FotMob TOTW – Round 4
Not a single FotMob rating of 9.0 or above was given out in LaLiga this weekend…are we being too harsh again!? There are however an unprecedented number of Valencia players selected in our TOTW – four to be precise, including US international Yunus Musah.
Let us know who stood out for you this week in the comments on Instagram.
Between the Derby Della Madonnina madness, Juventus’ stumble and Fiorentina’s individual brilliance, there were more than enough talking points to go through in what’s already been a brilliant Serie A season.
By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert
This was one of the games that makes you pinch yourself as a commentator. Milan vs. Inter rarely disappoints, but in recent seasons we’ve finally seen both teams elevate themselves to a place where they’re competing for the same things domestically, and fighting in the Champions League against Europe’s best. As a result, the overall quality on the pitch has increased from what we saw in the 2010s from both. The incredible choreography from San Siro’s Curva Nord (Inter) and Curva Sud (Milan) set the stage for what would be a thrilling game with all the ingredients necessary for a terrific derby – intensity, aggressiveness, skill and drama.
The intensity was on display from the start, as Theo Hernández and Denzel Dumfries continued their fight from last season and locked horns in the eighth minute. The skill was provided by a world class performance by Rafael Leão, who completely took over the match and looked unplayable.
Simply put, he torched an Inter defence that had perhaps their worst performance of the last three seasons. Alessandro Bastoni and Stevan de Vrij were a disaster in this game, looking lost both positionally and with their man marking – Olivier Giroud’s goal was inexcusable, left alone inside the box with the Inter defence ball watching. Leão’s second goal, where he chops the ball inside and goes by Inter’s defence like they’re traffic cones, was even more troubling from a Nerazzurri perspective. How could such a strong defensive unit suddenly look so disinterested and unorganised? After last week’s poor performance against Lazio, Inter have even more questions to answer after getting beat in the most important game of the Serie A season.
Once again we saw Juventus revert back to the most negative version of themselves against Fiorentina, sitting back on a 1-1 draw in the second half, and seemingly looking content to protect it. While Fiorentina is the team with the highest average defensive line in Serie A – a testament to the highly offensive nature of their manager Vincenzo Italiano – Juventus also let them play their game. The Bianconeri sat back in a low block, often going for an ultra defensive 4-5-1 in their own final third. There was very little attempt to press as a unit and actually force Fiorentina into a quick decision when they were in possession, so the majority of the game was Fiorentina getting the ball out wide (because the centre was so clogged up), and crossing it in with little success.
It’s another disappointing match from a Juventus perspective, as the criticisms from last season have surfaced once again. Most notably, it’s how passive and negative Juve can look when the game is tied up. You’d think that a team expected to challenge for the Scudetto wouldn’t be content to settle for one point against Fiorentina – a side that will struggle to finish in a European position this campaign. This all goes back to Max Allegri, who employs a tactical style that is becoming rarer by the year in European football. When you look across the top five leagues, how many managers can you think of at the top clubs who are that pragmatic and defensive? Atlético Madrid’s Diego Simeone comes to mind straight away, but other than that, its mostly teams led by managers with a more expansive brand of football.
The burning question at the moment is this: Was Juve’s provincial mentality against Fiorentina the result of them not knowing how to attack, or purely based on the manager’s directions?
Udinese’s 4-0 win at home against Roma was easily the most shocking result of the season. Roma’s defense had some embarrassing moments, whether it was Rick Karsdorp headed assist for the opposition, or the howler from the goalkeeper Rui Patrício on the long distance shot by Lazar Samardžić, it simply wasn’t good enough from all angles. This is nothing new however, as Mourinho has likely gone to a back three because he just doesn’t trust one of Chris Smalling’s defensive partners alongside him. It also feels like Roma suffer when going down an early goal and are exposed on the counter attack. For a team with Paulo Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini starting, you’d expect better control and more chances that what we saw.
José Mourinho was quick to move on from the performance by saying he’d rather lose 4-0 in one game than 1-0 in four different games, and wants to look forward to Thursday’s Europa League match against Ludogorets. If there’s a way to look ahead with a glass half full, Roma had another complete meltdown last season, losing 6-1 to Bodø/Glimt in the Conference League, only to go ahead and win the tournament at the end of the season.
The hope is that this game against Udinese is a rare stumble, one that won’t be remembered at the end of the season if they finish in a top four position.
We can’t end this review by not praising Udinese, the team led by new Serie A manager Andrea Sottil. Sottil finally got the chance to manage in the top flight after surprising everyone in Serie B by bringing Ascoli, a side that the bookies thought would get relegated, all the way to the playoffs. Udinese look solid as a whole – a team with a mostly young, dynamic midfield that utilises the wings better than most.
The 19-year-old left wingback Destiny Udogie is quickly becoming one of the most interesting players in his position, which is why Tottenham snapped him up this summer and kept him on loan at Udinese so he could continue developing. Up top, Gerard Deulofeu (who just had the best season of his career) and Beto is a very good partnership for a provincial side. With the team quickly adapting to Sottil’s tactics, it looks like they could very well be the surprise team in Serie A this season.
