League honours are being handed out all over the place as we approach the end of May, so between repeat champions, streaks ending and first-time winners, we have got a nice mix of stories in this Monday’s column.
By Neel Shelat
🏴 England: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Arsenal
The Premier League title race has been enthralling throughout the season, but it came to a rather anticlimactic end this weekend.
In fairness, we might have started to see this coming at the start of April, when Arsenal dropped points in three consecutive fixtures leading up to their showdown against Manchester City. Only one outcome seemed inevitable after they lost that game, but even thereafter, Arsenal’s title charge seems to have gone out with a whimper.
In the post-match celebrations after Manchester City’s win over Everton, Pep Guardiola was seen indicating “two more” to the fans, referencing the number of wins needed for his side to mathematically seal the title without any external help. Ultimately, though, they ended up needing nothing more. Arsenal lost to Brighton later that day, and were playing first at the home of relegation-battlers Nottingham Forest this weekend.
The hosts’ season thus far had been rather topsy-turvy. After closing out the table for a good chunk of the first half of the season, Forest underwent a post-World Cup resurgence and climbed as high as 13th. But then, a run of 11 matches without a win saw them sink back into the relegation zone heading into the home stretch of the season. Then, a couple of massive wins against Brighton and Southampton and a draw with Chelsea pulled them back out of the danger zone and even gave them the chance to seal their safety here.
Beating the second-best side in the country was never going to be easy, so Forest had to dig deep to get the job done. Their top scorer Taiwo Awoniyi gave them the lead 18 minutes in, and they would go on to keep just 18% of possession overall! Steve Cooper’s side did a great job defensively against a rejigged Arsenal side, restricting them to just seven shots from inside the box.
And so, after a very long 90 minutes plus stoppage time, there was a big release of tension and eruption of celebrations at the City Ground, which will remain a Premier League stadium.
🇩🇪 Germany: Bayern Munich 1-3 RB Leipzig
If you do not believe that we live in the most unique timeline, then this weekend’s Bundesliga action should have changed your mind. Almost everyone following the league was supporting RB Leipzig, who are generally the most-despised club in the country. The reason behind this sudden change of heart was that they were playing league leaders Bayern Munich, who risked ceding the top spot on the penultimate matchday if they failed to win.
After watching them dominate for a decade, though, any sensible Bundesliga fan knows not to harbour high hopes of Bayern Munich faltering. So, when Serge Gnabry opened the scoring in the 25th minute, many would have started resigning to what they saw was the inevitable.
But Leipzig kept themselves in the game, and, after a counterattack in the 65th minute, equalised through Konrad Laimer. That was enough to potentially dethrone Bayern, but the visitors’ primary objective for this match was to seal a Champions League spot with a win, so they scored twice more from the penalty spot.
Bayern therefore suffered their ninth loss of the season in all competitions and fourth since the sacking of Julian Nagelsmann, which is looking an increasingly worse decision as time goes on. The following afternoon, Dortmund went to Augsburg and got the job done with a three-goal win, leaving themselves one step away from the Meisterschale.
Just behind them, the other major consequence of this result is that it only leaves one more Champions League spot open, which means that either Union Berlin or Freiburg will end their season with a tinge of disappointment. Not all dreams can be realised, but let us hope that at least a couple are.
🇷🇴 Romania: Farul Constanța 3-2 FCSB
Speaking of dreams being realised, we certainly had some in Romania this weekend as Farul Constanța were crowned champions for the first time ever.
Their story is truly incredible. Founded in 1920, they have quite a storied history which includes all sorts of stuff except a major title. Therefore, their biggest claim to fame likely was the fact that they forged Gheorghe Hagi, Romania’s greatest footballer. There was a time when it appeared that he would outlive them, as the club went bankrupt in 2016 after a period of gross mismanagement.
The Farul name was only kept alive thanks to a proxy club created by a group of fans, which was eventually bought by big-name owners. Hagi, meanwhile, was doing his own thing in Constanța as he set up a youth academy and eventually a senior club named Viitorul Constanța. The word ‘Viitorul’ translates to ‘future’, so you can imagine what they were all about. Eventually, in 2017, a youthful Viitorul side won the Liga 1 title with Hagi as their owner and manager.
Hagi’s biggest dream, however, was to take over Farul and guide them to glory. He could not work towards it initially due to their management issues, but the bankruptcy and rebirth provided him with a golden opportunity. Eventually, he struck a deal to merge the two clubs under the Farul name in 2021.
