Page 176 – The Pulse of Football

Oct

2022

Last Weekend: Napoli’s unstoppable run, a last-minute title decider in Argentina and more

As we approach the World Cup in November, many summer leagues are drawing to a close. Elsewhere, the big games are continuing to come thick and fast in the big winter leagues around Europe. We will be rounding up all the major action from the last couple of days in this edition of Last Weekend.

By Neel Shelat

🇦🇷 Argentina: Racing Club 1-2 River Plate

After 26 games, the Liga Profesional title race boiled down to the final matchday. Boca Juniors were leading the league but had a tough test against Independiente, whose local rivals Racing Club were one point off the top spot. Funnily enough, they were facing Boca’s arch-rivals River Plate, for whom Marcelo Gallardo was overseeing the final match of his long and memorable tenure.

The tension was palpable at La Bombonera and El Cilindro de Avellaneda, which heightened the drama as both title race protagonists were playing at home. After a cagey first half-hour in both matches, Racing fans began to celebrate an Independiente goal for probably the first and only time in their lives. By the time word reached every spectator in the stadium, though, Boca had already equalised. So, we went into the half-time break with level scores in both matches.

Just five minutes into the second period, substitute Sebastián Villa whipped a free-kick into the top corner for Boca, but soon thereafter, Racing won a penalty, which was converted by Matias Rojas. As it stood, though, that goal meant little because Boca were winning too. Hope slowly began to fade at the Cilindro as we entered the last 15 minutes of the match, and Racing’s title hopes suffered a huge setback when Miguel Borja equalised in the 80th minute.

No more than a minute later, the Racing fans started urging their players on with renewed vigour because Javier Vallejo equalised for Independiente, so Racing needed to win their match to lift the title. They were given a golden chance to do just that when they won another penalty in the dying stages of the match. Rojas had been substituted off, so Jonathan Galván stepped up to take it. His effort was incredibly tame, so Franco Armani was able to keep it out after diving the right way.

To add insult to injury, Borja scored a last-minute winner for River Plate, but the difference between a draw and a loss was as good as nothing for Racing in this context. So, in the most incredible circumstances, River Plate effectively won the title for Boca Juniors.

You’d do well to write a script as good as that.

🇮🇹 Italy: Roma 0-1 Napoli

The big Serie A match on Sunday night saw league-leaders Napoli visit the capital, where they faced the only side in the division with a better xGD (Expected Goal Difference) than them. Luciano Spalletti’s side were on a six-match winning streak domestically going into this game, yet Milan were level on points with them after their win over Monza earlier in the weekend.

It was a typically staunch defensive performance from Roma, who were happy to cede possession as long as it meant they could better protect their goal. As a result, there were no clear-cut chances to speak of in the first half, so the match was goalless at half-time. As the match wore on in the second period and crossed the hour mark, Napoli began to fashion some openings by capitalising on lapses from the tiring Roma defenders.

Their star striker Victor Osimhen was back in the starting line-up for the first time since he sustained an injury against Liverpool in early September, and although Napoli coped very well in his absence, he showed just how important he can be in this match. The direct threat that he poses with his runs in behind led him to get on the end of a gilt-edged chance in the 70th minute when he went through on goal on the right, but he dragged his finish well wide of the far post. Still, he persevered, and 10 minutes later, he was in behind at a much tighter angle, but this time he superbly struck the ball across the face of goal and into the far corner, putting his side in front in the process.

That was enough for Napoli to take home all three points and put an end to Roma’s unbeaten record in the league, so now they are the only side that can boast of that. It is safe to say that their victory was deserved too.

In his last column, our Serie A expert Matteo Bonetti explored Napoli’s chances of finally lifting the Scudetto this season, and they seem to be getting increasingly better with every passing week. They still have a long way to go, but we might start calling them favourites at this stage.

🇵🇹 Portugal: FC Porto 0-1 Benfica

The weekend’s action in Portugal kicked off with O Clássico, where the top two faced off at the Estádio do Dragão with three points separating them. Benfica were leading the way this season, but having gone three years without a league trophy, this was set to be a real test of their title credentials.

The home side looked the stronger of the two early on, but the match changed in the 27th minute when Stephen Eustáquio picked up a second yellow card in the span of three minutes. Benfica were then able to get a stronghold on proceedings, but Porto did defend admirably for the rest of the first half.

Roger Schmidt made some crucial decisions at half-time as he made three substitutions that saw three booked players come off, while their replacements helped make Benfica more attack-minded. Their endeavours were finally rewarded in the 72nd minute when Rafa Silva found the back of the net with a goal that was initially flagged for offside, but later given by VAR.

With that, Benfica earned a deserved victory in this Clássico – their first in over three years – and remained the only side in the Portuguese top flight with an unbeaten record. The title charge is very much on for them.

🇧🇪 Belgium: Standard Liège 3-1 Anderlecht

It has been an intense week of Jupiler Pro League action, where some big midweek clashes added to the talking points ahead of the weekend’s fixtures. Last season’s top two squared off on Saturday night, this season’s top two kicked off the action for Sunday, but our focus will be on the Belgian Clasico between a rejuvenated Standard Liège and a struggling Anderlecht.

Standard had been regular European challengers since the turn of the century, but they had a torrid time last season when they finished 14th. They were taken over by 777 Partners heading into this season, and they brought in New York City FC’s most recent title-winning manager Ronny Deila to start the rebuild.

Anderlecht, on the other hand, finished third last season but were always a good distance away from the title race. Head coach Vincent Kompany left at the end of the season, making way for Union Saint-Gilloise’s miracle-mastermind Felice Mazzù to replace him. Mazzù had a great track record of success at ‘smaller’ clubs like Union and Charleroi, but his last ‘big’ job at Genk did not end well.

Things were already rocky for him going into this match, as Anderlecht came on the back of a three-match losing streak in all competitions that saw them fall out of the top two of their Europa Conference League group, and drop out of the European spots in the league after losses to rivals Club Brugge and bottom-club Zulte Waregem.

The travelling fans finally had something to celebrate just three minutes into this match as Yari Verschaeren opened the scoring, putting Anderlecht on course for what would just be their second win in their last six competitive fixtures. They were soon derailed from that course, though, as Standard Liège scored twice in the space of seven minutes before the half hour through Nicolas Raskin and Marlon Fossey.

