It turned out to be a fairly decisive weekend in the Premier League. Manchester City were crowned champions without even kicking a ball following a shock defeat for Arsenal while Newcastle United booked their place in the Champions League. Relegation is still yet to be decided though. Here’s a look at how it all went down.
Champions League football returns to St. James’ Park
Following Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday, Newcastle knew a point at home against relegation-threatened Leicester City would be enough to guarantee them a top-four finish.
The Foxes needed at least a point to aid them in their bid to beat the drop but manager Dean Smith made a few questionable decisions ahead of kick-off, dropping James Maddison and Harvey Barnes while deploying a 5-3-2 shape.
Did it pay off? They got their point but they had zero control on the outcome of the game. Newcastle peppered the Leicester goal, racking up an xG of 2.19 and having 23 shots. By comparison, the Foxes had their first and only shot of the game in the 92nd minute.
The 2015/16 Premier League champions now need to beat West Ham on the final day of the season and hope Bournemouth pick up at least a point against Everton in order to survive.
The Toffees get out of a sticky situation
Everton left it late, really late in fact, to claim a point against Wolves.
Yerry Mina put all of his 6ft5 frame to good use to poke home an all-important equaliser in the 99th minute to give the Blues a deserved point. Sean Dyche’s men had created more big chances on the day than their opponents and had a higher xG.
The point at Molineux now means a point at home to Bournemouth next weekend could well be enough to keep them up.
Mina was comfortably the Player-of-the-Match for the Toffees after he dominated the opposition in duels, winning 86% of his ground duels and 75% of his aerial duels. His equaliser was just the cherry on top.
Forest remain planted in the Premier League
It was a game of few opportunities. Arsenal dominated the ball against Nottingham Forest with 82% possession but the hosts found a winner and in the process secured their place in the English top-flight.
Taiwo Awoniyi scored his fifth goal in his last three appearances for Steve Cooper’s side. During this run, Forest have taken seven points from a possible nine as they have moved away from the relegation fight.
The defeat at the City Ground also ended Arsenal’s slim hopes of the title. It has been a disappointing end to the season for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta’s side have won just four of their last 10, taking 15 points from a possible 30 as their title bid came to a premature end.
Brighton’s European adventure
Roberto De Zerbi’s men have been a real Jekyll and Hyde team as of late.
They lost 5-1 to Everton before putting on a show in the 3-0 win against Arsenal at the Emirates. They then lost 4-1 to Newcastle having made a host of surprising changes to their starting XI.
Brighton got back to winning ways again against Southampton though, running out 3-1 winners in what was a fairly one-sided game. The Seagulls racked up an xG of 2.53 to book their place in Europe next season.
Alexis Mac Allister was the star of the show for De Zerbi’s side, creating seven chances, completing 80% of his dribbles and winning 88% of his ground duels.
No new manager bounce for Leeds United
Leeds surrendered a lead for a second successive week under Sam Allardyce.
They find themselves 19th in the Premier League table and need a big win on the final day against Spurs to have any hope of leapfrogging Everton and retaining their place in the league for another season.
Allardyce will no doubt be disappointed with his team. West Ham created more chances and went looking for the win in the second half, with an xG of 1.44 after the break. Jarrod Bowen got a goal and an assist, while also creating four chances on the day as he claimed the highest FotMob rating (8.7).
(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.
League honours are being handed out all over the place as we approach the end of May, so between repeat champions, streaks ending and first-time winners, we have got a nice mix of stories in this Monday’s column.
The Premier League title race has been enthralling throughout the season, but it came to a rather anticlimactic end this weekend.
In fairness, we might have started to see this coming at the start of April, when Arsenal dropped points in three consecutive fixtures leading up to their showdown against Manchester City. Only one outcome seemed inevitable after they lost that game, but even thereafter, Arsenal’s title charge seems to have gone out with a whimper.
In the post-match celebrations after Manchester City’s win over Everton, Pep Guardiola was seen indicating “two more” to the fans, referencing the number of wins needed for his side to mathematically seal the title without any external help. Ultimately, though, they ended up needing nothing more. Arsenal lost to Brighton later that day, and were playing first at the home of relegation-battlers Nottingham Forest this weekend.
The hosts’ season thus far had been rather topsy-turvy. After closing out the table for a good chunk of the first half of the season, Forest underwent a post-World Cup resurgence and climbed as high as 13th. But then, a run of 11 matches without a win saw them sink back into the relegation zone heading into the home stretch of the season. Then, a couple of massive wins against Brighton and Southampton and a draw with Chelsea pulled them back out of the danger zone and even gave them the chance to seal their safety here.
Beating the second-best side in the country was never going to be easy, so Forest had to dig deep to get the job done. Their top scorer Taiwo Awoniyi gave them the lead 18 minutes in, and they would go on to keep just 18% of possession overall! Steve Cooper’s side did a great job defensively against a rejigged Arsenal side, restricting them to just seven shots from inside the box.
And so, after a very long 90 minutes plus stoppage time, there was a big release of tension and eruption of celebrations at the City Ground, which will remain a Premier League stadium.
If you do not believe that we live in the most unique timeline, then this weekend’s Bundesliga action should have changed your mind. Almost everyone following the league was supporting RB Leipzig, who are generally the most-despised club in the country. The reason behind this sudden change of heart was that they were playing league leaders Bayern Munich, who risked ceding the top spot on the penultimate matchday if they failed to win.
After watching them dominate for a decade, though, any sensible Bundesliga fan knows not to harbour high hopes of Bayern Munich faltering. So, when Serge Gnabry opened the scoring in the 25th minute, many would have started resigning to what they saw was the inevitable.
But Leipzig kept themselves in the game, and, after a counterattack in the 65th minute, equalised through Konrad Laimer. That was enough to potentially dethrone Bayern, but the visitors’ primary objective for this match was to seal a Champions League spot with a win, so they scored twice more from the penalty spot.
Bayern therefore suffered their ninth loss of the season in all competitions and fourth since the sacking of Julian Nagelsmann, which is looking an increasingly worse decision as time goes on. The following afternoon, Dortmund went to Augsburg and got the job done with a three-goal win, leaving themselves one step away from the Meisterschale.
Just behind them, the other major consequence of this result is that it only leaves one more Champions League spot open, which means that either Union Berlin or Freiburg will end their season with a tinge of disappointment. Not all dreams can be realised, but let us hope that at least a couple are.
Speaking of dreams being realised, we certainly had some in Romania this weekend as Farul Constanța were crowned champions for the first time ever.
Their story is truly incredible. Founded in 1920, they have quite a storied history which includes all sorts of stuff except a major title. Therefore, their biggest claim to fame likely was the fact that they forged Gheorghe Hagi, Romania’s greatest footballer. There was a time when it appeared that he would outlive them, as the club went bankrupt in 2016 after a period of gross mismanagement.
