Page 128 – The Pulse of Football

Oct

2022

LaLiga Review: Barcelona and Madrid continue to match each other ahead of El Clásico

Round Eight in LaLiga is now complete so let’s look back at all the action from the weekend.

By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert

Real Madrid finally keep a clean sheet

Prior to Saturday’s game against Getafe, Real Madrid had conceded a goal in every one of their seven LaLiga matches this season. But at the eighth time of asking, Los Blancos were finally able to keep a clean sheet and that meant a return to winning ways following the 1-1 draw at home to Osasuna the previous weekend. Éder Militão’s towering near-post header from a Luka Modrić corner inside three minutes proved to be the winner for the champions at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez and saw Carlo Ancelotti’s side move provisionally top of the table on Saturday night, before being overtaken by Barcelona on Sunday.

“I think the team played well and we saw many good things in the match,” Ancelotti said. “We could have scored more goals and we kept a clean sheet. Last season we lost here and this year we were much more solid, especially in the aerial duels.”

It was also a first clean sheet as a Madrid player for goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who is standing in for the injured Thibaut Courtois, and the Ukrainian made a good save from Getafe midfielder Carles Aleñá.

Madrid face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday before turning their attentions to the Clásico clash at home to Barcelona next Sunday.

Ancelotti said El Clásico was “still some way off”, but hinted at more rotations in midweek after resting Karim Benzema and Ferland Mendy against Getafe and leaving Toni Kroos on the bench for the entire 90 minutes.

“On Tuesday, the players who are tired won’t play,” he said.

Courtois, meanwhile, is considered a big doubt for the game against Barça.

Seven in a row for Barcelona

Barcelona were not at their best either, but Xavi’s side overcame Celta Vigo by the same scoreline at Camp Nou to make it seven wins in a row in LaLiga since their 0-0 draw at home to Rayo Vallecano on the opening weekend of the season. Pedri scored the only goal of the game, slotting in from close range after Unai Núñez blocked Gavi’s cross into his path in the first half. The Blaugrana missed further chances to extend their lead and had goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thank for a superb save late on from Iago Aspas.

Ter Stegen has conceded only one goal in LaLiga this season, saving an impressive 19 out of 20 shots faced. “He’s at an extraordinary level,” Xavi said.

Barça, though, are not. “A few weeks ago we were flying and now we aren’t,” the coach added. “We have to improve.”

While it may not have been their most polished performance, the win sees Barcelona head into El Clásico on top of LaLiga thanks to their superior goal difference over rivals Real Madrid.

“El Clásico is unpredictable,” Xavi said. “Last year we [had recently] arrived and it finished 4-0 [to Barça]… you never know, but we will go there to compete and to show our personality.”

Before that, Barcelona host Inter in a crunch Champions League clash on Wednesday. “I’m preparing for that match [first],” Xavi said.

And it is an important one too, following back-to-back defeats in Europe. El Clásico can wait, for now at least.

Atlético back in the top four

Atlético Madrid returned to the top four following a 2-1 win at home to Girona at the Metropolitano. Ángel Correa scored both goals for the Rojiblancos, poking home the first at the far post following an Antoine Griezmann cross and later pouncing on a calamitous error from Girona goalkeeper Juan Carlos to make it 2-0. A deflected strike from Rodrigo Riquleme, who came through the youth system at Atleti, brought the Catalans back into it and Aleix García’s long-range effort was pushed against the post by Jan Oblak in a nervy finale.

The win moves Atlético back into the top four and with Griezmann’s return from Barcelona now negotiated and confirmed, there is no need to keep the French forward on the bench until the final half an hour any more.

“There are moments when you have to win and today we had to win,” Simeone said. “We played the first 60 to 70 minutes as we wanted, but the end wasn’t as we had hoped. The boys want to do well and are giving everything. We need the fans and all of the players.”

Correa is one of those. The Argentine was making only his second start in LaLiga this season and added two goals to the one he netted in the 4-1 win over Celta Vigo in early September. “We are happy for him because he is all heart,” Simeone said. “He doesn’t always start, but he plays regularly. He can get angry for not playing, but he has to show his quality on the pitch.”