As the away side’s supporters began to grow disgruntled in the second period, Philip Zinckernagel added a third for Standard, and that proved to be tipping point. Flares were thrown onto the pitch from the away section and the match had to be suspended and eventually abandoned. Anderlecht’s players could only leave their dressing room two and a half hours after that due to security concerns, and their drive back to Brussels must have been made even less enjoyable by the broken glass at the back of their bus.

Besides the visitors getting fined for their fans’ actions, Standard were of course awarded the 3-1 win which takes them all the way up to fifth. Anderlecht, meanwhile, are down in 12th and have a whopping 21-point deficit to Genk, but are just five points ahead of Zulte Waregem at the foot of the table.

On Monday, Anderlecht announced that they had parted ways with Mazzù, for whom this looks to be a repeat of his experiences at Genk. The next head coach will have quite a job on their hands.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Liverpool

The Premier League also gave us some great action this weekend including Manchester United’s visit to Stamford Bridge, Tottenham’s loss at home to Newcastle, Arsenal’s draw with Southampton and Manchester City’s win over Brighton & Hove Albion, but the most shocking result came in the first match of the weekend.

Last-placed Nottingham Forest welcomed a depleted, yet in-form Liverpool, who had beaten Rangers, Manchester City and West Ham in the previous ten days, although they lost Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez to injuries in those fixtures. Still, they would have been expected to make light work of a newly-promoted side that had one of the league’s worst defences.

The visitors created some good chances in the first half but largely looked uninspired, while Forest’s disciplined defending in their 4-5-1 formation was deserving of a goalless half. Steve Cooper’s side knew that they needed a one-off chance like a set-piece to cause further problems to their opponents, and they made the most of just that in the 55th minute when former Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi scored the rebound after initially hitting the post.

Liverpool naturally began to push harder for an equaliser as the full-time whistle got closer, but Forest were also able to fashion a number of chances to double their lead. Both goalkeepers produced some spectacular saves as big chances were missed at both ends, but on the balance of play, Forest were good value for their win.

Nottingham Forest are still at the foot of the table, but their second win of the season means that they are now level on points with the other two sides in the relegation zone, and are just two points away from safety. Liverpool, on the other hand, are down in 8th and 12 points behind league-leaders Arsenal, while their injury issues do not seem to be getting resolved anytime soon.

🇫🇷 France: Lille 4-3 Monaco

One of the more entertaining matches of the weekend was Lille’s win over Monaco in a seven-goal thriller. It featured superb attacking, poor defending and sloppy goalkeeping in equal measure.

Alexsandro Ribeiro opened the scoring 22 minutes in with a header from a set-piece, but Monaco were back level just over 10 minutes later when Lucas Chevalier let Caio Henrique’s seemingly harmless free-kick slip through his hands. It was 2-2 within the next 10 minutes, as Rémy Cabella put Lille back in front after some great work by Jonathan David but Axel Disasi equalised from a corner soon thereafter.

The away team took the lead for the first time in the match on the other side of the half-time break through Wissam Ben Yedder, but Lille made a comeback after the hour through goals from Cabella and Jonathan Bamba, which proved decisive when the full-time whistle was blown.

While it was a very fun spectacle for the neutral viewer, this match really summed up the two sides’ seasons so far. Both Lille and Monaco have shown sparks of brilliance going forward, but their defences have been pretty shaky, as is highlighted by their goal records of 25-21 and 23-18 respectively. Entertainment is good, but it does not always lead to success in football.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Oct

2022

This Weekend: Big league games just keep on coming!

The best action to follow this weekend

By Bill Biss

Saturday

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Swiftly following the midweek matches in the Premier League, the next round starts with four fixtures on Saturday. They include a meeting between Liverpool – who looked a bit more like their former selves when they beat West Ham on Wednesday, and Nottingham Forest – who slipped to the bottom of the table despite drawing at Brighton on Tuesday.

Manchester City return to action after sitting it out during the week as they host Brighton. City can move to within a point of leaders Arsenal if they can continue Roberto De Zerbi’s winless start to life with the Seagulls. And in the evening fixture, Graham Potter – still unbeaten with Chelsea – will face a test as Manchester United go to Stamford Bridge. The visitors will most definitely be without Cristiano Ronaldo following his disciplinary issues but as the 2-0 win over Spurs on Wednesday showed – does Erik ten Hag need him?

🇪🇸 There were midweek games in LaLiga too, where leaders Real Madrid will be in action again on Saturday, after following last weekend’s victory over arch-rivals Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Elche on Wednesday. That result included a goal for the newly crowned Ballon d’Or, Karim Benzema – not that Madrid need their talisman to score with contributions currently coming from all over the pitch!

Madrid play Sevilla, who’ve enjoyed a four game unbeaten run since the return of Argentinian coach Jorge Sampaoli. Also on Saturday – we’ll get another look at form side Real Sociedad as they go to Real Valladolid. The Basques have won eight straight games in all competitions but will come up against a team with fresh confidence after Valladolid enjoyed a rare 4-1 win over Celta Vigo during the week.

🇮🇹 Serie A throws up an interesting clash as third placed Milan prepare to host Monza, who are, of course, owned by Silvio Berlusconi, the Political behemoth who also used to own Milan. The newly promoted side appear to have settled in to their first tilt at the top tier of Italian football having won two of their last three and they also defeated high-flying Udinese in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday.

Another side finally showing a bit of form are Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan – they’re unbeaten in four having won twice in the league and taken four points from two Champions League meetings with Barcelona. They face strugglers Fiorentina on Saturday evening, a side who’s current plight was covered here, in our most recent Serie A column.

🇩🇪 As in Italy, a lot of the Bundesliga clubs have been involved in domestic cup action over the past few days so watch out for a few sides who may get caught out in terms of their recovery. Bayern ended their recent hoodoo at near neighbours Augsburg – beating them 5-2 having lost a league meeting there earlier in the campaign. The 10-time champions play fourth placed Hoffenheim, who smashed five past Schalke in the week, the same side they’d beaten in the league last weekend.

Elsewhere, Dortmund – who are winless in three league games – enjoyed some respite with a win at second tier Hannover. Just what they needed as they look to refocus for their home clash with mid-table Stuttgart. And third placed Freiburg, who were taken to extra-time by St. Pauli but were eventually victorious go up against Werder Bremen. Werder were not so lucky after they were knocked out of the cup by Paderborn on penalties.

🇫🇷 With PSG involved in this week’s Friday night game – the weekend’s focus will be on those sides sat just behind them in the table. Luckily for those with a short attention span, two of them meet at Marseille‘s Vélodrome. RC Lens, who sit third, are the visitors with Marseille currently a point below them, in fourth, following defeat in last weekend’s Classique against the Parisians.