The Farul name was only kept alive thanks to a proxy club created by a group of fans, which was eventually bought by big-name owners. Hagi, meanwhile, was doing his own thing in Constanța as he set up a youth academy and eventually a senior club named Viitorul Constanța. The word ‘Viitorul’ translates to ‘future’, so you can imagine what they were all about. Eventually, in 2017, a youthful Viitorul side won the Liga 1 title with Hagi as their owner and manager.
Hagi’s biggest dream, however, was to take over Farul and guide them to glory. He could not work towards it initially due to their management issues, but the bankruptcy and rebirth provided him with a golden opportunity. Eventually, he struck a deal to merge the two clubs under the Farul name in 2021.
Now, in just their second season after the merger, Farul have lifted their first-ever major trophy with Hagi at the helm. They fended off back-to-back champions CFR Cluj for most of the season and survived a late charge from FCSB, who even took a two-goal lead in this weekend’s decisive match that saw them go to the top of the table as things stood. But, a second half turnaround saw Farul find a fairytale ending to their fantastic story.
Sticking to the theme of first-time title winners, we had another such story in Cyprus this weekend. After their local rivals defeated second-placed record champions APOEL, Aris Limassol were crowned champions of Cyprus for the first time in their 93-year existence.
Obviously, this is the highest of highs for a team that has spent most of its years as a bit of yo-yo club between the country’s top two divisions. Indeed, Aris are regarded as the third club of Limassol, where the Apollon-AEL rivalry certainly is the biggest and most intense.
The turning point for Aris came in 2021, when they not only won the second division to return to the top flight but also were taken over by Russian investor Vladimir Fedorov. Under him, the club adopted a modern and data-driven management approach that seems to have been a key factor in their rapid rise to success.
They finished fourth last season to play continental football for the first time ever in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers, where they were eliminated in the first round. They will have a chance to do much better now as they enter the UEFA Champions League qualifiers by virtue of being champions.
The key behind their success has been finding the right form at the right time. After exchanging top spot with a couple of other contenders in the early weeks of the season, Aris never topped the table until after the split. They now have a 16-match unbeaten streak under their belt which has taken them to this title, as they took advantage of the likes of APOEL and AEK Larnaca slipping up.
Given how they are operating behind the scenes, this could well just be the start of a golden era for Aris.
Fans of the away goals rule will love the result of the CAF Champions League semi-final between the South African champions and Wydad Casablanca, whose title defence continued as a result of it.
After a goalless draw in the first leg when Sundowns ended the match with just nine players on the pitch, they would have backed themselves to get the job done at home. Indeed, they were the favourites going into this tie and are unanimously regarded as the best side on the continent at the moment. Wydad, meanwhile, changed managers and appointed Sven Vandenbroeck just a few days prior to the first leg, so they were not having the best of times.
The Belgian coach did very well to prepare his side to dig deep and defend in South Africa, where the hosts largely dominated the match. They took a deserved lead just after half-time, but then suddenly seemed to lose control of the match and allowed Wydad to start creating chances. The visitors knew they would have to make the most of what they got, and they equalised in the 72nd minute.
The pressure was back on Sundowns due to the away goals rule, and they responded quickly by retaking the lead before the 80th minute. Soon thereafter, though, they conceded an own goal after a free-kick to put themselves at risk again and were ultimately eliminated on away goals.
As a result, Sundowns went out of the CAF Champions League despite being unbeaten in their 10 games in the tournament. On the other hand, Wydad have set up a date against record-finalists Al Ahly (a repeat of last year’s final) by beating the South African champions despite never having won a game in that country.
Our final match features FotMob’s hometown club SK Brann, who are enjoying some great times at the moment. After bouncing right back up to Eliteserien by accumulating over 80 points in the second tier last season, they have enjoyed a great start to the league and put together a memorable cup run.
As the Norwegian football calendar still recovers from the pandemic, the recently-concluded cup was played on a cross-year schedule as opposed to the usual year-round schedule. So, Brann started their run in the second division and ended it as a top-flight club.
Brann’s first cup match of 2023 was the Round of 16 tie against Haugesund, whom they beat 3-1. After putting three past quarter-finalists Sandefjord, Brann set up a semi-final date with fellow Eliteserien newcomers Stabæk. A 2-0 win in that game saw the boys from Brann head to the Ullevaal Stadion for their first cup final in over a decade.
Their opponents this weekend were Lillestrøm, who were looking to win their first major trophy in six years. That was not to be for Geir Bakke’s side, as goals from Ole Blomberg and the prolific Bård Finne meant that Brann won their first cup title since 2004.
They have absolutely no time to rest on their laurels, though, as the change back to a year-round format for the cup sees the first round of the 2023 competition start today. Here we go again!
In this weekend preview we summarise the best five games to follow on your match feed. And make a couple of suggestions for matches that you may otherwise miss.
We’ve reached the penultimate round in the Bundesliga season with the title yet to be decided and Bayern sitting just one point above Borussia Dortmund. But things could all be confirmed over the course of the weekend. Or, failing that, everything will go down to an exciting final round!
Of the four remaining games faced by the two title challengers, Bayern’s clash with third placed RB Leipzig – on Saturday – looks by far the most complicated. Leipzig are eight points down on the leaders but still need a win of their own to confirm their place in next season’s Champions League.
A Bayern victory, combined with any slip-ups for Dortmund in their game at Bayern’s Bavarian neighbours Augsburg – on Sunday – would guarantee that the 10-time title holders would extend their current run of dominance.
A defeat, combined with a Dortmund win, could be catastrophic after a season of complications off the field (Julian Nagelsmann’s sacking) and relative failures on it (the Champions League run). At least in the eyes of the Bayern board, and fanbase. Everybody else concerned with German football might fancy a final weekend where somebody else still has a chance of lifting the Meisterschale.
Most of the talk in English football this week has been around Manchester City overwhelming Real Madrid in the Champions League to reach this year’s final. And just the second final in the club’s history. But while Pep Guardiola’s squad bask in that glory, there’s the small matter of the Premier League to be won.
The equation is fairly simple: City have three games left to play in what is a particularly busy final week of the season. The first of which comes at home to Chelsea on Sunday. They currently have a four point advantage over Arsenal, who only play twice, meaning that one victory for City secures what will be their fifth title in the last six seasons.
They may not even need to do that should Nottingham Forest follow what Brighton did to Arsenal last weekend and beat them when the two clash at the City Ground on Saturday.
Chelsea have nothing to play for but pride and the knowledge that last time Manchester City reached the Champions League Final, in 2021, it was them who stopped them winning it. Chelsea fans may want to forget about the five meetings between the sides that have taken place since then – a run that includes defeats in the league, Carabao Cup, and FA Cup this season alone.
The destination of the Liga Portugal can also be decided on Sunday. And much like Barcelona did at city rivals Espanyol in Spain last weekend, current leaders Benfica can claim the league at their Lisbon neighbours, Sporting.
With two rounds to play, Benfica have a four point cushion on Porto, their other arch-rivals, who play on Saturday night. Presuming the defending champions win that, at mid-table Famalicão, Benfica will then know what they need to do. A win would be definitive. To put themselves back on top after three seasons without league honours at the home of their rivals has got to be the ultimate carrot for Roger Schmidt’s side. And it will cap a fine season after the Eagles also impressed in the Champions League before bowing out to eventual finalists Inter at the quarter-final stage.