He did that and will be in Simeone’s thoughts for the coming games, the first of which is against Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Athletic stay third as Sevilla start a new era

Following the dismissal of Julen Lopetegui, Sevilla started a new era under the returning Jorge Sampaoli on Saturday and the Argentine’s second spell in charge got off to the perfect start at the Sánchez Pizjuán as Oliver Torres opened the scoring after just four minutes. But Mikel Vesga’s long-range effort levelled the scores after 73 minutes and there was controversy at the end as Ander Herrera prevented an almost certain goal in added time by fouling Erik Lamela as the Argentine prepared to shoot from the edge of the box, with the net at his mercy and goalkeeper Unai Simón out of position.

Athletic’s fans applauded Herrera, back on loan from PSG, as he was shown the red card. The midfielder saved his side from defeat and the Basques stay third in the table after a game they could have won and then nearly lost. “It was an intense match,” Valverde said. “When the coach has the feeling that his team should have won the three points, it means you have played a good game.”

Sevilla, meanwhile, remain a work in progress. “We suffered in the second half,” Sampaoli said. “This team runs a lot and that’s a sign that we need to play better with the ball.” His team are down in 18th, but should start climbing the table soon.

Elsewhere, Real Betis drop to fifth after a disappointing draw at Real Valladolid, Real Sociedad are up to fifth thanks to a 1-0 win at home to Villarreal (now down to ninth) and Valencia continue their improvement under Gennaro Gattuso. They are seventh after beating Osasuna 2-1 and Justin Kluivert (son of Patrick) scored his first goal for the club since signing on loan from Roma.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 LaLiga season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Oct

2022

Premier League Team of the Week

FotMob TOTW – Round 10

Newcastle players dominate after their Bruno Guimarães-inspired demolition of Brentford. The Brazilian rightly earned our top rating of the week (9.2).

Elsewhere, City pair Foden and Cancelo are becoming regular fixtures in the side.

Have your say in the comments on Instagram.

Oct

2022

Serie A Review: Three takeaways from Round 9 as Milan trump Juventus

Milan’s dominating win over Juventus stole the headlines, but two smaller stories have been on my mind – the rise of Monza in the past month and an incredible centre-back performance early in the season.

By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert

Injury-ravaged Milan bounce back

The game of the round was once again at San Siro, as Milan hosted a seemingly resurgent Juventus, who had won two straight and looked to put their worst form behind them. Milan came into this game missing nearly half of their best XI through injury, which made Juve manager Max Allegri’s comments from a few weeks ago even more comical. Allegri claimed that Milan and Inter would struggle too, if they had the amount of injuries that Juventus had succumb to. Well, the Rossoneri not only had more injuries than Juve, but they thoroughly outplayed them in a statement win in front of an incredible San Siro atmosphere.

Stefano Pioli benched Charles De Ketelaere after another unconvincing performance midweek against Chelsea in favour of Brahim Díaz, who lost his starting place last season after an inconsistent run of form. Brahim took the opportunity that was presented to him by scoring the most memorable goal of his career – a coast to coast run, darting by multiple Juventus defenders (including a bizarrely statuesque Leo Bonucci). It was a momentous occasion for Brahim, who instantly ripped his kit off and was paraded on the shoulder of his teammates under the Curva Sud.

Apart from Brahim, centre-back Fikayo Tomori was sensational. His ultra aggressive style makes it difficult for the opposing striker to cleanly settle a ball with their back to goal. The English international also has a curious record – two goals in his Serie A career, both of them coming against Juventus.

Monza’s incredible turnaround

There have been two eras in Monza’s season so far – the one before and after Raffaele Palladino took charge of the club. Giovanni Stroppa only managed a measly single point in five Serie A matches, conceding 14 goals in the process. Since Palladino took over, they’ve been perfect. Three wins out of three, six goals scored, none conceded; with one of the wins coming against Juventus in his first game in charge. Monza are now playing like the team that was promised to fans during the summer, where they had arguably the most impressive transfer window by a newly promoted club in Italian football history. Monza loaded up on Italian internationals, and they’re now starting to gel. The side have the fifth highest possession percentage in Serie A, mostly due to their fantastic ball playing midfield consisting of Nicolo Rovella and Stefano Sensi – two traditional “registi” (deep lying playmakers) who know how to take care of the ball and keep it moving.