🇹🇷 There’s top of the table action in Türkiye as well – with Fenerbahçe hosting Istanbul Başakşehir. The prize for a winner is the honour of leapfrogging leaders Adana Demirspor – at least until they play their game against fifth placed Konyaspor on Sunday.

Sunday

🇪🇸 LaLiga provides not one, but two top-six clashes on Sunday. Barcelona (2nd) bounced back from that Clásico defeat by comfortably beating Villarreal in midweek and they now face former manager Ernesto Valverde and his Athletic Club side (6th). Athletic have started the season brightly only to stutter in recent games – they’re now winless in three.

The other big game involves Real Betis and Atlético Madrid, two sides locked together on 20 points. Diego Simeone’s Atleti have a superior goal difference – albeit only +1 but they also have a decent recent record against Betis, going six games unbeaten, and winning five of those meetings.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Back in the Premier League and there’s a busy Sunday programme with five games lined up. The highlights of which include Arsenal’s visit to Southampton, where they’ll be looking to open up their lead at the top of the league table, after the important business of sealing qualification from their Europa League group with Thursday’s win over PSV.

Third placed Spurs face the side with the tightest defence in the league: Newcastle United. Eddie Howe’s Magpies are enjoying a six game unbeaten run in which they’ve conceded just three goals while scoring 11. And there’s an early season six-pointer in the midlands as Wolves and Leicester meet to see if either of them get out of the relegation zone with a win.

🇮🇹 Serie A’s largest fixtures of the weekend involve both the sides from the capital. José Mourinho’s Roma face unbeaten leaders Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico, a side they’ve not beaten in five previous meetings. Can Luciano Spalletti continue that run, and thus the Neapolitans’ Scudetto charge with his young dynamic squad?

Meanwhile Lazio, the Olimpico’s other tenants, go to second placed Atalanta. This will be a meeting between the league’s two meanest defences but with Ciro Immobile leading the way in the goalscoring charts, Lazio might just have the edge in this one.

🇩🇪 It’s top vs. bottom in the Bundesliga as Germany’s surprise leaders (can we still call it a surprise?) Union Berlin travel to Bochum. With the lowest amount of goals scored and the most goals conceded, the basement side might just be dreading this one. Union, have proven themselves to be very resilient in recent weeks – winning their last five straight without conceding a goal against the likes of Dortmund, and Malmö in the Europa League (twice).

🇦🇷 The title will be decided in Argentina on Sunday and there could be just the right amount of skullduggery that you’d expect from a major footballing story in South America. In a strange twist of fate, the final games for the two sides battling it out for the title – Boca Juniors and Racing – come against each other’s major rivals.

Boca lead by a single point and go up against Independiente – who share the same block with, but do not get on with neighbours Racing. Meanwhile, kicking off simultaneously, Racing play Boca’s bitterest rivals River Plate.

Will either opposition side want to win knowing they could gift the title to the club they hate the most!?

🇨🇦🇺🇸 Sunday sees the remaining Conference semi-finals in the MLS Cup Play-offs. In the East, in-form Montréal meet New York City for the right to face top seeds Philadelphia Union in the conference final. And in the West, Austin are looking to extend their first post-season appearance by beating Texan rivals FC Dallas. The winners of that one will go on to face Supporters’ Shield holders LAFC.

🇧🇪 Two of the sides who’ve enjoyed the best start to the season anywhere in Europe – Royal Antwerp and Genk – will go head-to-head on Sunday. In any other year, one of them would be running away with the league but unfortunately, they’re stuck with each other!

Genk lead the table by a point after going 12 games unbeaten since losing to Club Brugge on the opening day while Antwerp won nine straight games but have since lost two of their last four.

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

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

Cover Image from IMAGO

Oct

2022

LaLiga Review: The main talking points from the week in Spain

There’s been a full round of games in LaLiga this week so let’s break it all down for you.

By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert

Real Madrid lead the way

Real Madrid consolidated their lead at the top of LaLiga on Wednesday night after beating bottom club Elche 3-0 away from home. Carlo Ancelotti’s side scored six times at the Martínez Valero, but saw three of those ruled out by VAR (two netted by Karim Benzema and the other a fine team move finished by David Alaba). No matter. Benzema continued his memorable week with a lovely strike from the edge of the box to follow up his goal in El Clásico on Sunday and his Ballon d’Or triumph on Monday.

Earlier, Fede Valverde scored another lovely goal from the edge of the box to make it five in 10 LaLiga appearances in 2022-23 and six in all competitions. That doubles his previous best return for a campaign and he has only played 15 games this term. Coach Carlo Ancelotti had joked in September that he would tear up his coaching badge if he could not get the Uruguayan to score 10 in a season. “I took a risk asking him for 10 goals,” the Italian said on Wednesday. “If he scores four more, my badge won’t be torn up and will stay intact.”

And on a more serious note, he added: “He is a player who surprises me because he is doing everything well – both in defence and attack. If you think of a modern ‘interior’, you think only about Valverde.”

Marco Asensio made it 3-0 to Real Madrid late in the game to round off a professional performance from Los Blancos following their exertions in El Clásico. After 10 rounds of LaLiga, the champions lead the way and are the only unbeaten team left in the competition. “We’re in an important moment of the season,” Ancelotti said. “We’re showing a lot of solidity on the pitch. Physically we’re in good shape and we need to take advantage of this moment.”

One player who is taking advantage of his chance is goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who continues in the absence of Thibaut Courtois as the Belgian sits out with sciatica. “He has done well,” Ancelotti said. “He has shown he is ready. When Courtois comes back, Luni will be back on the bench. But he is better every match and he’s accumulating experience, which he needs because he is young.”

Barcelona bounce back

Barcelona came into their match against Villarreal on Thursday with their morale dented following a frustrating draw against Inter in the Champions League last week and then a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in El Clásico on Sunday. Xavi asked his players for a reaction and he got it as Barça sealed an emphatic 3-0 win. Two golazos from Robert Lewandowski, the second a super curled effort from the edge of the area, and a third from Ansu Fati – all arriving late in the first half – sealed a comfortable victory for the Blaugrana and saw FCB move back to within three points of Real Madrid after 10 games.