Now, in just their second season after the merger, Farul have lifted their first-ever major trophy with Hagi at the helm. They fended off back-to-back champions CFR Cluj for most of the season and survived a late charge from FCSB, who even took a two-goal lead in this weekend’s decisive match that saw them go to the top of the table as things stood. But, a second half turnaround saw Farul find a fairytale ending to their fantastic story.
🇨🇾 Cyprus: Apollon Limassol 3-2 APOEL Nicosia
Sticking to the theme of first-time title winners, we had another such story in Cyprus this weekend. After their local rivals defeated second-placed record champions APOEL, Aris Limassol were crowned champions of Cyprus for the first time in their 93-year existence.
Obviously, this is the highest of highs for a team that has spent most of its years as a bit of yo-yo club between the country’s top two divisions. Indeed, Aris are regarded as the third club of Limassol, where the Apollon-AEL rivalry certainly is the biggest and most intense.
The turning point for Aris came in 2021, when they not only won the second division to return to the top flight but also were taken over by Russian investor Vladimir Fedorov. Under him, the club adopted a modern and data-driven management approach that seems to have been a key factor in their rapid rise to success.
They finished fourth last season to play continental football for the first time ever in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers, where they were eliminated in the first round. They will have a chance to do much better now as they enter the UEFA Champions League qualifiers by virtue of being champions.
The key behind their success has been finding the right form at the right time. After exchanging top spot with a couple of other contenders in the early weeks of the season, Aris never topped the table until after the split. They now have a 16-match unbeaten streak under their belt which has taken them to this title, as they took advantage of the likes of APOEL and AEK Larnaca slipping up.
Given how they are operating behind the scenes, this could well just be the start of a golden era for Aris.
🏆 CAF Champions League: Mamelodi Sundowns 2-2 Wydad Casablanca (2-2 agg)
Fans of the away goals rule will love the result of the CAF Champions League semi-final between the South African champions and Wydad Casablanca, whose title defence continued as a result of it.
After a goalless draw in the first leg when Sundowns ended the match with just nine players on the pitch, they would have backed themselves to get the job done at home. Indeed, they were the favourites going into this tie and are unanimously regarded as the best side on the continent at the moment. Wydad, meanwhile, changed managers and appointed Sven Vandenbroeck just a few days prior to the first leg, so they were not having the best of times.
The Belgian coach did very well to prepare his side to dig deep and defend in South Africa, where the hosts largely dominated the match. They took a deserved lead just after half-time, but then suddenly seemed to lose control of the match and allowed Wydad to start creating chances. The visitors knew they would have to make the most of what they got, and they equalised in the 72nd minute.
The pressure was back on Sundowns due to the away goals rule, and they responded quickly by retaking the lead before the 80th minute. Soon thereafter, though, they conceded an own goal after a free-kick to put themselves at risk again and were ultimately eliminated on away goals.
As a result, Sundowns went out of the CAF Champions League despite being unbeaten in their 10 games in the tournament. On the other hand, Wydad have set up a date against record-finalists Al Ahly (a repeat of last year’s final) by beating the South African champions despite never having won a game in that country.
🇳🇴 Norway: Brann 2-0 Lillestrøm
Our final match features FotMob’s hometown club SK Brann, who are enjoying some great times at the moment. After bouncing right back up to Eliteserien by accumulating over 80 points in the second tier last season, they have enjoyed a great start to the league and put together a memorable cup run.
As the Norwegian football calendar still recovers from the pandemic, the recently-concluded cup was played on a cross-year schedule as opposed to the usual year-round schedule. So, Brann started their run in the second division and ended it as a top-flight club.
Brann’s first cup match of 2023 was the Round of 16 tie against Haugesund, whom they beat 3-1. After putting three past quarter-finalists Sandefjord, Brann set up a semi-final date with fellow Eliteserien newcomers Stabæk. A 2-0 win in that game saw the boys from Brann head to the Ullevaal Stadion for their first cup final in over a decade.
Their opponents this weekend were Lillestrøm, who were looking to win their first major trophy in six years. That was not to be for Geir Bakke’s side, as goals from Ole Blomberg and the prolific Bård Finne meant that Brann won their first cup title since 2004.
They have absolutely no time to rest on their laurels, though, as the change back to a year-round format for the cup sees the first round of the 2023 competition start today. Here we go again!
Cover Image from IMAGO