(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.
FotMob TOTW – Round 6
Brentford’s hat-trick man Ivan Toney leads the line with our highest rating of the week but there are places too for Marcus Rashford and Dominic Solanke. Alexis Mac Allister is included for the third time this season!
Let us know who stood out for you this week in the comments on Instagram.
As we enter September, the summer transfer window has officially slammed shut across most parts of the world and we can really start to get into the thick of things in terms of the on-pitch action. Apart from an international break later this month, club football will effectively take up a chunk of our schedule almost every day until the World Cup in November, so we will never be short of things to talk about. That certainly was the case this weekend, as there were some big matches and results across Europe.
By Neel Shelat
Saturday was a day of fierce derbies across Europe. The action began with the Merseyside derby and the Old Firm kicking off simultaneously, and later in the evening, we had the Derby della Madonnina in Italy.
We wrote about Inter’s loss to Lazio last weekend, but in spite of that, they were above their local rivals in the table going into this fixture after Milan were held to a goalless draw by Sassuolo in midweek. They looked set to widen that gap when Marcelo Brozović opened the scoring in the 21st minute. That turned out to be the cue for the Rafael Leão show, as the Portuguese international put in an inspired performance to pour cold water over Inter’s plans.
First, he equalised before the half-hour mark with a brilliant first-time finish, with his weaker foot, from a tight angle. Then, in the second half, he assisted Olivier Giroud’s goal by squeezing in a cross from the left while surrounded by opposition defenders. The pièce de résistance came at the hour, when Leão dribbled past two defenders before finding the far corner with his finish to put Milan 3-1 up.
Substitute Edin Džeko pulled one back for Inter soon thereafter, but they could not score again, so Milan was painted red at the end of the derby.
Just two weeks into the new season, Manchester United were already breaking records under Erik ten Hag. Unfortunately for them, they were the wrong kind of records, as they sat at the foot of the table after suffering a heavy 0-4 defeat against Brentford.
They have really turned a corner since then, though, winning each of their next four league matches and conceding just two goals in the process. Additionally, they made a couple of big-name signings, as Casemiro and Antony were brought to Old Trafford for close to €170 million.
The latter was making his Premier League debut on Sunday against league-leaders Arsenal, who had a perfect record of five wins from five going into this game. The Brazilian international marked the occasion in some style, scoring the opening goal of the match in the 35th minute to become the first man from his country to score in his first appearance for Manchester United.
Arsenal did equalise in the second half through their own left-footed right winger Bukayo Saka, but a brace from a seemingly rejuvenated Marcus Rashford ensured that all three points stayed in Manchester. This was far from a dominant performance from Manchester United as the stats suggest, but the main thing for them is that they got the job done.
It should be said, though, that Manchester United have looked better in the big matches during recent times. It’s against lesser opposition that they’ve tended to struggle, so their next league matches against Crystal Palace and Leeds United should be a good barometer of their improving form.
Over in Spain, former Arsenal manager Unai Emery is enjoying a very good start to the season as well. His Villarreal side are level on points with second-placed Barcelona after four matches, and even more impressively, are yet to concede a single goal in the league.
That makes them just the third side in the last two decades to keep clean sheets in each of their first four games of the LaLiga season. It is not just their defence that has been impressive; their attack is on fire. With nine goals, they have scored more frequently than any other side in the division apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona, and have the third-highest xG tally too.
They really turned up the style against Elche, scoring some wonderful team goals in a dominant four-goal win courtesy of strikes from Gerard Moreno, Giovani Lo Celso, Francis Coquelin and José Luis Morales.
Villarreal had a very impressive run in the Champions League last season as they got as far as the semi-finals, but that perhaps ended up impacting their league campaign because they were only just able to hold on to seventh place. That has led to them booking a berth in the Europa Conference League this season, but the relatively weaker opposition in that tournament should allow them to fare better in LaLiga too, so a top-four finish may well be on the cards.
A couple of weeks ago, we talked about Bayer Leverkusen’s poor start to the season, but they seemed to take that personally as they put three past Mainz in the first half of their match last Saturday. They faced a much tougher test this week, though, as they were visited by the high-flying Freiburg.
On the back of their European qualification last season, Christian Streich’s side picked up where they left off early this season. They did lose to Borussia Dortmund on the second matchday, but aside from that, they had kept clean sheets in their wins over Augsburg, Stuttgart and Bochum.
That record came to an end just over a quarter of an hour into this match, as Kerem Demirbay opened the scoring for Leverkusen. After half-time, a quickfire double fired Freiburg in front, and even after Callum Hudson-Odoi got an assist on his Bundesliga debut to help the hosts equalise, the away side quickly retook the lead and saw out an entertaining victory.