LaLiga is, of course, already decided but that’s not to say there isn’t plenty of intrigue in the league over the next few days. And on Sunday, El Gran Derbi takes centre-stage as Sevilla and Real Betis meet in one of Spain’s fiercest derbies.
Since FotMob records began with the start of the app (around 2010), it’s Sevilla who have had the upper hand, winning 58% of the games played in that time. But this season, at least domestically speaking, it’s Betis who’ve fared better. They currently lie sixth in the table and although they haven’t won at the home of their rivals since 2018 doing so now will keep hopes alive that they can still finish in the Champions League places.
For Sevilla, this game comes at the end of a week in which they beat Juventus, after extra-time, in order to take their almost obligatory place in the final of the Europa League. That was a massive effort, particularly from experienced campaigners such as Ivan Rakitic (our MOTM on the night). And one that may take its toll on their remaining league games.
Under the stewardship of José Luis Mendilibar, who joined the club in March, they have at least righted themselves when previously, their LaLiga status appeared under threat. It’s almost ridiculous looking back, especially when the club now has a seventh Europa League final to look forward to.
Earlier on Sunday, we’ll be following another LaLiga fixture very closely. Firstly because well, it pits two Spanish greats against each other. But secondly, it’s also important for both clubs. A presumably crestfallen Real Madrid travel to relegation threatened Valencia looking for a reaction to their Champions League exit at the hands of Manchester City.
With four rounds to play Madrid are second in the table but embroiled in a battle for that spot with Diego Simeone’s Atlético who sit two points below them. Valencia, on the other hand, have a three point gap between them and the relegation zone. And that may be less come kick-off with the majority of sides around them playing before they get underway at the Mestalla.
Plus two hidden gems from deep in your match feed…
Looking further afield, there’s a very evenly poised Champions League semi-final to be played in South Africa on Saturday. Mamelodi Sundowns, who received their domestic league trophy during the week, take on defending African champions Wydad Casablanca looking to push on and claim a historic double.
Mamelodi Sundowns ended last week’s first game with just nine men but perhaps crucially, they held on for a credible 0-0 draw against another of the continents strongest teams. That leaves them with all to play for on their home turf.
Their Premier League title is the first won under the sole management of head coach Rhulani Mokwena. The 36-year-old is thought to be a rising start of the African game. And he can dance too.
You may find some of the FotMob staff are a little distracted on Saturday. That’s because the side local to our HQ in Bergen, SK Brann, are playing in the final of Norway’s cup competition for the first time since 2011.
Only promoted back to the top flight ahead of the current season, this cup run is one that started for both sides way back in May 2022. In fact, both will feature in the first round of the 2023 edition of the cup that starts as early as next week!
But quirks of the Norwegian football calendar aside, this is a clash between two of the country’s biggest and best supported teams, both of whom have started well in the Eliteserien with Brann currently third and LSK fifth.
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!
Five Serie A sides went into the semi-finals of UEFA’s various midweek competitions and now three remain. Here’s a round-up of the action from our Italian football expert.
Inter were able to dominate Milan over two legs to secure a comfortable 3-0 aggregate advantage and book a ticket to Istanbul where they’ll face Manchester City in the Champions League final.
The feat is an incredible one for manager Simone Inzaghi, who has already won the Italian Super Cup earlier in 2023, and still has the Coppa Italia Final (against Fiorentina) to come.
The Inter squad has also got its best form at the same time. Romelu Lukaku isn’t just scoring and assisting, but looking like the best version of himself. The Belgian attacker has finally reclaimed the sharpness and quickness that made him one of the most feared players in Italy under Antonio Conte in the nerazzurri’s Scudetto winning season, two years ago. What’s helped Lukaku find his best form, along with his strike partner Lautaro Martínez, is manager Simone Inzaghi reverting back to old tactics that earned Inter their success.
At the start of the season, Inzaghi tried to revolutionise the club by playing a higher intensity, more open style of football. After a few months, Inzaghi realised that the team was conceding too many goals while not getting the best out of their attacking players, so he decided to go back to Inter’s DNA with this current crop – counter attacking, direct football. This is exactly the type of style that could give Manchester City problems.
Under Pep Guardiola, City is perhaps the best possession based side in the world, playing with high pressure when they lose the ball and sending loads of bodies forward on every attacking chance. Fighting fire with fire isn’t going to work for Inter, so the only way to have a chance against the might of City is to defend in a low block and limit the space for Erling Haaland to run in behind. Getting everyone behind the ball worked wonders for Inter already this season, as they were the first team to beat Napoli in the league after employing similar tactics back in January. The defensive approach is also the best way to unlock the striking pair of Lukaku and Martínez. The duo works so well together when they have space to attack or run into. City will inevitably play with a high line, which is why I think Lukaku has to start from the first minute.
In both semi-final legs against Milan, Inzaghi opted to start Edin Džeko and bring Lukaku in off the bench. The idea makes sense against a less talented team like Milan. Džeko can hold up the ball with his back to goal and is a facilitator for the rest of the team. However, the recent form of Lukaku and added dynamism should offer the edge against City.
Inter’s midfield will also have their work cut out for them. The good news for Inzaghi is he seems to be spoiled with options now that Hakan Çalhanoğlu has proven to be vital in two different positions. The Turkish midfielder’s form has been so impressive that Marcelo Brozović hasn’t been able to find his way back into the team as a regular starter. Brozović was arguably one of Inter’s three most important players in the last two seasons, but an injury midway through the year thrust Çalhanoğlu into his deep lying playmaker role. Nicolo Barella might have the most important job of all. The Italian midfielder will likely be tasked with applying constant pressure on any one of City’s creative midfielders. Barella’s stamina and defensive aggression will mostly be utilized over his ability to get into the final third and score or assist. Out of Inter’s midfielders, he’s by far their most relentless box to box presence.
While many in the media are giving Inter little chance of being able to upset Manchester City, it’ll be a game that’ll look much closer than some anticipated. City will undoubtedly be the favorites, but Inter’s recent stellar form and ability to defend (they’ve kept clean sheets in five of their last seven games) could give Pep Guardiola’s team a hard time in actually getting decent shooting attempts on goal.
The best case scenario for Inter is that this game plays out like the Nerazzurri’s win against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona back in 2010, when they went on to win the treble under José Mourinho. Barcelona had nearly all the possession but faced an incredibly defensive Inter team. The parallels between the two games could be eerily similar – Manchester City that are coached by the same manager, against an Inter team that will likely have no choice but to defend and employ a more conservative approach.
Roma and Fiorentina reach finals
José Mourinho’s Roma reached the Europa League final, their second consecutive European final under the Portuguese manager. Only a year after beating Feyenoord in the Conference League final, Mourinho now finds himself matched up with six time Europa League winners, Sevilla in a game that could give the Giallorossi the keys to Champions League football next season.