The defence has been turned around as well, with former Arsenal centre-back Pablo Marí at the centre of the back three. This form hasn’t looked like a lucky blip either, they’re genuinely dominating teams since Palladino took charge – and we’re still waiting for their star attacker Gianluca Caprari to get back to his form from last season when he was lighting it up for Hellas Verona.

Monza are becoming a must watch, with their fearless style of possession play and not changing anything about how they approach a game regardless of who they’re facing.

Kim Min-Jae’s Stunning Start

It’s rare that I would dedicate one of the three main topics to a centre-back, but here we are after what we’ve seen so far from Napoli’s summer signing.

Kim Min-Jae has been unbelievably good, to the point where you wonder how Napoli could’ve possibly acquired him for so little (reportedly €18m). Kim joined from Fenerbahçe as the direct replacement for Kalidou Koulibaly, and did so with little excitement. His name wasn’t one that was known around Serie A fan circles, so there didn’t seem to be much expectation when he made his first start for the club in August.

Napoli’s scouting department has been on another level this past summer, identifying young talents in smaller leagues that could instantly transition their skillset to Serie A.

Since the summer, Kim has picked up September Player of the Month honours, helped his team get to first place in the standings and is one half of the second best defensive partnership in the league in terms of goals conceded, alongside Amir Rrahmani. What’s more impressive is how Kim has matched the best version of Kalidou Koulibaly so quickly – at 6’3, the Korean international is deceptively quick, so you can play a high line without worrying too much about a striker beating him in behind. He’s also very aggressive, reads the game exceptionally well for a player without much experience in the top European leagues, and has looked dominant in the air. While two months is a small sample size to make sweeping statements about a player, so far he’s been the most impressive defender in the league.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Serie A season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Oct

2022

LaLiga Team of the Week

FotMob TOTW – Round 8

Madrid’s defence held firm at Getafe resulting in places for 3 of their back-line plus Vinícius Júnior. Almería’s 2nd win of the season is reflected with the inclusion of 2 players but no one could match Ángel Correa’s rating for Atlético (9.1).

Have your say on the TOTW in the replies on Twitter.

Oct

2022

Serie A Team of the Week

FotMob TOTW – Round 9

Lazio’s BIG statement win at Fiorentina on Monday night is reflected with the inclusion of four of their starters: including TOTW regulars Zaccagni, Provedel and Milinković-Savić.

But our top rating went to Inter stalwart Edin Džeko (9.0).

Who was unlucky to miss out? Have your say in the comments on Instagram.

Oct

2022

Premier League Review: The final word on Round 10

It was a weekend filled with statement victories in the Premier League. We are a quarter of the way into the season for most teams and the table is starting to take shape. Here is a look at some of the more eye-catching stats and topical narratives.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

The Gunners are firing

Arsenal have now scored six goals in their last two Premier League matches. The Gunners followed up their 3-1 win over Spurs last weekend with a 3-2 win over Liverpool in what was arguably Mikel Arteta’s most impressive week as Arsenal manager.

The hosts racked up an xG of 3.09 against the visitors on Sunday. The last time the Reds had an xG against total that high was during the 2020/21 campaign when they had no senior defenders and Manchester City romped to a 4-1 win at Anfield. Granted, that haul does include a penalty but it was a fairly one-sided affair in the second half, with Liverpool mustering an xG of just 0.46 in that second half all while trying to look for a winner and then an equaliser.

It was a statement victory for Arteta’s side as they look to really position themselves as title contenders.

Bouncebackability

Manchester United’s win over Everton might not have registered on larger radars but it could be vital to their season.

Heading into the game, Erik Ten Hag had seen his side thrashed 6-3 against Manchester City before struggling to a 3-2 win over Omonia in the Europa League. They were behind after just five minutes at Goodison Park against a team with one of the best defensive records in the league.

They then lost Anthony Martial to injury.

Yet that didn’t deter them as they overturned the deficit to take all three points.

The Red Devils created three big chances to Everton’s zero. Cristiano Ronaldo’s first goal of the season turned out to be the winner, capping an excellent performance off the bench having replaced Martial. No player had more shots than the legendary Portuguese, he completed all of his dribbles and even created an opportunity for a teammate. The 8.2 rating was fully deserved.