Freiburg’s attacking performance in this match was far from their best, but they were very efficient as they scored from half of their six shots and profited from two set-pieces, so that proved to be the difference between the two teams.
Meanwhile, over in Berlin, Sheraldo Becker scored again to help Union hold Bayern Munich to a draw, meaning Freiburg end the round at the very top of the standings, something they have never done before after multiple matchdays in a season.
The convoluted championship format in the Belgian Pro League means that fast starters are not always justly rewarded, as Union Saint-Gilloise found out the hard way last season. Next in line to challenge Club Brugge’s recent stronghold on the title seem to be Royal Antwerp, who are enjoying their best start to a league campaign since 1930.
They have a 100% record after seven league matches, already forging a five-point lead at the top of the early table ahead of Genk and the aforementioned Club Brugge. Their comfortable win over newly-promoted Westerlo this weekend thanks to goals from former Tottenham Hotspur striker Vincent Janssen, Japanese international Koji Miyoshi and Ecuadorian teenager Anthony Valencia helped maintain that gap.
It is safe to say that new manager Mark van Bommel is having a much better time in Belgium than he was having at Wolfsburg, and the underlying xG numbers highlight just that. Royal Antwerp have one of the best defences in the league as well as the fourth-best attack, but Genk, the dot in the top right corner, stand out the most in this scattergram. Undoubtedly, Antwerp will face challenges from multiple opponents in their quest for a first league title in 65 years.
Royal Antwerp’s encouraging start to the season is not without controversy, though. The appointment of new Sporting Director Marc Overmars seems to be going well on the pitch, but there was a lot of displeasure surrounding his arrival because he resigned from Ajax after admitting to sending inappropriate messages and pictures to female colleagues. His presence led to a number of sponsors backing out and has also left a sour taste in the mouths of some fans as well as many neutrals.
Back in FotMob’s home league – the Norwegian Eliteserien – there were some major results in the title race this weekend. The only fixture on Saturday saw the two main contenders square off at the Aspmyra Stadium in Glimt. This was effectively a must-win fixture for the hosts as Molde held a seven-point lead at the top of the table prior to kick-off.
Erling Moe once again set his side up in a 3-5-2 formation, and his style of play was a perfect fit for the needs and context of this fixture. Bodø/Glimt were allowed to dominate possession and kept 65% of the ball, as the visitors were happy to sit compactly in their defensive shape, and then spring forward on the counterattack whenever such an opportunity presented itself.
That plan worked an absolute treat as Molde made the most of relatively limited opportunities and put four past their rivals. Our man of the match was left wing-back Kristoffer Haugen, who was not only solid in defence as he made 4/5 successful tackles and 5 recoveries, but also played a key role going forward by assisting two of the goals.
Consequently, Molde did extend their advantage at the top of the table to 10 points on Saturday night, but they knew it could go back down to seven if Lillestrøm, the league’s early pace-setters, beat local rivals Vålerenga in an Oslo derby on Sunday night. There was yet more good news in store for them, as Dag-Eilev Fagermo’s side did them a big favour.
With a greater lead at the top of the table (10) than the number of matches left this season (9), Molde surely are overwhelming favourites to lift their fifth-ever Eliteserien title and become the joint fourth-most successful side in the competition’s history alongside the two aforementioned Oslo clubs.
Cover Image from IMAGO
There’s never a dull moment in the Premier League. There were plenty of goals and even more drama across the games as the only winning streak in the league came to an end. Here, we look at some of the most interesting talking points.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Brighton were 1-0 down after one minute against Leicester City and it was 2-2 at the break.
But the second half was all Brighton as they racked up three goals to record an emphatic 5-2 win over the Foxes. It was a convincing performance from Graham Potter’s side after the interval as they created chances worth 1.78 Expected Goals (xG) compared to Leicester’s 0.09.
Alexis Mac Allister was the star of the show. The versatile midfielder had a goal of the season contender ruled out for a fractional offside before converting from the spot and firing home a free-kick deep into injury time.
The 23-year-old was the highest rated player, with FotMob giving him a 9.2. He finished the game having completed 100% of his dribbles and recovering the ball on nine occasions.
Mohamed Salah has just two goals to his name this season. He drew a blank in Liverpool’s 9-0 win over Bournemouth last weekend and struggled to get into the 0-0 draw with Everton, though he could’ve won it late on when Jordan Pickford palmed his effort onto the post.
What was interesting, however, was that his Expected Assists total in the Merseyside derby was actually higher than his xG total. The Liverpool No.11 created three chances against Frank Lampard’s side and this has been a theme throughout the 2022/23 campaign.
No player has created more chances than Salah (24) and only one other player has created over 20 – Kevin De Bruyne. Despite this, he has just two assists to his name. He is being judged on goals when he is the man pulling the strings this season.
Marcus Rashford has now scored against Liverpool and Arsenal.
He netted a double against the table-topping Gunners and assisted Antony’s debut goal as Erik ten Hag’s team claimed a 3-1 over their rivals.