“I think we played a great game, we needed it,” Xavi said. “We had to react. It wasn’t an easy day after losing at the Bernabéu and drawing with Inter. There is a lot of expectation in this team, a lot is expected. We showed up, with character, good intensity, playing well in defence and especially in attack.”

Lewandowski’s brace means the Pole now has 16 goals in just 14 matches for Barcelona this season and Xavi said: “He’s insatiable. He has goals in his head. He’s a killer, a goalscorer. He sees the angles, he’s intelligent, he looks for the spaces. He’s a great striker.”

In midfield, Frenkie de Jong also impressed for Barça. “He enjoyed the game. I’m happy for him, he deserves it,” Xavi said of the Dutch international, who was close to leaving the Catalan club in the summer.

However, Xavi was unhappy with the whistles for Gerard Piqué as the defender was introduced late in the match. “At the Gamper [Trophy], I asked for unity,” he said. “It’s a time to be together. Whether Piqué plays or not, all I can say is that in the dressing room he is an example in capital letters. He sets the example as a captain and the people need to know that.”

Late frustration for Atlético

Atlético Madrid drop to fourth following a disappointing draw at home to Rayo Vallecano. Diego Simeone’s side took the lead through Álvaro Morata after 20 minutes. The Spain striker was set up by Antoine Griezmann, who later saw an effort ruled out when he was narrowly offside before netting with 10 minutes left. And there was late frustration for the Rojiblancos as José María Giménez was penalised for handball right at the end and former Atleti icon Radamel Falcao blasted home the spot-kick to earn the visitors a point. “If VAR and the referee determine that it’s a penalty, it’s because they saw handball,” Simeone said. But he admitted: “We have to work and improve on finishing off games.”

Atlético fall one place to fourth and are overtaken by Real Sociedad, 1-0 winners at home to Mallorca thanks to an early Mikel Merino strike. Real Betis stay fifth and level on points with Atlético following a 0-0 draw at Cadíz, while Athletic Club are in sixth after they were twice pegged back in a 2-2 tie at Getafe. Osasuna are up to seventh after beating Espanyol 1-0 and ending a disappointing run which saw the Pamplona outfit pick up just a point from their previous four fixtures.

Elsewhere, Sevilla earned a point thanks to Erik Lamela’s late goal at home to Valencia – and an even later penalty miss from the visitors. The Andalusians face another tough test this weekend as they travel to Real Madrid on Saturday. And perhaps the performance of the week came from Real Valladolid, who beat Celta Vigo 4-1 at the José Zorrilla on Wednesday to move up to 11th in the table.

(Images from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2022

Premier League Review: Wrapping up the midweek action just in time for the weekend

Goals were at a premium as 18 clubs faced off in this mid-week round of matches. Just 13 goals were scored across the nine games, but a number of these were key in shaping the future of a club. We take a look back at some of the biggest talking points.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

The end of Gerrard’s reign

Steven Gerrard watched on as his Aston Villa side crumbled at Craven Cottage. The away side had a man sent off, conceded a penalty and put the ball into the back of their own net in a 3-0 loss. The former Liverpool midfielder was sacked not long after the final whistle. This isn’t a kneejerk reaction from those in charge at Villa Park. The team have taken just nine points from their 11 matches this season and are only outside of the relegation places due to goals scored.

Gerrard needed a reaction last night. He didn’t get one. Instead, they were blown away by a team that was winless in three heading into the game.

The night of Núñez

Darwin Núñez finally scored his first Anfield goal for Liverpool. It proved to be the winner against West Ham as the Reds climbed up to seventh in the Premier League table. It turned out to be a scrappy match against the Hammers but Nunez was able to show glimpses of his class.

He forced Łukasz Fabiański into a fine save after connecting with a stunning left-footed half volley and he cracked the post with another effort from just outside of the area. His goal was one that an old-school centre-forward would be proud of after he timed his run to get across the defenders and emphatically nod home. In total, he had six shots during his 57 minutes on the pitch with an Expected Goals total of 0.46. The impressive metric, however, was the xG on target total – 1.07. He was adding real value to his efforts with his shot selection.

Everton’s offensive woes

Frank Lampard was able to name Anthony Gordon and Dominic Calvert-Lewin in his attack against Newcastle United. The hope was that the Toffees would be more of a threat than they were against Spurs over the weekend when they managed just four shots.

It didn’t work out and Lampard’s team mustered just one effort on goal. One shot in the entire 90 minutes. To make matters worse, Everton weren’t at their defensive best and allowed the hosts 16 shots in total with an xG of 1.46. The third consecutive defeat was, in truth, deserved.

A captain’s performance

Hugo Lloris singlehandedly kept Spurs in the game against Manchester United.

The Frenchman made an astonishing eight saves as the hosts took an incredible 28 shots in a 2-0 win. Fred’s deflected effort broke the deadlock just after half-time and it was the slice of look Erin ten Hag’s men needed to beat the Tottenham captain between the sticks. Bruno Fernandes added a second to make it appear like a comfortable victory. On another day, without this Lloris masterclass, that is a statement victory.

The Eagles are soaring

Crystal Palace came from a goal behind to beat Wolves. Wilfried Zaha scored the winner but the start of the show was Eberechi Eze.

The 24-year-old is reportedly going to be named in the preliminary England squad and after that performance on Tuesday night, you can understand why. He finished with one goal from two shots, created three chances and completed all of his dribbles on the night.

We need to talk about Kepa

A lot of Chelsea players have benefitted from Graham Potter’s revival but few have had their luck transformed in the way Kepa has.

Frozen out by Thomas Tuchel in favour of Edouard Mendy, Kepa is back in the first-team picture and kept another clean sheet for the Blues in the draw with Brentford. He’s now kept five successive clean sheets. The world’s most expensive goalkeeper is finally living up to the price-tag, making a string of stunning saves to extend Potter’s unbeaten run as Chelsea manager.

(Images from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2022

What has Liverpool’s new system done to Mohamed Salah?

In the first of a new series of special features, we take one of the most talked about tactical storylines in the Premier League season and break it all down for you.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

Mohamed Salah was playing the best football of his career just 12 months ago.

He had 10 goals and five assists in ten matches across multiple competitions for Liverpool heading into the October international break, midway through the month.

This time around, however, his 13 outings have returned just eight goals and three assists. And it is worth noting that he’s scored four in his last two to boost those totals.

Heading into the game against Manchester City, his last open-play goal for the Reds in the Premier League was back in August.