West Ham’s new centre-forward

Over the years, the Hammers haven’t had the best of luck when it comes to signing strikers. But Gianluca Scamacca might be different.

Signed from Sassuolo in the summer, the Italy international now has goals in three consecutive outings, including back-to-back Premier League games.

He scored in the 3-1 win over Fulham after leading the line for David Moyes’ side from the off. The 23-year-old attempted five shots on the day and landed three on target. More impressively, however, he managed to increase the value of the efforts with his shot placement, turning an xG total of 0.68 to an xG on target total of 1.10.

The 6ft5 forward may have been profiled incorrectly by some as a pure target man but he is proving himself to be an all-rounder in the attack. After an awful start to the campaign, West Ham are now 13th, just four points off of sixth spot. Not purely because of his goals, but they have certainly helped.

A false dawn?

Newcastle ran out 5-1 winners over Brentford at St James’ Park but the scoreline did not necessarily tell the story of the match.

The Magpies did have almost three times as many shots as the visitors but the xG for the match had them at 1.53 and the Bees at 1.19. Thomas Frank’s charges had fewer opportunities but they were of greater value – they were more dangerous. Granted, Brentford’s xG haul includes a penalty but the fact remains the 5-1 scoreline flattered the hosts. Not that they will mind, they’re just two points off of the Champions League places.

It is, perhaps, premature to assume something has clicked in attack for Eddie Howe’s side. They may have nine in their last two outings but there has been an overperformance of over four in those matches when looking at their underlying numbers. Prior to that, Newcastle had scored just three times in four matches. They seem to vary from one extreme to the other.

Manchester City’s other strikers

It has been the Erling Haaland show at Manchester City this season but Phil Foden has been impressing in the shadows over recent weeks, he might have even stolen the spotlight away from the No.9 this weekend.

He bagged a hat-trick against Manchester United and followed that up with a goal and an assist against Southampton. The fleet-footed attacker was involved in eight shots on Saturday, split evenly between efforts and chances created. He’s coming into form at the right time for England with the World Cup just around the corner.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Premier League season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Oct

2022

Last Weekend: Arsenal down Liverpool, Xabi Alonso returns to the Bundesliga, Lyon give Peter Bosz the boot and more

Between major clashes between the big sides, new managers coming in and others saying their farewells, there was a lot of action in the world of football this weekend. We will be covering all of that in this edition of Last Weekend.

By Neel Shelat

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England: Arsenal 3-2 Liverpool

Premier League leaders Arsenal had a tough fixture against last season’s runners-up Liverpool, who had just two league wins since the start of August. Jürgen Klopp’s side had a double-digit points deficit to their opponents, so they really needed something from this fixture.

The Gunners got off to the perfect start as they took the lead in under a minute through Gabriel Martinelli, but seemed to take their foot off the pedal thereafter. Darwin Núñez equalised just after the half-hour mark and Liverpool looked on course to go into the break on level terms, but Bukayo Saka scored on the stroke of half-time to restore the lead for the hosts.

Luis Díaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold went off injured for Liverpool, but substitute Roberto Firmino made it 2-2 within 10 minutes of the re-start. The game was in the balance again, but the Gunners were looking far more threatening in attack. The decisive moment came with a quarter of an hour left to play as Thiago fouled Gabriel Jesus in the box, allowing Saka to score the winner from the penalty spot.

With that, Arsenal sealed a deserved victory to return to the top of the table.

🇩🇪 Germany: Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 Schalke 04

There was lots of drama in the Bundesliga this weekend, not least Dortmund’s last-minute equaliser in Der Klassiker, but the match we are picking was more of a routine win – Bayer Leverkusen putting four past Schalke in front of a packed BayArena.

The fans were really excited to see Xabi Alonso, who took charge as the head coach of the club following the departure of Gerardo Seoane in midweek. This was the first senior team that the ex-Bayern midfielder was managing, and it is safe to say that his debut went to plan.

He named his XI in a 3-4-2-1 formation, and its right side really clicked as Moussa Diaby opened the scoring before setting up two goals for Jeremie Frimpong.

Paulinho came off the bench to get in on the act and grab a fourth goal late on, sealing a comprehensive win in Alonso’s return to the Bundesliga. He was not the only manager to get their first career win in the league this weekend, though, as Thomas Letsch did the same with Bochum against Frankfurt.