Rashford was tasked with leading the line, sandwiched between Jadon Sancho and Antony. The 24-year-old also created two chances to round off his best performance of the season for the Red Devils.
Remarkably, Rashford is now only one goal shy of his 2021/22 Premier League goals haul. He is on target to hit double figures for the fourth time in five campaigns.
Last week, we mentioned how Nottingham Forest have the worst defensive record in the Premier League in terms of Expected Goals Conceded and that they cannot keep giving up high-value opportunities if they are to extend their stay in the top flight.
The good news is they only allowed Bournemouth to create opportunities worth 0.78 xG. The bad news is they lost 3-2 having been 2-0 up at the break.
Steve Cooper’s side had more of the ball, more shots and better chances yet couldn’t convert it into a win. It is now the fourth successive match in which Forest have conceded two or more goals.
Chelsea spent over £150million on defensive reinforcements this summer, signing Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana. All three started against West Ham United but it was a player the Blues signed on a free who impressed.
Thiago Silva, who turns 38 this month, put in a colossal performance as Thomas Tuchel’s side came from behind to claim an important 2-1 win.
He attempted 105 passes and found a teammate with 93% of them. He won 100% of his tackles, 83% of his ground duels and 67% of his aerial duels. Silva more than deserved his 8.5 FotMob rating.
(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.
The best action to follow this weekend
🏴 There’s a front-heavy look about the match feed in your app this weekend and the English Premier League provides its fair share of that with eight games lined up for Saturday.
And they start with one of the league’s classic rivalries – the Merseyside Derby between Everton and Liverpool. A game that the Toffees have not won at their Goodison Park home since way back in 2010.
There was, of course, the win at Anfield during the COVID disrupted 2020/21 season but other than that, this Derby has been rather one sided in recent years. This season, Liverpool started slow but now look to be at the races after home wins over Bournemouth and Newcastle in the past week. Everton are one of the three sides left in the division yet to win a game but they have drawn their last two, with Anthony Gordon on target in both.
There’s another Derby later in the day as West meets East in London. A win over West Ham could be just the result to kick-start what’s been a surprisingly slow start to the season for Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea. But the same could be said for David Moye’s goal shy Hammers – they’ve found the net just twice and have the 19th worst record, in the league, in terms of big chances created.
Also on Saturday’s slate – we’ll see how unbeaten Spurs fare against Fulham, another London side who’ve been strong at home but weaker on their travels. And then there’s Manchester City against the bang out-of-form Aston Villa. Has Steven Gerrard got a plan to stop Erling Haaland’s run of hat-tricks? Or otherwise stem the flow of goals from the rest of Pep Guardiola’s side?
🏴 North of Hadrian’s Wall (one for the UK history fans), there’s another huge derby as the two sides of Glasgow meet at Celtic Park. As usual, Celtic and Rangers sit first and second in the Scottish Premiership, even at this early stage in the campaign, and both remain unbeaten after five rounds.
Ange Postecoglou’s defending champions have racked up an amazing 21 goals and conceded just once so far and come in to this game off the back of last weekend’s 9-0 win at Dundee United. That was a game in which two of their strikers (Furuhashi and Abada) both scored hat-tricks. For their part, Rangers are unbeaten in eight across all competitions and eased past Queen of the South in a midweek League Cup tie.
These meetings are never short of drama and a result for either side will set them up nicely for their rather ‘challenging’ looking fixtures in the Champions League – Celtic play Real Madrid on Tuesday whilst Rangers travel to Ajax on Wednesday!
🇮🇹 Not to be outdone, Serie A offers up Italy’s biggest game for our entertainment on Saturday: The Derby della Madonnina.
And whilst injury will deny us a re-match between Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimović and Inter’s Romelu Lukaku, there’s still plenty to look forward to as the sides on either side of the San Siro corridors clash out on the pitch. Milan pipped Inter to the title back in May and although the defending champions are unbeaten four rounds in to the new season, it’s Inter who are currently one point better off.
After getting lucky in their opening day win over Lecce, they’ve beaten Spezia and Cremonese convincingly but did suffer a heavy defeat against Lazio. Milan have had a tougher run on paper – winning their two home games but drawing at both Atalanta and Sassuolo.
Recent results between the two clubs have been really mixed but Milan may well still be smarting from the defeat that Inter handed out in their most recent meeting – the semi-final of last season’s Coppa Italia. Inter not only denied Milan a chance of the double but went on to lift the Cup themselves after victory over Juventus.
🇩🇪 We don’t just have world famous derby games to look forward to this weekend, the fixtures Gods have also provided some early season top of the table clashes, in both the Bundesliga and LaLiga.