Statistically speaking, Salah was more dangerous than ever during the 2021/22 campaign. Yet recently, the 30-year-old had been posting some of his worst numbers in the red of Liverpool. So what is going on?

To start, we’ll focus on what was occurring before the recent system change. His shots per 90 average had dropped from 4.5 to just three and, as a result, his Expected Goals per 90 average had almost halved from 0.77 per 90 to just 0.41. The former Roma man looked isolated and predictable.

The confusing thing is that this is all by design.

Jürgen Klopp had tweaked things this term following the arrival of Darwin Núñez. Instead of being the main goal threat for the Reds, Salah had been tasked with more of a creative role. Deployed in his usual position on the right, the Egypt international would hold the width a little more and look to isolate full-backs in one-on-one situations with space to attack before getting the ball into the penalty area.

In many ways, that had been a success. Salah, for example, ranked second for chances created (26), though just two of those are classed as big chances, and he was fourth for Expected Assists behind Kieran Trippier, Gabriel Martinelli and Kevin De Bruyne. So it has been a successful experiment if you solely focus on those numbers. But you can’t just do that, can you?

Salah is a three-time Golden Boot winner. He holds the record for most goals scored in a single Premier League campaign and he is one of the best chance-getters in the competition’s history.

He looked a shadow of his former self and it cannot be a coincidence that Liverpool find themselves in mid-table now that Salah’s goals have dried up. The prolific wide forward ranked 22nd in the Premier League for xG90. He was first for this particular metric last season.

Klopp had nullified his most potent attacker.

Against Arsenal, he had just one shot and he was replaced after 69 minutes. The Reds, without a win since August, replaced Salah with Fabinho at 2-2. That alone says a lot about the predicament that the club found themselves in.

Liverpool were forced into changing their shape with Klopp saying they needed to go back to basics. A 4-2-4 shape was used in the following matches – successfully against Rangers and unsuccessfully at the Emirates. This system gave the Merseysiders more attacking options but isolated Salah even further, as seen below.

Diogo Jota, Luis Díaz and Núñez are all in central areas as Liverpool look to progress the play while Salah holds the width on the right. Jordan Henderson picks him out with a pass and he is immediately closed down by Takehiro Tomiyasu and Martinelli. The ball goes back to the captain who clips it into the box where all of the forwards, with the exception of Salah, are waiting.

We see another similar situation above. Henderson is working the ball out to the right with Salah initially positioned in space. The other Liverpool forward are highlighted in central areas.

The No.11 is fronted up by Tomiyasu and is unable to beat the Arsenal left-back. But had he done so, Granit Xhaka was filling in at left-back meaning Gabriel, the left-sided centre-back could remain in the middle of the box with partner William Saliba.

For Salah to do anything in this phase of play, he needs to beat Tomiyasu and Xhaka before finding space in a crowded penalty area to get a shot off. It was by no means impossible for a player of his quality, but it was far more complicated than it should have been.

The Salah of yesteryear would have been making the run highlighted in the graphic. He may not have received the pass, after all it is a tricky one to execute, but his presence would’ve created space for others and Liverpool could’ve created something in the ensuing chaos. Perhaps Tomiyasu tracks the run and this frees up an area for Jota, as an example. All of a sudden the Reds have a bit of an overload on that flank.

Salah doesn’t even attempt to make that run. He just holds his position and Díaz’s floated pass eventually finds him. By this stage though, Arsenal have plenty of bodies back and it is an easy situation to defend. It was not an opportunity for Liverpool, but it was a situation that would’ve been leveraged a little better.

And then came the change.

Klopp started Salah on the bench against Rangers but came on with 22 minutes to play, replacing Núñez in one of the central positions.

He proceeded to score the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history and was praised by his manager afterwards, with the German tactician saying: “Different position, more inside. Outstanding player.”

The subtle tweak transformed, well, everything for the Liverpool No.11.

Instead of having to occupy wide areas, Salah was able to play against a centre-back. He was a threat in behind. His first was a little fortunate, with the ball falling kindly for him but it comes about because of where he’s positioned.

For his second, he is stationed between the centre-backs instead of being pinned against the touchline. Salah had four shots during his 20 minute cameo and could’ve had an assist after playing in Jota from the right. Another perk of playing centrally – he can impact the game across the final third.

Klopp stuck with Salah as a centre-forward for the match against Manchester City.

His faith was rewarded with the 30-year-old netting the winner. He caused all kinds of problems for the away side and at times he single-handedly occupied their entire back three. It was a proper No.9 performance from Liverpool’s No.11. The highlight being when he forced Ederson into the save of the match.

Salah initially dropped deep to drag Rúben Dias into the Liverpool half. He then spins the former Benfica man and attacks the acres of space behind City’s defensive line.

It was an old-school drop deep and then spin in behind move, and it worked so well. Firmino played the ball to his strike partner and Salah raced through only to be thwarted by a fingertip save by Ederson.

City could not cope with Salah. They feared him and that has been missing over recent months. The return of the fear factor can only be a positive for Liverpool.

On another day, he finishes with two goals and an assist. And this against the team with one of the best defensive records in the league. It was a statement performance.

With Jota and Díaz now both ruled out for the foreseeable future, the Reds can’t afford to isolate Salah in wide areas. He needs to be the man leading the line. If the last two outings are anything to go off, last season’s form could well return.

(Images from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2022

LaLiga Review: Madrid seize the advantage after winning El Clásico

Ahead of the midweek round of games in LaLiga, let’s look back at all the action from a potentially pivotal weekend.

By Ben Hayward, LaLiga expert

Real Madrid beat Barcelona in El Clásico

Real Madrid are now the only unbeaten team in LaLiga this season after Sunday’s 3-1 win over Barcelona in El Clásico. Karim Benzema opened the scoring for Los Blancos after a fine run from Vinícius Júnior, whose shot was saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen but found its way into the Frenchman’s path. It was his 12th goal against Barcelona and set up a big win for the champions ahead of his trip to Paris to receive the Ballon d’Or on Monday. Not a bad couple of days for the French forward.

Barcelona played well enough in the first half and Robert Lewandowski missed a great chance as he slid in on the stretch at the far post but hit his shot over the bar from close range. Fede Valverde was then left in lots of space to make it 2-0 following another counter-attack 10 minutes after that, the Uruguayan hitting a low drive into the corner from outside the box for his fifth of the season – already his best return as a Real Madrid player.