🇫🇷 France: Lyon 1-1 Toulouse

This weekend marked the start of a new era in Leverkusen, and the end of one in Lyon. The Friday night fixture in France saw Lyon host Toulouse in what turned out to be Peter Bosz’s last fixture in charge of the club. The home side were on a rotten run of four consecutive league defeats heading into this fixture, so they were in desperate need of a win to change their fortunes.

On the back of a disappointing 2021/22 season where they finished a lowly eighth, Lyon got off to a great start this season and kept step with the league leaders till the beginning of September, but the wheels really fell off their campaign thereafter. The aforementioned run of losses to Lorient, Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and Lens left them outside the European spots heading into their most recent fixture.

Their match against newly-promoted Toulouse began well, with Tetê opening the scoring with less than two minutes on the clock, but this is where Lyon’s troubles were laid bare. Under Bosz, they have always struggled to close out matches where they are in the ascendency and are expected to cruise to a win, so their inability to add to their lead and poor game management led to Toulouse equalising in the second half and coming away with a point.

Wins for Lille and Clermont Foot on Sunday have left Lyon on the cusp of the bottom half of the table, so Bosz’s sacking can certainly be justified.

Lyon have the same points margin to the relegation zone as they have to the European spots, so it is now up to new manager Laurent Blanc to steer them in the right direction.

🇮🇹 Italy: Milan 2-0 Juventus

Defending Serie A champions Milan are facing a bit of an injury crisis right now as they are without starting goalkeeper Mike Maignan, three senior defenders and as many forwards. That meant that head coach Stefano Pioli had to get a little creative with his line-up for the big match against Juventus this weekend, as he moved away from the favoured 4-2-3-1 shape and drew up a side in a 4-3-2-1 formation.

The most intriguing decision was to deploy Brahim Díaz, an attacking midfielder by nature, on the right. That proved to be a masterstroke, as the Spaniard scored his side’s second goal after carrying the ball forward down that flank to effectively put the game past Juventus. Prior to that, Fikayo Tomori had scored the opener at a crucial point in the match in first half stoppage time.

This win kept Milan within three points of leaders Napoli, who convincingly overcame Cremonese on Sunday, while Juventus are already ten points off top.

🇪🇸 Spain: Real Sociedad 1-0 Villarreal

We previously highlighted Villarreal’s strong defence in the column, but unfortunately, that brought the feared FotMob curse upon them as they have failed to win any of their subsequent league matches!

Their loss to Real Sociedad was one of their worse performances of the season, as they conceded a number of chances while looking terribly flat going forward. Brais Méndez grabbed the decisive goal for Real Sociedad after the half-hour mark, capping off a convincing win for the home side.

Imanol Alguacil’s side are quietly doing a great job this season as they are all the way up in sixth and level on points with fourth-placed Atlético Madrid. They are on a five-match winning streak in all competitions and are on the cusp of sealing progression from their Europa League group, so they could be worth watching out for as we head towards the World Cup break.

🇺🇸 MLS: DC United 2-5 FC Cincinnati

Sunday was Decision Day in MLS as the regular season drew to a close. In the East, the Philadelphia Union, CF Montréal, New York City FC, the New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami had sealed play-off berths. Below them, three sides – FC Cincinnati, the Columbus Crew and Orlando City – were vying for the two remaining spots.

Orlando were facing the Crew, so the equation was simple for Cincinnati: win, and make the play-offs. Their opponents were bottom-placed DC United, so they had a great chance of sealing their first-ever post-season tickets in their very short four-year MLS history.

They were well on course for that after just eight minutes of football, as Luciano Acosta and Brenner da Silva gave them a two-goal lead. Brenner went on to bag a first-half hat-trick, taking his tally to 18 goals for the season. Brandon Vazquez matched that number by netting Cincinnati’s fifth goal in the second half and sealed a comprehensive victory for the visitors.

With that, Cincinnati’s three star attackers took the side over the line to the play-offs, where they will be facing the New York Red Bulls in the first round next Saturday.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Oct

2022

Bundesliga Team of the Week

Bundesliga TOTW – Round 9

We feature 3 players from Gladbach’s big Derby Day victory over FC Köln AND 3 of the Bochum side who beat Frankfurt.