In Germany, that means we get the spectacle of free-scoring Bayern (at least when they don’t come up against Gladbach’s Yann Sommer) versus Union Berlin, who are enjoying an unprecedented start to what is just their third top flight campaign. Union will have home advantage for this one and will be confident of getting something against the 10-time reigning champions, having already hit three past city rivals Hertha, beaten Leipzig, and smashed Schalke for six last weekend. Not that we would ever dare write off Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern side before a ball is kicked!
Also on Saturday – third placed Freiburg take on Leverkusen – the side who finished third last season but have started so poorly. That said, they did end their run of three defeats with a solid 3-0 win at Mainz in Round 4.
🇪🇸 They’ve played a game less in LaLiga but after three rounds only Real Madrid and Real Betis – their opponents on Saturday – can boast a 100% record. The two sides who sit at the top of the Spanish table will put that to the test at the Santiago Bernabéu where the ongoing redevelopment project has progressed sufficiently to allow Madrid to play their first home game of the season.
Another of the day’s most intriguing match-ups comes as Barcelona travel to Sevilla, a clash between two of the league’s best sides, who’ve also been linked through their various dealings during the summer transfer window. The two club’s administrative staff will be sick of the sight of each other.
After the fanfare surrounding Saturday’s stellar line-up of games has subsided, your match feed might be looking a little quieter come Sunday morning. You can blame UEFA for that(!) with the group stages in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League all starting in the upcoming week.
🏴 That’s not to say there isn’t the odd high quality fixture – not least in the Premier League where giants Manchester United and Arsenal clash at Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag’s side have certainly steadied the ship with back-to-back wins against Liverpool, Southampton and then Leicester, on Thursday night. And they could feature their new big money signing, Antony, for the first time against the Gunners.
The Londoners are the Premier League leaders going in to the weekend having been the only side to win all five of their opening games. This could be a match that gives us a real indication as to where both clubs stand following their respective squad overhauls in the summer.
The day’s only other game in England’s top flight comes as Brighton & Hove Albion take on Leicester, the side who remain winless and rooted to the bottom of the table.
🇮🇹 Back in Serie A, the highest ranked side in action on Sunday are José Mourinho’s joint-leaders Roma. Unbeaten, and with their big signing Paulo Dybala seemingly finding his form after two goals against Monza, they visit Udinese. The Pozzo-backed club have proved tough to beat so far this season with their only defeat coming after they’d twice found the net against Milan (they eventually lost 4-2).
🇪🇸 There are four games scheduled in LaLiga, with two of those featuring unbeaten sides. In fact, both Athletic Club and Villarreal have identical records following two wins and a draw, and they’ve both found the net five times, while conceding nothing at the other end. Athletic Club will test that impressive record with a home game against Espanyol and Unai Emery’s Villarreal welcome Elche to the Cerámica.
🇫🇷 With PSG in action at Nantes on Saturday night, our attention will be on various other contenders (albeit outsiders) in Ligue 1 this weekend. Lens – who currently boast the same record as the superstar Parisians and have scored 11 goals in their last three fixtures will look to continue that form when they play away at Stade Reims.
And elsewhere, two sides who made the European places last season but have so far failed to meet expectations in the new campaign are set to meet on the Riviera. Nice and Monaco may start their respective groups in the Europa Conference League, and Europa League in the coming week, but both will be looking for just their second win of the domestic season in what is France’s headline game on Sunday night.
🇳🇴 Not to be outdone by goings on elsewhere in Europe over the weekend, we’ll leave you with the big Eliteserien Derby that’s taking place in Norway’s capital of Oslo. Fifth placed Vålerenga face traditional rivals Lillestrøm, who hail from a region that borders the city. LSK currently lie third and were the early pacesetters in the league back in Spring – a period in which they beat Vålerenga 2-0 in the previous fixture between the two. A outside chance of the title is still on the cards for them, but much depends on the result between the top two – Molde and Bodø/Glimt – who play each other on Saturday night.
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.
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Cover Image from IMAGO
This is quickly turning into a season of goal gluts and shock results. The first midweek round of fixtures in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign is now over and we’re taking a look at some of the biggest talking points.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick for a second successive match during Manchester City’s 6-0 win over Nottingham Forest. The powerhouse Norweigian forward now has nine goals in five appearances for the champions. His return is even more remarkable when you realise he didn’t find the back of the net against Bournemouth.
He put on a finishing clinic against Forest, scoring three times from just four attempts. The former BVB striker is arguably the most ruthless striker in the world right now. Is this sustainable though? His shots this season have an Expected Goals value of 5.3. Can he keep this overperformance up over a long period of time?
Fulham have taken eight points from their five outings this season, of which seven have been claimed at Craven Cottage. Marco Silva’s men have drawn with Liverpool on home soil and beaten both Brentford and Brighton.
After narrowly losing to Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday, Fulham bounced back against an in-form Brighton side to end Graham Potter’s side’s unbeaten start to the campaign.
They were, however, a tad fortunate on Tuesday night. The hosts did have more shots but fewer big chances and a significantly lower expected goals haul – 0.68 – 1.42. You do have to consider the fact that a large chunk of Brighton’s total will have been made up of the penalty.