Roma’s pragmatic, defensive style under Mourinho made things difficult for Bayer Leverkusen in the semifinal. A staple of Roma’s game has been to take beauty from an aesthetic standpoint with their defending, as evidenced by the match statistics – 28% possession for the Italian side, as well as 1 shot to Leverkusen’s 23. It’s hard to play quick one-twos and triangles in the final third when you’re facing a team that is as aggressive and physically imposing as Mourinho’s side.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina’s dramatic late winner against Basel ensures that the Viola are back in a European final and will face Premier League side West Ham in the Conference League. The Viola play an attractive and offensive type of football under Vincenzo Italiano, which has seen them put on a few scoring masterclasses this calendar year. Fiore benefitted from a terrific performance from winger Nico González, who scored a brace in Switzerland to send the tie into extra-time. Basel thought they’d done enough to hold on for penalties but Antonín Barák knew otherwise, scoring the winner in the 129th minute.
(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.
Barcelona are champions of Spain for the 27th time. Going into the weekend, Xavi’s side needed just two points to wrap up the title and they won it in style with an emphatic 4-2 victory away to city rivals Espanyol on Sunday.
The first half at the RCDE Stadium was like a training session at times for Barça as they stormed into a 3-0 lead before the break with two goals from Robert Lewandowski and another scored by Alejandro Balde.
Jules Koundé added a fourth early in the second half and although Espanyol pulled a couple back through Javi Puado and Joselu late on, Barça had let their foot off the pedal by then and this was very much their night as they clinched a first LaLiga title since 2019.
Barça’s players and staff celebrated in the centre circle after the final whistle, but were forced to make a quick exit down the tunnel after a number of Espanyol ultras ran on to the pitch to cut short their party.
“We’re not at our home and I told the players to come inside, out of respect,” Xavi said afterwards.
On the title itself, he said: “It means we are doing things well, that the project is valid. It gives us stability and calm. We are competitive and we are a team.” And he added: “It’s not Xavi’s Liga, it’s Barça’s Liga, a Barça that is growing and evolving and starting a new phase.”
With four games left, Xavi’s side could yet finish the campaign with 97 points, just three fewer than the record of 100 registered by José Mourinho’s Real Madrid in 2011-12 and Tito Vilanova’s Barça the following season.
Barça have conceded just 13 goals all season and are set to break the previous best of 18, while they have kept 25 clean sheets in their 34 games, which is only one short of the record.
Players and staff celebrated with thousands of their fans on a bus tour through the city on Monday, which must have rubbed salt in the wounds of Espanyol’s support, with their team in 19th place and four ponts behind 17th-placed Real Valladolid with just four games left to beat the drop.
Understrength Madrid beat Getafe
On Saturday, Real Madrid beat Getafe 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu in their first league fixture since winning the Copa del Rey the previous weekend.
Marco Asensio scored the only goal of the game in the second half as a much-rotated Real side edged out José Bordalás’ side ahead of their Champions League semi-final second leg against Manchester City on Wednesday.
But there was a scare late in the game as midfielder Eduardo Camavinga went down with a knee injury, sparking concerns that he could miss the biggest game of Madrid’s season.
“He has twisted his knee a little, but he’s stable,” Carlo Ancelotti said. “It’s bothering him a bit, but the most important thing is the stability and he has that 100%. The internal part of his knee is bothering him, but it’s nothing.”
Asked if he was ‘playing with fire’ by picking the French midfielder, the Italian said: “You’re always playing with fire in this job,” he said. “What can I do? I sent out a competitive team because someone complained that we help other teams to not be relegated. I think we will arrive at the semi-final on Wednesday with a [full] squad available and that’s good.”
Madrid’s win also turned out to be quite important as it sent Los Blancos back up to second place in LaLiga, while Getafe are down in 18th, a point behind Valladolid with four games left.
Atlético’s run comes to an end
And Real Madrid stayed second because Atlético surprisingly lost 1-0 at bottom-of-the-table Elche on Sunday.
Elche are already relegated and had won just three matches in the competition all season, but secured a deserved victory over the Rojiblancos after goalkeeper Ivo Grbić – in for the injured Jan Oblak – punched the ball straight to a grateful Fidel Chaves in the area following a long throw from the left.
That was late in the first half and Diego Simeone’s side were unable to find a way back into the game in an off-colour display.
“We made mistakes,” Simeone said. “They were the better team and we lacked conviction. We’ll keep working. Next weekend we have an important step to [secure] Champions League qualification.”
With four games left, that should not be an issue. Atlético are seven points ahead of fourth-placed Real Sociedad, held 2-2 by Girona at the weekend. And Villarreal are in fifth, 12 points back after a stunning 5-1 win over Athletic Club.
Elsewhere…
Meanwhile, Valencia took a huge step towards survival by beating Celta Vigo 2-1 at Balaidos on Sunday as Alberto Mari’s late header sealed all three points for Rubén Baraja’s side. Valencia are now three points clear of the bottom three and are at home to Real Madrid next weekend in what could be a good time to face Los Blancos.
(Cover image 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.
Every single point matters right now. It is around this time of the season that unlikely cult heroes emerge and their performances are etched into club history. With this in mind, here is a look at the biggest talking points from across the weekend.
Jones is having quite the end to his season. He’s been one of the most important players for Liverpool following the change in their shape and during an eight-game unbeaten run, he’d chipped in with a goal against Spurs and an assist against Leeds.
In the 3-0 win over Leicester City last night, the 22-year-old netted twice, completed 91% of his passes, created two chances, won 100% of his tackles and recovered the ball on five occasions in what was a Player-of-the-Match showing.
The Reds are just a point outside of the Champions League places now. The Foxes are 19th, two points from safety with two games to play.
Brighton bounce back
Everton humbled Roberto De Zerbi’s men ahead of Brighton’s trip to the Emirates. Sean Dyche’s side ran out 5-1 winners in one of the shock results of the season.
The Italian tactician did, however, say that the world would see the ‘real Brighton’ at the Emirates and he kept to his word as the Seagulls romped to a 3-0 win over the title challengers.
Brighton created four big chances to Arsenal’s one and dominated the second half, racking up an Expected Goals haul of 1.4 after the break. The performance forced Mikel Arteta into an apology after the final whistle.
Pressure? What pressure?
A trip to Goodison Park with Everton in a relegation battle would be a tricky fixture for a lot of teams. Not for Manchester City though. Kicking off before Arsenal’s clash with Brighton, the reigning champions knew that a win would see them move four points clear of the title pretenders with a game in hand.
Everton limited City for over half an hour before two goals in two minutes killed the game. Ilkay Gündogan nonchalantly flicked the visitors into the lead before Erling Haaland added his 36th Premier League goal of the season, with the City No.8 assisting the No.9.
Gündogan added his second after the break to make it four goals in his last two outings for the league leaders. Prior to this run, he had scored just four goals all season.
At the double
Chelsea finally picked up a win under Frank Lampard last weekend, beating Bournemouth 3-1. A home game against Nottingham Forest presented them with an opportunity to make it two wins from two and though they did at one stage have the lead, they failed to see this one out.
