After over 300 days of action, the 2022/23 club football season is (almost) done. All the big headline-grabbing matches and competitions certainly drew to a close this weekend, so let us review the best of the action.

By Neel Shelat

🏆 UEFA Champions League Final: Manchester City 1-0 Inter

The culmination of the 2022/23 season in Europe was in Istanbul, as the Atatürk Olympic Stadium hosted the UEFA Champions League final.

The contestants were three-time winners Inter who were playing their first such final since 2010, and Manchester City who were not only looking to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time but also had the chance to complete the treble in their second Champions League final in three years.

Having dominated the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid en route to the final, Manchester City were expected to take control from the get-go in this match and potentially win comfortably. It was not smooth sailing for them at all, though, as they struggled to break down Inter’s block in a tweaked 3-1-5-1 system, in possession.

Despite delivering one of their flattest performances in a big match this season, Manchester City did finally get their hands on the famous trophy thanks to Rodri’s strike in the 68th minute. There was little to pick from between the two sides before that, but Inter certainly dominated thereafter and had a couple of great chances to grab an equaliser.

The first of those came just moments after the opener, as Federico Dimarco saw his looping header come back off the crossbar and sent the ball goalwards again but struck Romelu Lukaku in front of him. The Belgian striker had a glorious opportunity to redeem himself late on when the ball flashed across the face of the goal towards his head, but he only redirected it into the frame of Ederson and it somehow stayed out.

The Brazilian goalkeeper made one more noteworthy save in stoppage time when Robin Gosens’ flicked header after the corner looked on course to trouble the net, earning a Champions League-winning clean sheet. Much like most of his teammates, he collected his first winners’ medal from UEFA, while Pep Guardiola got his third having won this competition twice during his Barcelona days.

With that, he has won almost everything there is to win with Manchester City, but the ongoing investigations into the club’s operations will question the authenticity of these achievements.

🏆 CAF Champions League Final: Wydad 1-1 Al Ahly (2-3 agg.)

Perhaps the more entertaining Champions League final of the weekend was in Africa, where Wydad Casablanca and Al Ahly went at it again for the second year in a row.

Last season’s final was a one-off match held at the Stade Mohammed V where the home fans watched Wydad Casablanca lift their third CAF Champions League title, and this year too, the trophy was to be handed out in Morocco. The difference, though, was that we returned to the two-legged format for the final, so Al Ahly brought a lead to Casablanca this time.

The tie was still precariously poised thanks to Wydad Casablanca’s late away goal in the first leg, which only halved their deficit but meant that a 1-0 win at home would see them lift the trophy thanks to the away goals rule. Naturally, they started the match on the attack and scored in under half an hour, turning the tie on its head.

It was the Egyptian champions who were desperately searching for a goal then, and they too eventually found it from a set-piece. Mohamed Abdelmonem headed home in the 78th minute to restore Al Ahly’s aggregate lead, scoring what would prove to be the Champions League-winning goal for his side.

With that, Al Ahly could well be on the course for a treble too. Only a complete calamity can stop them from winning the league and they did lift the cup earlier this year, although that was a postponed final of the 2021/22 edition. They are only in the Round of 32 of the 2022/23 Cup, so there is still some way to go for that.

🏆 FIFA U20 World Cup: Uruguay 1-0 Italy

Three Italian sides were in the three finals of the senior men’s UEFA club competitions, and all of them lost. Their last hope was their under-20 national side, who qualified for the World Cup final for the first time ever this year.

Standing between them and the trophy were Uruguay who were also looking to win it for the first time, though they had been in a couple of finals in the past. Like their semi-finals and the earlier third-place play-off, this match was held at the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata in Argentina, but it almost felt like a home game for Uruguay. Over 38,000 people were in the stands in what was the most-attended match of this World Cup, and most of them were supporting the Albiceleste.

Italy had looked quite impressive en route to the final, beating the likes of Brazil, England, Colombia and then-undefeated South Korea to create history. Uruguay, on the other hand, did not face too many tough tests. Apart from a loss to England in their second group game, they had a very smooth route to the final as they got the better of Iraq, Tunisia, Gambia, a relatively lacklustre USA side and then surprise packages Israel in the semi-final.