The Seagulls did have a number of efforts from good central areas though whereas Fulham did not. Ultimately, all that matters though is that Craven Cottage is quickly turning into a fortress.
Fabio Carvalho was the match winner for Liverpool against Newcastle United, firing an effort in off the bar in the 98th minute to claim all three points for the hosts. It was his second goal inside of a week and his third goal involvement for the Reds in his last three appearances.
The 20-year-old has had three shots on target for Jürgen Klopp’s side. Remarkably, all three have somehow resulted in a goal.
Against Manchester United, his effort was parried into the path of Mohamed Salah who headed past David De Gea. Against Bournemouth, he expertly arrowed a volley beyond Mark Travers and then he somehow found a way past the 1.91m Nick Pope from close range.
Carvalho has been the definition of an impact sub for Liverpool.
Nottingham Forest suffered a heavy defeat against Manchester City and this, to an extent, can be excused. City are no strangers to racking up big wins in the Premier League.
However, they have the highest Expected Goals Conceded total in the Premier League and are the only team with an xG conceded total in double figures – 11.2 to be precise.
The focus seems to be on Bournemouth following the 9-0 loss to Liverpool but Forest are giving up lots of chances on a weekly basis. Steve Cooper is going to have to figure out a way to shore things up.
A big test is on the cards this weekend with Bournemouth making the trip to the City Ground.
Jamie Vardy was once a prolific goalscorer. All he needed was half a chance and the ball would be in the back of the net. This season, he is yet to get off the mark.
The 35-year-old didn’t manage a single shot in the defeat to Manchester United. In fact, he’s managed just four efforts across his 402 minutes on the pitch for the Foxes. Of those four, just one has worked the goalkeeper.
However, he does have an expected goals total of 1.18, so he is still getting into high value areas but he’s yet to find his shooting boots. Brendan Rodgers desperately needs his No9 to rediscover the Midas touch.
(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.
It’s time for our (belated) round-up of all the main talking points from the weekend’s football in Spain.
By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert
It is hard to believe Barcelona failed to score in their opening LaLiga game of the season. Xavi’s side have hit eight since – four away to Real Sociedad and four more in Saturday’s 4-0 win at home to Real Valladolid. Of those eight goals, summer signing Robert Lewandowski has four. The Pole helped himself to two with a pair of fabulous finishes at Camp Nou – lifting his boot high to poke home the first and pulling off an outrageous back-heel through a defender’s legs for the second – on Saturday and also hit the woodwork twice.
“I would underline, apart from his goals, his perfect timing for receiving the ball, his movements and how he protects the ball,” Xavi said afterwards. “He is an extraordinary player. Spectacular. He’s a natural leader. It’s wonderful to have him. A blessing. He’s an example. He’s a born worker. He has humility. He works for the team. He helps the coaching staff. He makes the difference.”
High praise for a special player. Lewandowski already leads LaLiga’s scoring charts and although he may not be a signing for the long term at 34 years old, he has already revolutionised the team’s attack.
There were other good performances too. Jules Koundé made an assured debut after he was finally registered in time to play in LaLiga this season, Alejandro Balde is taking his chance at left-back, Ousmane Dembélé impressed with two assists and Marc-Andre ter Stegen looks to be getting back to his best in goal.
Seven points from nine, eight goals scored and only one conceded. “It wasn’t the perfect match,” Xavi said. “But we’re on the right path.”
A few kilometres across town, Real Madrid met Espanyol later on Saturday and Los Blancos left it late to take all three points this time. As so often in the past few seasons, Karim Benzema was the match-winner, the French forward converting with two late strikes – a neat finish at the far post after 88 minutes following a delightful Rodrygo cross and a well-placed free-kick deep into added time past outfield player Leandro Cabrera after goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte had been sent off.
Vinícius Júnior had earlier given Real Madrid the lead, but that was cancelled out by a Joselu goal and Los Blancos struggled to find their groove until Benzema’s two late strikes. It was not Real Madrid’s most convincing performance, but the win leaves them top of the table – above Real Betis on goal difference – with maximum points after their three matches.
“We started very well, we scored and then we dipped,” Carlo Ancelotti said. “After their equaliser, it was more complicated. Little by little, we upped our rhythm, we found more intensity and it paid off in the end.”
Much of that was due to the substitutions. Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga made Madrid more aggressive, Rodrygo’s pass set up Benzema for the all-important second and Dani Ceballos forced the late red card.
“We decided on players with great physical qualities,” Ancelotti said. “We had a lot of spaces and we made the most of our physical advantage in the latter part of the second half.”
With renovation works ongoing at the Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid have had to play their first three games away from home – and they have won them all. “I’m very satisfied,” Ancelotti said. “It hasn’t been easy to win the three games away from home, but we are in a very positive dynamic.”