Xabi Alonso enjoyed a great start at Leverkusen and right wing-back Jeremie Frimpong was our best rated player (9.12).

Have your say in the comments on Instagram.

Oct

2022

This Weekend: Arsenal vs. Liverpool, Milan vs. Juve, Der Klassiker and more

The best action to follow this weekend

By Bill Biss

Saturday

🇩🇪 We start with one of European football’s biggest games: Der Klassiker. The clash between the Bundesliga’s big two – Dortmund and Bayern. And for once, we can’t say that the rival clubs go in to the game sat first and second in the league, for it has been an extraordinary start to the season in Germany.

Bayern sit third having suffered their worst start for decades but in reality, have actually lost just once in the league, and are only two points down on leaders Union Berlin and Freiburg. Dortmund lie below Bayern on goal difference with the black and yellows impressive going forward but equally, quite flimsy at the back – they’ve lost three of their eight games but have beaten Freiburg and arch-rivals Schalke.

Both sides won their midweek games in the Champions League convincingly – Bayern putting five past Viktoria Plzeň and Dortmund winning 4-1 at Sevilla.

Elsewhere, we’ll see how Xabi Alonso gets on as the new boss of Bayer Leverkusen as they look to get their season back on track against fellow strugglers Schalke.

🇮🇹 There’s another massive game lined up for tomorrow in Serie A as Milan and Juventus, the two most successful clubs in Italian football, clash at the San Siro. And again, these are two giant sides who are somewhat off the pace in the early stages of the title race.

Defending champions Milan comes into this game down in fifth and off the back of a humbling defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League while Juve’s issues this season have been well documented. The Old Lady are now up to seventh however, having got back to winning ways, against Bologna last weekend, and versus Maccabi Haifa in their midweek game.

Inter – who share a record of 19 titles with their Milan rivals (to Juve’s 36) are even further back in ninth. But they will have the opportunity to leapfrog their Saturday opponents, Sassuolo, if they can back up the win they got against Barcelona in the week.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 The Premier League continues at pace with five games from Round 10 taking place tomorrow. Manchester City, and the goalscoring juggernaut that is Erling Haaland, can go back to the top of the table with a win over Southampton – a side that they failed to beat in the league last season.

There’s also the meeting between Chelsea and manager-less Wolves, although they may well have moved to appoint the outgoing Sevilla boss, Julen Lopetegui between the the time of this preview being published and kick-off!

The game of the day probably comes later though, with Brighton & Hove Albion (fourth) playing their first home fixture under new coach Roberto De Zerbi against Tottenham Hotspur (third). Antonio Conte will be looking for a positive reaction after Spurs lost last weekend’s North London Derby and were held by Eintracht Frankfurt during the week.

🇪🇸 In Spain, there’s an opportunity for Real Madrid to overtake rivals Barça to go top of LaLiga – if they can win at Getafe. Should they slip up however, Athletic Club could join the league’s big two on 19 points – but they’ll need to be wary of the new manager bounce as opponents Sevilla moved swiftly to replace the aforementioned Lopetegui with Jorge Sampaoli, who returns for a second stint at the club.

Elsewhere, Atlético Madrid once again look to bounce back from another setback in Europe – they lost 2-0 at Club Brugge in the week – as they go up against Girona. A win should move Diego Simeone’s side in to the top four, at least until Sunday’s fixtures.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 And there’s a big game in the Scottish Premiership where St. Mirren have been the surprise package this season. The Saints are third and having already beaten defending champions Celtic back in September, they now have their sights firmly set on the other half of the Old Firm. Rangers sit four points above them and will have the backing of their Ibrox faithful but write off St. Mirren at your peril.

Sunday

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Sunday is a four game day in the Premier League with some of the league’s biggest sides in action. Arsenal, who beat Bodø/Glimt (the best thing to come out of Norway since FotMob) on Thursday evening will get back to their domestic duties against Liverpool. This is one of the classic inter-city rivalries in England’s top flight with Mikel Arteta’s side currently in the unusual position – at least in recent years – of going into the game well ahead of Liverpool in the table. In fact, the Reds start the weekend down in ninth with only their Champions League form to encourage them after recent disappointments at home.