Substitute Ansi Fati gave Barça a lifeline with an excellent run down the left and cross for Ferran Torres to pull a goal back in the closing stages, but the referee brought play back to award Rodrygo a penalty – following a VAR check – right at the end after what had looked like an innocuous challenge by Eric García. The Brazilian scored the spot-kick himself to round off a fairly comfortable win, which sees Carlo Ancelotti’s side move three points clear of their fierce rivals at the top of the table with nine fixtures played.

“In the first half we were better, more clinical, more effective,” Ancelotti said after the game. “They tend to press high and we had the confidence to play out from the back. Defensively we did well. The team was committed, we didn’t leave any spaces. The first half was the key to the game.”

Valverde’s new-found goal threat has been a feature of Madrid’s season and the Uruguayan’s strike gave Madrid a cushion at the break: “He is getting used to playing in this position [on the right]. He’s scoring goals, and he has spectacular energy,” Ancelotti said.

For Barcelona, it was a disappointing defeat on the back of the midweek draw at home to Inter in the Champions League, which leaves the Blaugrana in danger of dropping down to the Europa League for a second season in a row.

“The feeling is that we are in a negative dynamic,” Xavi said. “That we tried. We had faith and pride in what we were doing. Luckily, it’s just three points. It was an opportunity to stay leaders and we leave with nothing.

“We couldn’t take advantage of our good moments and they defended very well. We have to change the dynamic.”

Xavi added that Barça were ‘in construction’ and said: “We have to improve a lot.”

For Madrid, it was a welcome win after last season’s 4-0 loss in the same fixture.

“Last season I tried to invent something,” Ancelotti said in reference to that defeat. “This time, I put the players in their [rightful] positions.”

Atlético up to third; Betis, Real Sociedad, Villarreal and Sevilla all win

Atlético Madrid are up to third place in LaLiga following a hard-fought 1-0 win at Athletic Club. Álvaro Morata saw an early effort ruled out by VAR but set up Antoine Griezmann for the only goal of the game early in the second half, the French forward – who is starting games again now his permanent return from Barcelona has been negotiated – beating Unai Simón with a neat finish. Atleti also had goalkeeper Jan Oblak to thank for two superb saves and there was a vital block from Reinildo Mandava as the Rojiblancos clung on for three vital points. “After 11 years [here], I still get excited by winning like we did today,” Diego Simeone said.

Elsewhere, Real Betis moved level with Atlético in fourth by beating Almería 3-1 at the Benito Villamarin. Real Sociedad also have 19 points and are fifth after a 2-1 win at Espanyol and Villarreal are seventh (behind Athletic) following a 2-0 victory at home to Osasuna.

A bit lower down, Sevilla are also on the up after registering their first win in Jorge Sampaoli’s second spell in charge – a 1-0 success at Mallorca – to climb to 14th.

And at the very bottom, Elche are the only LaLiga team without a win in 2022-23, although they did earn a creditable 2-2 draw at Valencia to claim only their third point of the season. Edinson Cavani scored both of Valencia’s goals, his first since signing for the club in late August.

(Images from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2022

Serie A Review: Is this finally Napoli’s year?

Napoli continue to lead the table, is this finally their year!? Fiorentina on the other hand have been the disappointment of the season, plus a little known goalkeeper you need to check out.

By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert

Can Napoli pull this off?

It’s been over three decades since Napoli won their last Serie A scudetto; back when a certain Diego Armando Maradona was walking around the streets of Naples as the most iconic figure the city has ever seen. Since then, they haven’t come close to matching the success seen in the early 90s. While there have been a few seasons in the last decade where Napoli nearly took the Scudetto away from Juventus during their eight year dominance, they always finished behind the Bianconeri, and couldn’t secure the silverware that a series of strong sides perhaps should have done.

This year feels different. What was supposed to be a rebuild through youth turned out to be a much more competitive side that hasn’t cowered down to anyone. As it stands, they’re in first place in Serie A, one of the only four remaining undefeated teams in the top five European leagues, and they top their Champions League group. They batter the opposition with a barrage of chances, often playing lightning quick passing combinations that stun a defence and put Napoli in a prime position to score. It’s hard to find a weakness in the squad. And even players like Mário Rui – who was questionable in the past – have raised their game under the manager Luciano Spalletti.

Napoli currently have ten straight wins in all competitions. It’s a chance for Spalletti to remind everyone that he’s one of the finest attack minded managers that Italy has seen in the 21st century. His Napoli came into the season as 25/1 Scudetto underdogs, but currently look like the team to beat. Another thing that’s gone in their favour is that the usual suspects have all been struggling in different ways. Milan have been decimated by injuries, Juventus have mostly played a dreadful brand of football, and Inter have slipped up against teams they should be beating with some bizarrely poor defending.

Even when Napoli face adversity, like they did this weekend against Bologna, they show resilience and personality. Kvicha Kvaratskhelia has added more layers to his game each round. At first, his dazzling dribbling steals the spotlight, but when you look at him closer you see his full array of talent – with a vision as intelligent as his passing. Add his creativity to his unstoppable one-on-one ability and the way he can finish with either foot, and suddenly you have a player who looks pretty much unstoppable. Napoli’s new superstar in the making could cement his legacy in the city – if he can deliver a trophy in his first season at the club.

Fiorentina have been a massive disappointment

One of the more surprising subplots of the Serie A season is how poor Fiorentina have been. They sit in 13th place after yet another underwhelming result, this time Monday’s draw against lowly Lecce.

The stats surrounding Fiorentina are a bizarre anomaly. How is it possible that the team with the highest average possession in the league (nearly 61%) and the most accurate long balls and crosses per game, could struggle this much to score goals? It doesn’t take the most intricate statistics in the world to know that there’s a direct correlation between possession and success. The teams that have the most of the ball should theoretically create more chances and concede less. This couldn’t be any less of the case for the Viola, as they have the second worst offense in the league with only eight goals scored in their first 10 matches.

The manager Vincenzo Italiano was last season’s darling, often fielding a fearless team that approached every game the same way no matter who was on the other side. Over the summer, it seemed like they fixed their biggest weakness: a direct replacement for striker Dušan Vlahović, who left in January for Juventus. Luka Jović joined from Real Madrid, and the hope was that he’d be able to finally score the amount of goals deserved for a team that often dominated possession in the opponent’s half. Jović’s form is still a far cry from the player that banged in 17 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018/19, a season that convinced Real Madrid to spend €60M for the young attacker. Jović has only managed one goal in 551 minutes of Serie A play this season, which is more akin to the disappointing rate he managed at Real Madrid the few times he did get a chance to play.