So it was Italy who were the favourites to win the final, but their performance in the match would not have suggested so. They had a really tough time playing out from the back against Uruguay’s high block, while they themselves defended much deeper generally. Many of their stars – including the tournament’s top scorer Cesare Casadei – seemed to have off-days as their side struggled to impose themselves on the game.

While Uruguay did not have much to worry about at the back, they themselves did not create too many chances. Therefore, the manner in which their late winner came about was quite fitting – a scrap in the box after a set-piece which led to the ball bouncing around before eventually reaching the unmarked Luciano Rodríguez at the back post, who then simply turned it in.

🇮🇹 Italy: Bari 0-1 Cagliari (1-2 agg.)

Bari fans probably had the worst Sunday night, because before their youth national team lost the World Cup final, they suffered play-off heartbreak.

The Stadio San Nicola hosted the second leg of the Serie B play-off final, where Bari drove their team bus around the pitch in front of a stadium packed with their fans. While their tactics on the pitch could not exactly be described as parking the bus, they did adopt a more defensive-minded approach.

The reason behind that was the fact that they would go through as things stood at kick-off. Their 1-1 draw in Sardinia did not mean anything in terms of the away goals rule which was not in use, but the Serie B play-off tiebreaker after 180 minutes on aggregate is position in the table at the end of the regular season. Bari finished well ahead of Cagliari this season and were comfortably third, so a draw would have been enough for them against any opponents.

The game remained goalless for 90 minutes, so Bari looked on course to win back-to-back promotions and seal a return to Serie A after over a decade away. But, there was a very late twist in the tale in the fourth minute of stoppage-time when substitute striker Leonardo Pavoletti turned in a cross from close range to win the match, the tie, and promotion for Cagliari.

With that, Cagliari capped off a remarkable turnaround to their season. They were down in 14th when Claudio Ranieri took charge at the turn of the year, and now they’ve bounced back up to Serie A! It is a great story for the veteran manager too, who was quite emotional on the touchline when the final whistle blew, perhaps remembering his time in Sardinia in the 1980s when he first made a name for himself as a manager by winning back-to-back promotions to take Cagliari to Serie A.

After over three decades, things have come full circle for the Tinkerman.

🇹🇷 Türkiye: Fenerbahçe 2-0 İstanbul Başakşehir

The Champions League was not the only tournament that held a final in Türkiye this weekend, as the national cup also reached its climax. This final was held in Göztepe, where İstanbul Başakşehir were seeking to lift their first cup trophy against a Fenerbahçe side looking to make up for their disappointment in the league’s title race.

Jorge Jesus’ side got off to the perfect side as their prodigious teenager Arda Güler slipped in Michy Batshuayi with just a minute on the clock, leading to one of the earliest ever goals in the Turkish cup final. The Belgian striker went on to score a second before the half-hour mark, putting his side in a commanding position.

Opposition manager Emre Belözoglu tried his best to turn the tide by making a triple-change soon thereafter, but Başakşehir continued to look remarkably unthreatening. If anything, Fenerbahçe might have felt they could have scored more goals as they created five big chances in the match, while their opponents could only cough up a solitary effort on goal.

So, the Istanbul-based club comfortably got their hands on the cup, lifting their first major trophy in nine years.

🇵🇹 Portugal: Marítimo 2-1 Estrela da Amadora (3-3 agg. 2-3 on pens)

We have won some and lost some in terms of island-based clubs in major European leagues this weekend, as Cagliari’s promotion was balanced by Madeira-based Marítimo’s relegation from the Primeira Liga in Portugal.

They went into the second leg of the promotion/relegation play-off with a deficit after a 2-1 defeat in Amadora, so they had to win. An early opener in the 18th minute set them on the right course, but they conceded soon thereafter and went back to square one.