In fact, the away side carved out more big chances and had a higher Expected Goals haul.
Taiwo Awoniyi scored twice again for the second successive match and he kept the Chelsea defence busy throughout. He was involved in eight aerial duels and eight ground duels in the 81 minutes he was on the pitch.
Raheem Sterling netted twice for Chelsea, his first Premier League goals since he scored against Forest on New Year’s Day.
Stepping up
Manchester United were without Marcus Rashford for the visit of Wolves. They had lost their last two and Erik Ten Hag’s men were under pressure to get back to winning ways in a bid to retain their place in the top four.
Bruno Fernandes stepped up. The United No.8 ran the show, creating five chances, assisting a goal and having seven shots in the 2-0 win. It should’ve been more for the Red Devils, with the hosts creating chances with an Expected Goals value of 3.28.
(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.
There were yet more titles decided and trophies handed out this weekend, with some relatively long waits for league honours coming to an end in various parts of Europe. That makes up for a significant chunk of our agenda in this edition of our Last Weekend column.
It was quite a weekend at the home of English football; Wembley Stadium, which hosted two fantastic matches. On Saturday, Notts County secured their return to the football league after a dramatic play-off final against Chesterfield that went all the way to penalties. Then, on Sunday, it was time for the Women’s FA Cup final.
A sell-out crowd of over 77,000 came together to set a world-record attendance figure for a domestic women’s club match. Playing in front of them were four-time winners Chelsea, who were seeking to defend their crown against a Manchester United side seeking to lift their first major honour.
The Red Devils thought they got off to a perfect start when Leah Galton put the ball in the back of the net less than 20 seconds after the first whistle, but it was ruled out for offside. They continued to look more threatening and dominant throughout the match, but they lacked the all-important cutting edge in front of goal.
Chelsea, on the other hand, had just that in the shape of Sam Kerr. The Australian international was on the scoresheet in each of their last two FA Cup final triumphs in the last two years, and she made it three in a row by turning in a ball across the box in the 68th minute.
Manchester United’s quest for a late equaliser was unsuccessful, so they had to resign to defeat in their first major final. They still have a chance to get one over on Chelsea in the WSL title race which is set to go right down to the wire, although they will need some help from elsewhere to do that.
After Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey last weekend, Barcelona got one over on their old rivals by securing the title in LaLiga this weekend. Better yet, they did so at the home of their local rivals Espanyol with a comfortable win.
A Robert Lewandowski brace along with goals from Alejandro Balde and Jules Koundé saw the visitors go four goals to the good in under an hour, so they were in a commanding position. Espanyol’s late strikes through Javier Puado and Joselu were little more than mere consolation, with the home fans watching their side suffer their ninth defeat since the start of March having been dominated for most of the game.
Barcelona knew that a win here would mathematically seal their first La Liga title since 2018/19, so they began celebrating right after the full-time whistle. Unfortunately, their initial joy was interrupted quite rudely by a number of Espanyol fans storming the pitch and forcing the opposition players and coaching staff to escape down the tunnel.
We were fortunate that there were no seriously ugly scenes as a result of these tremendously stupid actions from the fans that stormed the pitch, but some commentators have pointed out that the fact that many first questioned Barcelona’s decision to celebrate rather than the fans’ actions might be symptomatic of a wider issue in Spanish football.
We had a much more prolonged celebration in the Netherlands this weekend, where Feyenoord knew that a win over Go Ahead Eagles would hand them their first Eredivisie title since 2017.
Arne Slot’s men got to work quickly, opening the scoring just 15 minutes in and doubling their lead soon thereafter through Oussama Idrissi and Santiago Giménez, who has now scored in each of his last 10 domestic matches. A wonderful strike from Igor Paixão early on in the second half put the result well beyond doubt, so paper replicas of the silver plate began popping up all over the stands.
Indeed, Feyenoord would go on to lift the title and officially end Ajax’s streak at the end of the match. They thoroughly deserve to be the ones doing so too, having put together a run of 12 straight league victories to lift them head and shoulders above what was seemingly set to be a close title race with Ajax and PSV.
The Eindhoven-based outfit should comfortably finish second at the end of the season, but Ajax cannot afford to let up at all. AZ have overtaken them for third place at the moment after their match against already-relegated Groningen was abandoned due to fan trouble, so they still have some work to do to at least qualify for next season’s Europa League.
The very dramatic and entertaining Greek Super League title race finally drew to a close this weekend as we watched the final matchday of the championship group, where AEK Athens comfortably secured their first league title in five years.
We knew that Olympiacos’ three-year winning streak was going to end when they were mathematically ruled out of the title race following defeat to Aris at the end of April, but for most of the season, it seemed that Panathinaikos were going to be the ones who replaced them at the top. In fact, they were eight points clear before the World Cup break, which marked the midway point of the regular season. But, it all fell apart for them right at the end.
On the fourth to last matchday, they hosted their title rivals with both sides level on points. After a goalless draw, they remained first by virtue of having a greater points tally at the end of the regular season since the two sides could not be separated based on their head-to-head record, so they were still in control of their own fate. Even a draw with PAOK was not a problem since AEK drew with Olympiacos on the same matchday, but on the penultimate weekend, there came an unpredictable twist.
Just one day before the must-win derby against Olympiacos, Panathinaikos reported a host of COVID cases in their camp including 14 among the players. The fixtures were initially suspended and set to be postponed with most expecting them to be moved to midweek, but they took place just a day later than what was initially planned.
So, last Monday night, Panathinaikos visited an empty Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium with a full-strength squad but with many of their starters reportedly infected with COVID, and they suffered a defeat after a very weak performance that effectively ended their title hopes. Having beaten Aris, AEK only needed a point against 6th-placed Volos on the final day, and they comfortably got more than that.
Matías Almeyda’s side will have the chance to do the double when they face PAOK in the cup final next week, although they will play in an empty stadium in Volos after a failed plan to host the fixture in Cyprus.
This year’s CAF Champions League final is getting ever closer as the semi-finals kicked off this weekend, fittingly, featuring four of Africa’s best teams. The two best-performing sides were pitted against each other as defending champions Wydad Casablanca took on Mamelodi Sundowns, but their first leg ended goalless despite the South African visitors ending the match with just nine players on the pitch.
They will have all to play for in the second leg, but the same probably cannot be said of Espérance and Al Ahly. The first leg of their tie was held in an empty stadium in Radès as a result of a CAF sanction for the events of the quarter-final, and the home side seemed to miss their supporters.
Ex-Brighton man Percy Tau gave Al Ahly the lead just eight minutes in, and although the home side saw more of the ball thereafter, they failed to make much of it. Meanwhile, the Egyptian champions-elect were able to pose a significant counter-attacking threat, and that is what effectively ended up sealing the tie.
Tau struck again early on in the second half, after which Mahmoud Kahraba got on the scoresheet in the 78th minute to give his side a three-goal lead. Al Ahly will surely be able to hold on to that in the second leg in Cairo, so a 13th CAF Champions League final absolutely is on the cards for them.