Depending on City’s result on Saturday, Arsenal will be looking to maintain or retake leadership of the league before they travel in to the Artic Circle to face Glimt again during the week.

Amongst the other fixtures, Manchester United return triumphant (just) from their Europa League outing in Cyprus to test what is currently, the best defence in the Premier League, as they face Everton at Goodison Park.

🇪🇸 Similarly to Arsenal, Barcelona will be playing catch-up as their main rivals for top spot in LaLiga all play before them. Xavi’s side may have lost at Bayern and now Inter in Europe but at home, they remain unbeaten, and boast a defence that has conceded just once in seven games. They return to Camp Nou for a fixture against Celta Vigo and their indefatigable striker, Iago Aspas, who netted three goals against them last season.

A good showing is essential for Barça as with injuries building up their squad will be tested further by the return game against Inter, and then the small matter of El Clásico next weekend.

🇩🇪 Back in the Bundesliga, Sunday is Derby Day for fans of FC Köln as the Billy Goats visit rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach. A win for either side should move them in to the European places along with earning them the local bragging rights.

Leaders Union Berlin leave the capital and head south to face Stuttgart while second placed Freiburg (albeit on goal difference only) travel to Berlin for their game against Hertha. Both will be confident going into games against sides at the opposite end of the table.

🇮🇹 We also have to wait until Sunday for the Serie A leaders to play. Napoli, still basking in the glory of their biggest ever win in European football (the 6-1 at Ajax) now face promoted side Cremonese. The home team have failed to win since their return to the top flight but have managed to take important draws from games against Atalanta and Sassuolo in recent weeks.

Atalanta are level on points with Napoli, but now face a massive test against the other side currently building an unlikely assault on the European places, third placed Udinese.

🇫🇷 The big game in Ligue 1 this weekend does not involve either PSG or Marseille, but rather the two big northern clubs – Lille and Lens. The Derby du Nord is always heated but with Lens winning all three of their meetings last season and currently on an amazing run of 17 games unbeaten in the league, Lille fans will be desperate to upset their rivals. In contrast, the 2020/21 title winners are on a seven-game sequence of lose one, win the next.

🇸🇪 The Swedish Allsvenskan title race has been bubbling away nicely all summer and now with six games to play we’re still none the wiser as to who will come out on top. Sunday’s game between the two leaders should however start to clear things up – if there’s a winner!

Djurgården are level on points with Häcken but have their superior defence to thank for their current position. And they do have a good record against their opponents – winning the last seven meetings between the two.

🇺🇸 Lastly, Sunday is #MLSDecisionDay with the final round of regular season games taking place largely at the same time across both conferences. Our friends at 90min.com have produced the ultimate guide on what to watch out for – which you can read here – but essentially there are still two play-off places up for grabs in both the East and the West. Plus a whole bunch of seeding questions to resolve as sides battle for home advantage going in to the all-important post-season games.

If you want to follow any of the games mentioned above, click on the relevant link and tap the bell icon to receive all the key match updates.

Or join us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to discuss all the important football going on this weekend!

Cover Image from IMAGO

Oct

2022

Serie A Review: Three takeaways from the weekend as Juve get back to winning ways

Matchday eight brought some much needed relief to struggling Juventus, last-gasp drama for Milan and another reminder from Napoli that they need to be taken seriously for the Scudetto.

By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert

Must win game for Juventus

Juventus came into their home match with Bologna desperately needing a win. After five matches without picking up a single victory in all competitions, Juve’s early season woes have been under constant criticism. The manager Max Allegri has somehow endured this early storm, most likely because of the massive contract attached to his name, which has forced Juventus to be patient and not make any rash decisions.

Against Bologna, Juve started the game with a 4-4-2 using two strikers up top against a Bologna team that has struggled this season. Arek Milik and Dušan Vlahović both scored, with the Bianconeri looking more lively as the game went on. This display felt like it meant more than just the three points – it gave Juventus a much needed sigh of relief after a September from hell. It was also a glimpse into the more attack minded Juventus we thought we were getting after Allegri said during the summer that his main goal was to improve a middle of the pack offence and get them to finally create more chances.