Fiorentina only look like a Jović string of goals away from finally hitting their stride in the league. The possession and creativity are there, the end product is not. They’re far too talented to be in the second half of the table, so I’m thinking this is just an early season rut and still have hope that a player with Jović’s pedigree will figure things out and start delivering the goals up front.

Guglielmo Vicario is a name you need to know

If your first thought was “who?” then join most of the football community. After all, it’s not often that an Empoli goalkeeper becomes a name talked about outside of the most passionate Serie A circles. But he should be – Vicario might just be the best Italian goalkeeper at the moment. Stretching back to last season, the keeper has put together highlight reel after highlight reel, single-handedly keeping Empoli in games through his otherworldly reflexes and shot stopping ability.

One quick YouTube search will show you plenty of montages, some even put together by the official Serie A channel, with a collection of Vicario’s best work in-between the pipes. This past weekend against Monza, one save in particular made all of the headlines for just how quickly he reacted to a shot inside the box. It’s one of those saves that makes you watch the replay over and over, wondering how it’s humanly possible to react in a millisecond. Vicario has already formed a sort of cult following with Calcio affiliated social media accounts who fawn over the quality and style of his saves.

The Udine born Vicario is entering his prime at 26 years old, and his performances haven’t gone unnoticed, as Italy boss Roberto Mancini named him to be part of the Azzurri UEFA Nations League squad for the games against England and Hungary. I’d be shocked if Vicario didn’t join a big club at the end of this season. This isn’t a player who has just had a month of great form – Vicario has now been delivering at a high level for two seasons. He’s the real deal.

(Images from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2022

Last Weekend: Big games galore, titles clinched and more

From Belgium to Brazil and Spain to Serbia, there were derbies and big rivalries wherever you looked across Europe and the world this weekend. We were treated to a couple of days of non-stop entertainment in the world of football, which we will be attempting to recap in this edition of Last Weekend.

By Neel Shelat

🇪🇸 Spain: Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona

Eight matches into the new league campaign and it was time for the first Clásico of the season in Spain. Real Madrid and Barcelona went into the match level on 22 points, so the visitors were only leading the standings thanks to their superior goal difference.

The match was played out in a manner that many had foreseen, with Barcelona keeping hold of more possession, but Real Madrid posing a serious threat on the break. Vinícius Júnior proved key in such situations and the Brazilian was involved in the build-up to Madrid’s two first-half goals. It was his ball carrying skill that was on display before Karim Benzema’s opener as well as when Federico Valverde struck later in the half.

Barcelona looked increasingly threatening after going two goals down and even more so after substitutes were introduced to the game, but their finishing let them down in front of goal. Ferrán Torres was able to pull one goal back with seven minutes on the clock, but Real Madrid killed the game in stoppage time as Rodrygo won, and then converted a spot-kick.

So, its advantage Real Madrid after the first Clásico, and a troubling times for Barcelona as their Champions League campaign is also in jeopardy.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England: Liverpool 1-0 Manchester City

The Premier League’s biggest rivalry of the modern era was rekindled when Liverpool hosted Manchester City, who were the only side with an unbeaten record in the Premier League going into this weekend. The hosts, on the other hand, had endured a terrible start to the season that left them 13 points behind their opponents prior to this match.

We were treated to an enthralling end-to-end affair that has become a regular occurrence when these two sides collide, as both went back and forth throughout the 90 minutes. After a goalless first half, the match reached its peak of freneticism in the early stages of the second period, which was a real celebration of football.

First, Mohamed Salah went through on goal but had his effort graze off Ederson and go narrowly wide. The referees did not notice the save so a goal kick was awarded, which eventually led to Manchester City scoring at the other end. There was another twist in the tale, though, because VAR found a foul in the build-up and ruled the goal out. Back at the other end, Salah created a wonderful chance with a sumptuous trivela cross, but the header went out off the crossbar and the offside flag was eventually raised.

The decisive goal also involved similar end-to-end action. Kevin De Bruyne took a free-kick for Manchester City which was caught by Alisson, who quickly launched a long ball forward for Salah. João Cancelo was the only man back for City, and he decided to challenge for the ball, allowing Salah to get past him on the turn, go through on goal again, and slot the finish past the onrushing goalkeeper.

There were many more great chances, frenzied action, refereeing mistakes and incensed reactions from the players, staff, and the packed Anfield crowd. But finally, the match ended with Liverpool celebrating a hard-fought win after 10 minutes of additional time.

The bad news for them, though, is that Jürgen Klopp was sent off and will face a suspension, and more worryingly – they suffered yet another injury in the attacking department as Diogo Jota had to be stretchered off towards the end of the match. The real winners, therefore, are Arsenal, who escaped Elland Road with three points earlier that day and now have a four-point lead at the top of the table.

🇫🇷 France: PSG 1-0 Marseille

Over in France, Le Classique was the headline act on Sunday night as Paris Saint-Germain hosted Olympique Marseille. The hosts unquestionably had a significantly stronger side on paper, but Marseille had hope because they had kept step with them 10 games into the season with just a three-point deficit, and more pertinently, PSG’s seemingly never-ending internal issues were the talk of the town again after reports emerged in midweek that Kylian Mbappé was displeased about unfulfilled promises.

One of those, reportedly, was that PSG would sign a pure striker in the transfer window who would be a regular starter, enabling Mbappé to play in his favoured position on the left. Evidently, that did not happen, because the French international has been playing down the middle in Christophe Galtier’s 3-4-2-1 system with Lionel Messi and Neymar behind him.

Perhaps for this reason, Galtier changed to a 4-3-1-2 formation in this match that brought Mbappé closer to the left flank, while Neymar operated in a deeper and more central role.

The downside of this formation was that it was quite narrow defensively, so Marseille found a good deal of joy while attacking down the flanks with their wing-backs. PSG’s star men were able to create a number of big chances, though, and they eventually took one on the stroke of half-time as Neymar scored the opener. Marseille worked hard in search of an equaliser in the second half, but just as Igor Tudor tried to influence the game with some attacking substitutes, his side suffered a massive blow as Samuel Gigot was sent off.

That really took the fizz out of the match, as the home side were able to see out the win with relative comfort. Both sides will feel that they could have scored more goals as the final xG tallies read 2.49-1.23, but the result seemed fair.