Napoli may have sealed the Serie A title early on, but there still is a lot to play for in the league. Right below them, there is an incredibly tight race for Europe which seems to have twists and turns on a weekly basis, and at the other end of the standings, the relegation battle is quite close too.
The Saturday evening clash between Spezia and Milan was set to have ramifications on both of those battles, as the hosts started three points from safety in 18th place while Milan had the chance to close the gap to Lazio down to a point as well as temporarily jumping over local rivals Inter to get into the top four.
Even though the second leg of their Champions League semi-final tie against their neighbours is scheduled for this Tuesday, Stefano Piolo made few changes to his line-up and fielded a very strong XI, underlining how important finishing in the top four is for Milan. The players put in a pretty disappointing performance, though, failing to really impose themselves against a Spezia side that was winless in nine games.
Having done well to keep the scores level as they entered the dying stages of the match, Spezia made the most of set-pieces to stage an upset. Przemysław Wiśniewski turned in a corner to give the hosts the lead in the 75th minute, and then Salvatore Esposito sealed the result by scoring from a direct free-kick in the 85th minute.
This result leaves Milan four points adrift of the Champions League spots, but it had a much more significant impact at the bottom. Spezia, whose only two wins in their last 18 games have come against the two big Milan clubs, jumped out of the relegation zone thanks to a superior head-to-head record against Hellas Verona, who lost to Torino. With just three matches left, Spezia’s battle against the drop is set to go right down to the wire.
In this weekend preview we summarise the best five games to follow on your match feed. And make a couple of suggestions for matches that you may otherwise miss.
Barcelona could/should confirm their first LaLiga title under the stewardship of legendary player Xavi Hernández over the course of the weekend ending three years of dominance by the clubs from Madrid. They could even do so before having to kick a ball in their game, in Barcelona, on Sunday night.
With a 13 point lead going into the weekend should either Real Madrid drop points against Getafe on Saturday, or Atlético fail to win at Elche, earlier on Sunday, the title will already belong to Barça. Failing that unlikely combination, a win, at city-rivals Espanyol will seal the deal for Xavi and his men, with four rounds to spare.
To do so, at the home of their relegation-threatened neighbours would be another insult in a long line of injustices felt by the less dominant side in the city. But at least Barcelona won’t have far to travel in order to celebrate what will be championship number 27 with their vast fanbase.
We’re going to have to wait a little longer before we have a definitive winner in the Premier League but results this weekend could have a huge impact on the title race. Manchester City and Arsenal are separated by just a point, with City having the advantage of four games left to play – to the Gunner’s three.
With City between legs in their Champions League semi-final battle against Real Madrid, we’ve therefore not selected their league fixture, taking place at Everton on Sunday, as one to follow, but you should really do that anyway. Then settle in for Arsenal’s clash against Brighton taking place at the Emirates straight afterwards.
The travelling Seagulls are still aiming to qualify for European football next season and due to their games in hand, they can mathematically claim a place in the top four, albeit that would require a lot of other results to go their way. Roberto De Zerbi may then have to settle for Europa or Europa Conference League qualification. And upsetting the Gunners, a side they’ve performed well against already this season, will go some way to achieving that.
Arsenal did eventually run away 4-2 winners at Brighton in their last league meeting but that scoreline flattered them somewhat and they were beaten, at home, by Brighton in the Carabao Cup back in November.
The Bundesliga title race is equally close with Klassiker rivals Bayern and Borussia Dortmund also separated by a single point with three rounds left in the season.
On Saturday current leaders, and 10-time defending champions, Bayern host Dortmund’s other most hated opponents, Schalke, in an afternoon kick-off. With Schalke hovering two points above the relegation zone there should, however, be no fears of them putting out a weakened side and gifting the result to Bayern, in order to scupper the hopes of their regional rivals!
Bayern, a club supposedly in crisis, appear to have steadied the ship with back-to-back wins against Hertha and Werder Bremen in the last couple of weeks but their season has been plagued with slip-ups and another one here would give Dortmund, who play Gladbach later in the day, a chance of replacing them at the top of the table.
It wasn’t so long ago that the Eredivisie was looking set for an epic conclusion with all three of the league’s most famous clubs battling it out for the title. But with crucial wins against their rivals and indifferent form canceling out the threat from PSV and Ajax, it’s Feyenoord who have risen to the top.
So much so that on Sunday, at their famous home, De Kuip, they can seal what will be their 16th Dutch championship with a win over the fabulously named Go Ahead Eagles.
Arne Slot’s side have won their last 11 league matches to put themselves in this position, with three games to spare, and combined that with a run to the quarter-finals of the Europa League and the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup. It’s been a great season for the side from Rotterdam.
In neighbouring Belgium, Royal Antwerp have also been flying in recent times. In fact, we’d wager that no one in European football has enjoyed a more important run of results since the end of April. Over the course of seven days Antwerp beat KV Mechelen to win the Croky Cup for the fourth time in their history, then won successive league games against the two sides who’d dominated the regular season – Union St. Gillose and Genk.
Those wins saw them overhaul both to go top of the Championship Group as we head towards the half-way point of the decisive second stage of the campaign. On Sunday, they’ll be looking to consolidate that position against fading force Club Brugge.
It’s the three-time defending champions who usually come to the fore in this latter portion of the season but that will not be the case this time around and should Royal Antwerp maintain this hot streak, they could be in line for a first ever league and cup double. And dare we say it, end the 66-year wait for a league title…
Plus two hidden gems from deep in your match feed…
As we know, they like to go big in MLS. And therefore MLS Rivalry Week is something we always pay attention to. The Cali Clásico – LA Galaxy vs. San Jose – is one of, if not, the longest running rivalry in North American football and is one of five derbies being played this weekend with Rivalry Week actually spanning two game weeks.
And ahead of Sunday’s game and perhaps for the first time in a while, it’s the Earthquakes who are in the ascendency. They finished rock bottom of the Western Conference last year but have so far held their own, losing just three of their first 11 in 2023. That contrasts strongly with the Galaxy who since qualifying for the play offs last season have seen their form drop off a cliff. It took them eight rounds to pick up their first win of the campaign but that victory over Austin in April remains their only one in the league to date. Amidst off field problems that have seen calls for both a change in head coach and club president, the Galaxy did however beat Seattle Sounders, with a youthful side in the midweek US Open Cup Fourth Round.
The 2022/23 Women’s Super League season in England has been one of the most interesting since the league’s formation. With just two rounds to go, Manchester United lead defending champions Chelsea by a point, as the club look to win a first ever major trophy.
The Blues closed the gap to United thanks to a thumping 6-0 win over Leicester in midweek and do also have the advantage of having one additional game in hand. All of which points to the welcome distraction of this season’s FA Cup Final, being played at a sold out Wembley Stadium, on Sunday.