Antoine Griezmann’s minutes at Atletico Madrid are limited at the moment and that is not by chance. Atlético will be obliged to pay Barcelona €40 million if the France forward completes more than 45 minutes in 50% of the matches this season and they do not have the funds. So he is being used sparingly. Griezmann came off the bench with just under half an hour left and his deflected strike saw Atleti beat Valencia in a hard-fought encounter at Mestalla in which the Rojiblancos had little of the ball, but better chances than the home side. The World Cup winner also netted after coming off the bench in Atlético’s 3-0 win at Getafe on the opening weekend.
“When Griezmann responds like that, it is very important to have him on the pitch,” Atlético coach Diego Simeone said. “I understand we have to put him on when it best suits the team.” And the club, apparently.
That is two wins from three for Atlético and a decent reaction after last weekend’s loss at home to Villarreal.
Valencia, meanwhile, have just three points from nine and only one goal (a Carlos Soler penalty) to their name this season. New signing Edinson Cavani should help.
Real Betis beat Osasuna 1-0 at the Benito Villamarīn, with striker Borja Iglesias on target again. But they were made to work hard for their third win this season after German Pezzella was sent off. “I don’t know if the word is to suffer, but we had to defend,” coach Manuel Pellegrini said. “We have worked hard to reduce the number of goals we are conceding.”
So far, so good. Betis are behind LaLiga leaders Real Madrid on goal difference alone. Next weekend, the two teams meet at the Santiago Bernabéu and by then, the Andalusians hope to have summer signings Claudio Bravo and Willian José registered and available. “We have a tough calendar and we are missing two important players,” Pellegrini said. “We are going to need them.”
While Betis are flying, their city rivals are still struggling. Sevilla have just one point from their three games following Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Almería and their fans are already starting to show their frustration. “Nobody wanted this,” sporting director Monchi said. “But I’m sure we will turn it around.” Patience is running out, though. And up next is a huge test for coach Julen Lopetegui as Barcelona visit the Sánchez Pizjuán next weekend.
Also in Andalucia, Athletic Club found form in front of goal with a 4-0 win at bottom-of-the-table Cádiz. Iñaki Williams opened the scoring and also missed a penalty, while his second-half replacement Gorka Guruzeta netted twice – his first goals in Spain’s top flight. “There is a long way to go and we have only just started,” coach Ernesto Valverde said. “We want to be more solid in our play, but it was a great game.” Valverde, in his third spell at the club, now has more wins for Athletic than any other coach in the club’s history. And after three games, the Basques are up to fourth.
Villarreal, still unbeaten but held to a goalless draw at Getafe on Sunday, drop down to fifth.
(Images from IMAGO)
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After a month of fixtures, there’s a surprise at the top of the Bundesliga – well, not quite at the very top – but all around Bayern München are clubs not that used to the dizzy heights of the Champions League placings.
By Chris Williams, our Bundesliga expert
Urs Fischer’s side have exceeded all expectations so far. Comfortably now the best team in the capital, Die Eisernen built upon their opening derby-day win over Hertha by dispatching RB Leipzig and then Schalke with optimum ease.
Scoring 11 goals across four games, only a 0-0 draw with Mainz on Matchday 2 has stopped Union from topping the table – 10 points from a possible 12 is their return, the same as perennial champions Bayern München.
Jordan Pefok and Sheraldo Becker have lit the league up as a partnership. With seven goals, the duo have also notched up 11 goals and assists combined.
Becker leads the way slightly with four strikes – increasing to six when factoring in his assists. This gives the Dutch-born Surinamese forward a goal every 75 minutes. It might be early days but he’s the man to beat in the race for the coveted Torjägerkanone, the Bundesliga’s top-scorer trophy.
Such was Union’s dominance in their last game against Schalke, second-half substitute Sven Michel even managed to grab two goals despite only being on the pitch for 19 minutes.
It was a performance that saw the 32-year-old join teammate Becker in the FotMob Bundesliga Team of the Week for match week four.
Yann Sommer has been linked with a move away from Gladbach during this transfer window. Manchester United was touted as one possible destination; to challenge the under-pressure David de Gea, but, the 33-year-old showed why he is no one’s understudy last Friday against Bayern.
The Swiss shot-stopper broke a Bundesliga record under the lights at the Allianz Stadium. Facing 20 shots on target, he pulled off an incredible 19 saves. Beaten just the once, late on by Leroy Sané, he almost saw off an xGOT of 4.33 in its entirety.
As the clock ticked past 80 minutes it looked like Gladbach’s wall wouldn’t be breached, but eventually, Bayern’s pressure told. Had it not been for Sommer, Die Fohlen would have left without a well-earned point.
Christian Streich’s side from the Black Forest have consistently punched above their weight in the Bundesliga. Their size and financial reach should realistically find the Breisgau-Brasilianer in the bottom half of the table.
However, true to their 90’s nickname (so called because of their attractive style of play in the 1990s – the ‘Brazilians of Breisgau’), their brand of football more often than not sees them challenging for a Europa League place.