This win should give the team a much needed boost of confidence before their must win Champions League clash against Israeli side Maccabi Haifa. Surely what we saw in the last month was rock bottom, as the situation couldn’t possibly get any worse. Looking ahead, the injury situation will start clearing up and important pieces like Federico Chiesa and Paul Pogba will finally come into the lineup. Those two alone fix the main issue with this stale Juventus lineup – dynamism and excitement. Chiesa is one of the few Italian wingers who can consistently take his man on and beat him, while Pogba needs little introduction. The French midfielder played the best football of his career at Juventus, and it doesn’t take much to perform better than what the fans have seen in that department since he left for Manchester United six years ago.

Milan making no excuses

While we’ve heard injury excuses from Juventus manager Max Allegri, Milan have quietly gone about their business despite having a string of injury issues, which was highlighted by a decimated squad away to Empoli. Pioli was forced to dig deeper into his bench than he has this season, with new injuries to the world class pairing of Theo Hernández and Mike Maignan. This meant that the Rossoneri were forced to use the maligned duo consisting of backup keeper Cyprian Tătărușanu, who inspires little confidence; and the mistake prone full-back Fodé Ballo Touré, who never convinced in the few appearances he had last season. While Tătărușanu made a mistake on Empoli’s free kick goal that temporarily levelled the score at 1-1 in the final minutes, it was Touré’s strike which put Milan 2-1 ahead in stoppage time. The left-back became the unlikely hero before Rafael Leão put the dagger into the game with a lightning quick counter and chip shot over the keeper to cement the win.

These are three points Milan would’ve never gotten before the Stefano Pioli era started. The mentality has finally become a winning one, and it never feels like this team is out of it, no matter the adversity they’re facing. It’s evident behind the scenes too – the players are genuinely happy and love playing for Pioli. The atmosphere in the dressing room is one where everyone knows their role, and there’s a decent amount of intra-squad competition to keep players sharp.

The reaction from the Milan players on the goals scored at the end against Empoli was very telling of the unity in this side. It felt like Milan won a trophy. Even a player like Yacine Adli, whom you wouldn’t fault for being frustrated with his lack of minutes, was celebrating on the sidelines, as if he’d scored the goal himself! This harmony behind the scenes has allowed the club to finally enjoy playing its football again, after a grim period where they couldn’t crack the top four.

Napoli keep on shining

Napoli are the story of the Serie A season so far. From 25/1 Scudetto underdogs over the summer to an early start that sees them at the top of the table. The Partenopei were once again a pleasure to watch in their 3-1 win against Torino. The game never really felt like it might swing the other way, with midfielder Zambo Anguissa scoring a first half brace which gave Napoli an early cushion. What’s incredible about this team is how many weapons they have at their disposal. Without Victor Osimhen, they can now rotate two quality strikers in Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone. They each serve a purpose as they have very different characteristics. Raspadori is better in tight spaces and likes to come short, while Simeone can be the second half super-sub to test tired legs with his runs in behind.

It feels like a century ago that Luciano Spalletti was trying to calm down furious fans who demanded answers this summer after the team sold their most important players across the pitch. No one could’ve predicted that Napoli’s new signings would be this good so quickly into the season. What’s most impressive is that players like Kim Min Jae and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, who joined from inferior leagues in Turkey and Georgia, have actually played the best football of their career since they took the step up to Serie A. It’s a testament to the identity that Luciano Spalletti has created so early into the season (with help from a scouting department that couldn’t have done their job any better). A Napoli Scudetto, which hasn’t happened since the days of Diego Maradona in 1990, would be surreal for the city and fans. It’s unheard of to lose four of your most important pillars in one summer and somehow manage to get better, but that’s exactly what’s happened – a younger, more dynamic team that plays fearless and now believes they could bring back silverware to one of the most passionate fanbases in the world.

Closing thoughts…

Monza are undefeated under new manager Raffaele Palladino. A few weeks ago I wrote that their former manager Giovanni Stroppa was likely on the hot seat after a terrible start, and since his sacking the club has beaten Juventus at home and Sampdoria away. They haven’t conceded a goal in the process and are playing some really slick possession football. Palladino’s entrance into the club has been the textbook positive change a chairman dreams of when making such an early season managerial switch.

(Images from IMAGO)

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