United, the relative upstarts, will need to beat Chelsea for the first time in their history should they want to take up this earlier opportunity to break their duck in the trophy department. For Emma Hayes’ superstar side, there’s the possibility of making it a hat-trick of wins in this competition, one that has been running since the 1970s.
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!
With five Serie A sides featuring across the semi-final first legs in UEFA’s various midweek competitions our Italian football expert is living his best life. And here he is with his review of the action.
It was a San Siro that once again lived up to its billing on the biggest of European nights. A stadium that has seen so many trophies and world class players, set the stage for an incredible Inter performance in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal against bitter city rivals, Milan.
Inter’s first half was a Simone Inzaghi masterclass. Taking full advantage of Rafael Leão not being fit enough to play, the Nerazzurri pressed much higher up the field and played with a high defensive line, as Milan didn’t have their usual talisman, who is such a threat on the counter. Inzaghi had two choices to make – Hakan Çalhanoğlu or Marcelo Brozović in the midfield and whether to go with Edin Džeko or Romelu Lukaku up front. The choices he ended up making – Çalhanoğlu and Džeko from the first minute, ended up looking like another superb decision from the Inter manager.
Džeko, who was inexplicably marked by Milan’s much shorter fullback Davide Calabria, was able to score a stunning volley from a corner. The Bosnian striker took full advantage of his height and strength advantage over the Rossoneri captain, showing his class and experience with a fantastic strike. The second goal came only three minutes later, as Inter split through Milan’s midfield and Henrikh Mkhitaryan made the most of his chance in the centre of the box by striking it right through Mike Maignan.
The two goals in rapid succession stunned a Milan side that looked poor throughout. Simply put, they just don’t have a dynamic difference maker without Leão. To make matters worse, Ismaël Bennacer picked up an injury in the first half and is now out for the rest of the season. The Algerian has taken up a more advanced role this calendar year under Stefano Pioli and was vital in Milan’s ability to knock Napoli out of the quarter-finals. Without Bennacer, Milan lack the calmness he often brings in possession and building out from the back.
What was most surprising is how physically stronger Inter were in the midfield, as the trident of Çalhanoğlu, Barella and Mkhitaryan had complete control of that area of the field. They won every 50/50 and took advantage of a very lenient referee that allowed play to continue in many occasions where others would’ve whistled a foul.
Inzaghi has had a knack this season of using his substitutions quite early, often removing the strikers and wing-backs in the second half without getting a dramatic drop off in quality. His ability to keep the positions that work the hardest, fresh with energy has paid dividends, with Inter firmly in the driver’s seat with one match to go until the final. The club has been in stunning form recently, with six straight wins in all competitions in a run that has seen them score 17 goals and only concede once.
At the moment, it feels like Milan will need a miracle to pull off a comeback.
Juventus rescue a draw at the death
Juventus were matched up with Europa League royalty in La Liga side Sevilla, and looked the weaker side for most of the home leg of their semi-final in Turin. Juve’s first half ended without a shot on goal and whistles from the entire Allianz Stadium. The issue was once again a lacklustre attack that failed to provide many chances for the striker. While the game was relatively open, Dušan Vlahović once again failed to make the most of his opportunities by squandering an important goal opportunity and losing possession too often. While this pragmatic Max Allegri system doesn’t seem to suit Vlahović well, there’s also plenty of blame the striker should be receiving, as he hasn’t made the most of the balls that come his way, no matter how few they are.
The lone bright spot in the Bianconeri outfield was the English winger Samuel Iling-Junior, who offered some much needed dynamism with his minutes. At only 19-years-old, he seems to have bags of confidence, as he tries to aggressively take on the defender with every ball that comes his way. Iling-Junior standing out is also a product of how mediocre the skill players around him can be. The biggest question going forward will be why the winger doesn’t start when his ability seemed to fill a desperate need for the club.
Sevilla on the other hand seemed to have a Europa League DNA of sorts. The club always looked in control and could’ve scored more than just the one in the first half. José Luis Mendilibar’s team built up possession easily and got into the final third at will, but just didn’t have the killer instinct to put the game away in the first half when Juventus provided no answers whatsoever.
Juve’s fortune to score on the last kick of the game, literally, will give them a chance going to the south of Spain. Federico Gatti’s header in the 97th minute was an important lifeline and already sets up a more defensive minded approach for Allegri to work with in the second leg.
Roma youngster steals the show
On a night where José Mourinho had to play a European semi-final with a tired team that has been injury plagued throughout the season, it was the Roman born youth product Edoardo Bove who stole the show.
The injuries that Roma have had to deal with this campaign have meant that Mourinho has had to tinker often. Paulo Dybala and Gini Wijnaldum, who were the two premier signings of last summer, haven’t been able to feature together often or for a consistent stretch of time. When they’re not playing, it’s put a lot of pressure on the likes of Lorenzo Pellegrini to be the sole creator. However, the youngster Bove was the one who stepped up and was able to drive forward from the midfield.
Part of Mourinho’s genius has been galvanising his squad into fully buying into every European tournament they get into. While the Europa League has grown in prestige and prize money, last season’s debut of the Conference League saw Roma take it seriously under Mourinho – even if it was a new trophy that carried no historical significance. His celebrations when the Giallorossi beat Feyenoord was reminiscent of the Portuguese manager being on the winning end of Europe’s most elite competition, but this is part of his genius as a manager – making the players feel like they’ve accomplished something truly important together and building unity within his team.
(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.
Champions were crowned and dethroned in various places over the last few days, so let us take a look back at some of the biggest games and results in our weekly column.
The biggest game of the weekend was played on Saturday morning UTC in Japan, where the Saitama Stadium hosted the second leg of the 2022 AFC Champions League final.
This edition of the tournament has been very unique as it served as the transition for the scheduling change from a year-round format to a cross-year format that will be implemented from the 2023/24 season. As a result, Urawa Reds qualified for this final way back in August last year when the East Zone knockouts were held, whereas Al Hilal only booked their palace in February during the West Zone knockouts.
That meant that the Japanese side were in an interesting position where Ricardo Rodríguez oversaw all of their matches leading up to the final, but Maciej Skorża was in the dugout for the big one having replaced the Spaniard between the J League seasons. The biggest change he made was adding a lot more defensive solidity to the Reds, and that proved decisive in this final.
The possession split in both legs was the exact same – 71% to Al Hilal and just 29% to Urawa Reds, who naturally found themselves defending a lot. Thanks to Skorża’s compact 4-4-2 block, though, they were able to keep Al Hilal at bay for large periods, particularly in the second leg when they never really looked threatened.
They were rather lucky to come away with a draw from the first leg in Riyadh as Al Hilal created a fair few chances and only conceded a freak goal for the equaliser, and also ended up losing star attacker Salem Al-Dawsari late on as he saw red for kicking an opposition player who had fouled him, thereby earning a suspension for this game.
He was certainly missed by his teammates in Japan, as they could only fashion 10 chances altogether even after going one goal down just after half-time. André Carrillo’s own goal ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides, although Urawa Reds would have gone on to become the first side to lift three AFC Champions Leagues without that thanks to the competition being one of the last in the world where the Away Goals Rule is still in use.
