted that the dramatic effect of Salernitana’s escape was heightened by the existential issues they faced relevant to their ownership, for from a purely sporting perspective, they remained relatively quite close to safety for most of the season. Cremonese, however, looked dead and buried at the turn of the year having failed to win a single league match.
In fact, their winless run continued till the last day of February – a time when they were rooted so far down at the bottom of the table that even doubling their points tally would not get them out of the relegation zone. They then recorded a memorable win over Roma, but followed that up by losing four of their next five games.
If Cremonese do somehow end up surviving, the turning point will likely be remembered as their match against Sampdoria last weekend. Thanks to a stoppage-time goal which gave them a 3-2 win away from home, Davide Ballardini’s side hauled themselves off the foot of the table and into the fight for survival.
Their win over Empoli this weekend was far from entertaining, but all that matters to them is that they got the job done and held on to the early lead given by Cyriel Dessers. That brings them to within seven points of safety, and given the fact that they will face three of the four sides above them before the end of the season, including 17th-placed Spezia, they certainly still have a chance.
🇭🇷 Croatia: Šibenik 0-4 HNK Gorica
Sticking to the theme of potentially miraculous escapes, we have a similar story from Croatia. The 10-team Hrvatska nogometna liga only has one direct relegation spot at the bottom of the table, but that does not deprive us of some greatly entertaining scraps.
Unlike Cremonese, HNK Gorica did manage to get a win to their name quite early on in the season in August, but then came their long drought. They too went winless till their last match of February, before which their tally of nine points was less than half of what ninth-placed Šibenik had.
After that win over NK Lokomotiva, Gorica have only lost one league match to date. Among their recent results is an incredibly dramatic 5-4 win over NK Istra, and a draw with league leaders Dinamo Zagreb. All of that brought them to within four points of safety ahead of this weekend’s crunch clash against Šibenik, which they simply had to win.
Gorica did just that, putting four past the surprise cup finalists in the first half, including three goals in the first 18 minutes. Thereafter, they had no reason to risk anything, so they simply sat back and saw out a massive win.
Cover Image from IMAGO