As the match wore on and the final whistle drew closer, Marítimo began to absolutely pepper Estrela’s goal with shots but they had not gotten an equaliser when the fourth official raised his board to show the amount of stoppage-time that would be played. Six minutes later, the home side equalised with a header from point-blank range, sending the fans into raptures and taking the game to extra time.

As is often the case, there were no goals in the extra half-hour, so the play-off was going to be decided on penalties. Marítimo faltered at this final hurdle, missing the target with two and having one of their five attempts saved, so Estrela da Amadora won promotion to the Primeira Liga.

Their story is quite interesting too, as the current version of the club was only established in 2020 after a merger. For all intents and purposes, though, their history can be traced back to 1932 when Clube de Futebol Estrela da Amadora were founded. They were most recently seen in the top-flight in the 2008/09 season but went bankrupt a couple of years after their relegation. Now, they will be back as Club Football Estrela da Amadora, who effectively are their successors.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Football transfers are all about execution.

A lot of transfers may work in theory but executing the idea on the pitch isn’t always as straightforward as people might think.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

Everyone assumed Erling Haaland would arrive at Manchester City and somehow take them to new heights. He had been a goal machine for Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund, both domestically and in European competition. Adding him to a dominant Man City side should’ve, at least on paper, made them even more ruthless as a team. 

But there were a number of things to consider.

Firstly, Haaland was susceptible to the odd injury and his time in the Bundesliga was disrupted by stints on the sidelines. There were no guarantees he would easily adapt to the physical demands of the Premier League. 

Pep Guardiola didn’t have the best of records with pure No.9s. He is a manager who favours tactical fluidity and often loads his starting XI up with versatile players. Haaland’s link-up game wasn’t exactly something he was known for and he was still fairly raw in possession. 

The biggest unknown in all of this was how City would adapt to having Haaland lead the line for them while the player himself was still adapting to a new league. 

There are countless examples of teams signing goalscorers and then completely misusing them. 

Safe to say that this wasn’t the case with City and Haaland. 

The 22-year-old had a debut season to remember in the Premier League. In fact, it has been a season to remember in general with Guardiola’s side just one win away from completing a historic treble. 

They face Inter in the Champions League final later this week in a competition Haaland has scored 12 times in just 10 outings this term. 

Haaland has been a revelation for the Premier League champions. He broke the record for most goals in a 38-game campaign having netted 36 times in just 2,779 minutes. The No.9 notched four hat-tricks throughout the season in the English top flight, a feat that only Alan Shearer has bettered (five). 

The former Molde forward is the fastest player to ever score 25 goals under Pep Guardiola, doing so in 20 games to beat Lionel Messi (28), Samuel Eto’o (30), Sergio Aguero (35) and Thierry Henry (41).

Not only did Haaland have his most productive season in terms of goals, but he also set a new career-high for assists with eight to beat his tally of seven from his final season with BVB. 

The 23-cap Norway international wasn’t just on a hot streak either. He had the highest Expected Goal return in the Premier League (28.7) and was comfortably ahead of Mohamed Salah in second (21.7). He was in the right place at the right time all of the time and his ruthlessness in the box improved the chances City created for him. It was a match made in heaven. 

Haaland had the highest Expected Goals per 90 average with 0.93 and the highest Expected Goals + Expected Assists per 90 average in the entire league (1.03). What makes this all the more impressive is that he slotted into this City team. 

A lot of the time when a player goes on this sort of goalscoring run, their individual numbers spike and they average north of five shots per 90. It means everything is funnelled their way and it isn’t exactly sustainable because once the opposition limit the volume, the threat disappears. The former BVB man ranked fourth for shots per 90 with four. Darwin Nunez (4.5) led the way with Julio Enciso (4.3) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (4.2) attempting more than the Golden Boot winner. 

There are no guarantees in football. This remarkable season should not be downplayed because Haaland was a goal machine elsewhere and City win most things every single year. The fact Guardiola and his coaching staff have managed to execute this transition with the No.9 leading the way is nothing short of remarkable. 

Treble or not, this has arguably been City’s best season under the Catalan coach because of this.

(Images from IMAGO)

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