Over in Europe, we had a couple of domestic cup finals this weekend. The big one in Spain saw 19-time Copa del Rey winners Real Madrid face Osasuna, who were only playing their second such final and did not have a single major trophy to their name.
The Pamplona-based outfit have been one of the feel-good stories in La Liga this season and indeed over the last few years, as they have comfortably finished mid-table after winning promotion from the second tier in 2018/19. Most neutrals certainly would have been supporting them here, as they are seen as an ideal club by many thanks to their total fan ownership, emphasis on local youth development, ability to maximise a minimal budget and vibrant support at El Sadar.
Indeed, this cup run has been filled with many memorable moments for them including the penalty shoot-out success against Real Betis, extra time win over Sevilla and the two-legged triumph over Athletic Club when thousands of fans stayed up till the early hours of the following morning to give their side a hero’s welcome upon their return from the Basque Country.
And although they were ultimately defeated here, Lucas Torró’s stunning equaliser and the celebrations that ensued can certainly be added to that list. That goal will live long in the memory of Osasuna fans, just as John Aloisi’s late equaliser in the 2005 final does.
Rodrygo will remember this night for a fair while too, as he scored both of his side’s goals to get them the trophy. His fellow Brazilian winger Vinícius Júnior was instrumental in both goals as he set up the opener less than two minutes after kick-off and did most of the hard work ahead of the 70th-minute winner.
Los Blancos have no time to celebrate and must quickly lock this trophy away in their vast cabinet, as Manchester City await them in the Champions League this evening.
Legia have had quite a week, as they’ve been involved in two title deciders in the last few days.
First, they beat Raków Częstochowa on penalties to win their 20th Polish cup. Then, on Sunday, they made it up to the defeated finalists by losing their league fixture, handing the Ekstraklasa title to Raków even though they too lost earlier in the day.
The celebrations in Raków are sure to continue for quite a while, as this is the club’s first top-flight league title in their 103-year history. Despite being around for so long, this was only Raków Częstochowa’s eighth season in the Polish top flight. They only made their debut at this level in 1994, and after four seasons, went on a relegation slump that saw them sink straight to the fourth tier.
Raków did bounce back up to the third tier in a couple of seasons, but then found themselves stuck there for over a decade. Their fate started to change after 2014 when a new owner came in and started to take Raków back to the top. They returned to the second tier in 2016, which also was the year that head coach Marek Papszun joined.
He brought them up to the Ekstraklasa within three years, and after comfortably steering them to safety in their first season back in the big time, got them competing for major honours already. They won their first two major trophies in the form of the cups of 2020/21 and 2021/22, when they also came within touching distance of the league and finished as runners-up.
The inverse has happened this time as Raków lost the cup final but won the league title, so their disappointment from midweek has quickly disappeared. Given how they have been building up to this success, this could well be the start of a long period of success for Raków Częstochowa.
Interestingly, we had two more first-time champions crowned in Europe this weekend – FK Struga in North Macedonia and Swift Hesperange in Luxembourg.
There were no champions crowned in Argentina this week, but there was the small matter of the Superclásico.
The two big rivals found themselves in very different positions going into this match. River Plate were comfortably leading the way in the Liga Profesional having dropped points on just three occasions so far this season. Boca Juniors, meanwhile, were knocking about in the mid-table spots with just 18 points from 14 games.
They had endured a very poor start to the season that saw Hugo Ibarra pay with his job in spite of guiding them to the title last year, so this was Jorge Almirón’s first Superclásico experience in the dugout. He had somewhat stabilised his side as they came into this fixture with a record of three wins in the last four matches, but they knew that River were going to be a different level of opposition altogether.
Indeed, they found themselves dominated at the Estadio Monumental, getting outshot eight to one in the first half. The home side’s performance seemed to have everything but a cutting edge in the final third, so as the second half wore on, a draw seemed inevitable.
But, there was some very late drama in store for the 80,000 fans in attendance. River Plate won a penalty a couple of minutes into stoppage time, which Miguel Borja converted. While he went off to a corner flag and celebrated, an almighty scuffle kicked off on the other side of the pitch. It took about ten minutes to calm everything down, after which the referee brandished seven red cards.
Ultimately, River will not mind that late scrap as it could not stop them from adding three more points to their tally, taking them ever closer to reclaiming the Liga Profesional title after missing out last year.
Big Sam was back in the Premier League as Leeds United parachuted him in to steer them to safety with just four matches left in their relegation battle. The first of those was a very simple one – a visit to the home of the defending champions.
Given the fact that Manchester City still had a job to do in the title race, no one expected Leeds to be able to come away with anything from this match. Still, all eyes were on them to see how Sam Allardyce would set his side up, and how well they would be able to defend having let in 24 goals since the start of March.
There were somewhat encouraging signs in that regard, as the visitors’ very compact 4-2-3-1 low block did an okay job of keeping City at bay. Their main weakness seemed to be defending in and around their box as they often allowed opponents to find pockets of space, but it is always hard to prevent that from happening against Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s side controlled the game throughout and established a two-goal lead in under half an hour thanks to İlkay Gündoğan’s brace, so they seemed on course for another comfortable victory. There was some late drama as the German international failed to score a penalty for his hat-trick in the 84th minute after which Leeds went up the other end and scored, but City were able to re-establish control and did not allow their visitors to pose the threat of scoring an equaliser.
Leeds dropped in to the relegation zone after the Monday night matches. With their remaining fixtures coming against Newcastle United, West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur the search for the points they need for safety could be a tough one.
Celtic successfully completed their Premiership title defence in Scotland this weekend, but the more entertaining action came from the second tier where the regular season drew to a thrilling close. Of course, all the matches kicked off simultaneously, and nine of the ten teams still had something to play for.
The headline fixture certainly was Dundee FC’s visit to Queen’s Park – a straight showdown for the title and the sole automatic promotion spot. The hosts looked set to clinch it for most of the season, but a terrible run that saw them pick up just four points from their last six games rather derailed their campaign.
As a result of that, they went into this match in second place and therefore had to win it if they were to finish first. After conceding early on, they scored twice in quick succession (including through a pinpoint strike to the top corner from Charlie Fox) to take the lead by the 12th minute.
The match remained frantic and end-to-end as ever throughout, but Queen’s Park never got into a commanding position again. After conceding the equaliser in the 17th minute, they trailed again after the half-hour mark, but Fox pulled them level on the stroke of half-time. In the second period, Dundee quickly took the lead again, before sealing the win with their fifth goal of the match in the 81st minute.
The result saw the Dee bounce straight back up to the Premiership after their relegation last season, but Queen’s Park route to joining them was made even tougher by Ayr United’s win over Raith Rovers which saw them sneak into second spot on goal difference.
So, Scotland’s oldest football club will first have to get the better of Partick Thistle to get the chance to face Ayr United for the spot in the promotion-relegation play-off. Their dream of winning three consecutive promotions to reach the Championship in as many seasons after turning professional is still on, but the path now has a few added twists and turns.