This season is no different, three wins from a possible four finds Sterich’s men in third place just one point behind Union and Bayern.
They have a highly experienced side, from the World Cup winning mentality of Matthias Ginter to the artful presence of Vincenzo Grifo. Often described as a team greater than the sum of its parts, Freiburg are one to watch.
It will be interesting to see (like Union) how they balance Europa League football with their domestic challenges.
The Champions League trio of Dortmund, Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen find themselves in 5th, 9th and 13th respectively – not the best start when you consider how thick and fast the games are about to come in September.
Three opening defeats saw Leverkusen head coach Gerardo Seoane put under immediate pressure, but a 3-0 win away at Mainz on Matchday Four has tapped a slight release valve on the air around the Swiss tactician.
Out of the three early strugglers, it is Leverkusen who have arguably the more winnable matches in September, another set of failures over the coming four weeks could signal the first dugout departure of the season.
(Images from IMAGO)
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We’re back with the last word on the weekend’s action in Italy’s top flight, where Inter failed to impress, Juve continue to confuse, and Milan’s big signing got his first start.
By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert
Inter’s 3-1 loss away to Lazio opened up plenty of criticism for a few figures in the nerazzurri dressing room. The team were outplayed and out-managed, with Romelu Lukaku and Simone Inzaghi receiving the lowest scores from the Italian media. Let’s start with Lukaku, who looked like a shadow of the player that terrorised Serie A two seasons ago. He seemed to be lacking in sharpness and fitness in this game and never really troubled Lazio the way you thought he might against a Maurizio Sarri style of play that takes a lot of chances.
Then there’s the manager, Simone Inzaghi, who was criticised for starting Roberto Gagliardini from the first minute instead of the more attack-minded Hakan Çalhanoglu. Inter’s midfield was never able to take control of the game or neutralise the threat of Lazio’s very talented midfield unit. Inzaghi’s substitutions also didn’t help, especially when Denzel Dumfries (who was one of the best players on the field) was taken off in the 69th minute.
Inter have also had a hard time getting the same quality out of their left wingback position since Ivan Perišić was sold in the summer to Tottenham. While Robin Gosens seems a more than capable replacement on paper, Perišić’s impact last season cannot be overstated, especially in the attacking half.
Inzaghi only has a few days to get things sorted before his midweek match against newly promoted Cremonese, followed by the Derby Della Madonnina this weekend against city rivals, Milan.
Can the real Juventus please stand up? The opening three matches of the season have given us more questions than answers regarding the Turin based giants, especially with how wildly different their home form has been to what we saw last week away to Sampdoria. That game was one of the Bianconeri’s most dull and lifeless in recent memory, so there was considerable worry for their upcoming match against José Mourinho’s Roma.
However, we got to see the attack-minded Juve that coach Max Allegri had promised over the summer. In the first half, Juventus absolutely dominated Roma, both in quality and intensity. Roma lost nearly every 50/50, and were lucky to only be a goal down. Mourinho revealed after the match that he told his team he was ashamed of them after the awful performance from the first half.
Even though Roma got a goal back after a sensational Paulo Dybala volley led to Tammy Abraham’s headed goal, it was a result that didn’t capture the level of control that Juventus showed. Allegri should be thrilled about a few individual performances in particular. Dušan Vlahović scored a world class free kick in the second minute, just a week on from the Sampdoria game where he recorded only three total touches in the first half and was visibly frustrated. The teenager, Fabio Miretti also proved that he belong on the highest stage after being handed his first start of the season in midfield. Miretti looked composed and confident on the ball, often driving forward with purpose and picking out the right pass. The stats showed it too; he had more passes into the final third than any other player in the first half, which gave the much maligned Juventus midfield a spark they desperately needed.
Milan’s win at San Siro against Bologna also saw the first Serie A start for their big summer signing Charles De Ketelaere. The Belgian was lined up in the “trequartista” position (no.10 role) just behind Olivier Giroud. He was influential straight away, often times receiving the ball near the halfway line and being able to evade his marker using his strength and deceptive pace. What’s remarkable about De Ketelaere is how much balance he has for a player that tall (192cm or 6’4), and how elegant the long strider looks when he takes off. On a few occasions he was knocked around but stayed on his feet using his acceleration to drive down the middle of the field. Thankfully, it wasn’t just his physical attributes that made him standout, as his biggest contribution was through his passing and vision. De Ketelaere had an assist for Rafael Leão’s goal and should’ve gotten a second through a beautifully lobbed ball to find centre-back Pierre Kalulu, who botched his one on one effort.
Milan fans noticed the Belgian’s talent straight away, with audible emotion any time he was in possession. It’s hard not to get carried away at this point, as it’s been quite some time since a Milan signing generated this sort of excitement. De Ketelaere is now days away from his first Milan derby against Inter, which would be the perfect time for the youngster to set the foundations for a legendary reputation with his new club.
(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.