🇮🇹 Italy: Torino 0-1 Juventus

The big derby in Italy this week was a Turinese affair, as Torino welcomed a misfiring Juventus side to the Stade Olimpico. Massimiliano Allegri’s side were 10 points behind the league leaders going into the match and were yet to win away from home all season. They were also struggling in the Champions League, where five points separated them from the top two, who they are due to play in the upcoming weeks.

Allegri continued to have the backing of the board in spite of bad results and equally concerning performances, but he knew fully well that any embarrassment suffered against their local rivals would be a big issue. With that in mind, he made a big call to bench club captain Leonardo Bonucci after his poor performance against Maccabi Haifa in midweek, while also returning to a 3-5-2 formation that seemingly suits the squad better.

The switch to a three-man midfield also caused problems for Torino’s intense man-to-man defensive system as a centre-back had to step forward to prevent an overload from being created. That allowed Juventus to get at the hosts’ back line fairly regularly, but the issue this time was that they were not taking their chances.

Ultimately, a goal from a corner in the 74th minute proved to be enough for the Bianconeri to come away with all three points, which for once were entirely deserved because they created chances worth 2.27 xG altogether. Could this be a turning point in their campaign? The Champions League matches against Benfica and PSG should be able to quickly provide an answer.

🇳🇴 Norway: Lillestrøm 0-1 Molde

Here in FotMob’s home nation, this weekend put an end to the title race as Molde clinched their fifth-ever league trophy with a win at Lillestrøm.

Earlier this season, the home side had raced to a surprise lead at the top of the Eliteserien table, but we were vary of their xG overperformance, which ended up pulling them quite a way back. Molde, meanwhile, had a shaky start, but their run of 13 consecutive league wins starting close to the midway point of the season has helped them seal the deal with a few games to spare.

They only needed a draw this weekend to start their celebrations, but a last-minute winner meant that they did the job in style. That goal could really hurt Lillestrøm’s challenge for the European spots, though, because they are now three points behind third-placed Rosenborg.

Clearly, the battle for the best of the rest position is still very close, so it is never too late for you to start watching Norwegian football.

🇯🇵 Japan: Ventforet 1-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (5-4 on pens)

On a weekend full of huge matches across the world, by far the biggest upset came in Japan, where the final of the Emperor’s Cup was held.

The favourites were eight-time J. League winners Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who look set to finish third this season behind title challengers Yokohoma F.Marinos and Kawasaki Frontale. Up against them were second-division strugglers Ventforet Kofu, who had not yet secured safety with four matches left to play, and were winless in the league since early August.

For some reason, though, they were giant killers in the cup. They defeated four top flight sides en route to the final with a comeback win over Hokkaido Consadole in the third round, a 3-1 triumph against Sagan Tosu next, an extra-time win in the quarter-final versus Avispa Fukuoka, and semi-final success against Kashima Antlers thanks to the only goal of the match.

Once again, Ventforet looked a completely different side in a cup match as they controlled proceedings in the first half, scoring the opening goal in the 26th minute through Kazushi Mitsuhira. They were not under the cosh in the second half either, but a powerful strike from Takumu Kawamura meant that Sanfrecce equalised with about five minutes of normal time left.

The J. League side dominated thereafter as the match went to extra time, and they looked to have earned a reward for their work close to the two-hour mark when they were awarded a penalty. Kohei Kawata made a crucial save to keep the spot kick out, though, taking the game to penalties.

Everyone was faultless from 12 yards out bar the man who got the equaliser, Kawamura, who was denied by Kowata. That meant Ventforet Kofu lifted their first-ever major trophy in over 55 years of existence, becoming the first football club from the Yamanashi Prefecture to do so.

What a story.

Cover Image from IMAGO

Oct

2022

Premier League Review: The final word on a potentially pivotal weekend

The final unbeaten run in the Premier League ended this weekend with the table now starting to take shape. We will be taking a look at some of the statistical standouts and a number of impressive team performances.

By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert

The streak ends

Heading into the game at Anfield, Manchester City had not lost an away match in the league since the opening day of the 2021/22 campaign. Pep Guardiola’s side were also the only unbeaten team this term and had a 13-point advantage over their hosts.

City had been rampant this season, averaging over three goals per game. Yet the makeshift back four, made up of James Milner, Joe Gomez, Virgil Van Dijk and Andrew Robertson, kept them quiet. The away team finished with an Expected Goals total of just 0.94 and created just one big chance in defeat on Merseyside. By comparison, the Reds racked up an xG haul of 2.04 and had five big chances against the best defensive side in the league coming into this game.

It was a reminder that this Liverpool team is still one of the best in the league and writing them off is premature.

The performance of Champions?

Arsenal eked out a 1-0 win over Leeds United to extend their lead at the summit of the table to four points. By no means was it convincing though.

Mikel Arteta watched his side get out-shot (16-9), lose the big chances metric (3-1) and create chances worth just 0.55 xG. The hosts tripled that xG total, finishing with 1.86, albeit they did have a penalty to boost that particular metric. However, even without it, Leeds had double the xG of the visitors.

On one hand, it is the sort of result that eventual champions have to grind out. They can’t be exceptional in every single game. But this sort of performance needs to be a one-off. Playing like that but picking up all three points just is not sustainable and it will result in more losses than wins.

Mount masterclass

Mason Mount has been in fine form following the appointment of Graham Potter. The versatile midfielder was without a goal or an assist this season under his predecessor, Thomas Tuchel but his double against Villa takes his tally to four goal involvements in his last two matches.

He was a standout performer at Villa Park and his FotMob rating of 9.0 was more than justified. Mount scored twice – one was a finish that a poacher would be proud of and the other was a spectacular free-kick. He also completed all of his dribbles, found a teammate with 100% of his crosses and recovered the ball on six occasions to cap off an all-round, eye-catching performance.

Shaky foundations

Prior to the match against Spurs, Everton had the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League. You wouldn’t have known that watching the game on Saturday night though.

The Toffees allowed the hosts to have 21 shots and three big chances as Antonio Conte’s side finished with an xG total of 2.27 on their way to a 2-0 win. By comparison, Everton had just four shots and created opportunities worth 0.43 xG. There is a balance to be struck but if a team focuses on being defensively solid, they need to be defensively solid as other areas of their game just aren’t up to scratch. If Everton concede, they struggle as they don’t have any attacking patterns of play to rely on. Their eight goals in 10 outings point to that.

Is it time for Frank Lampard to go back to the drawing board?

Delivering in the Premier League

Dominic Solanke scored and assisted as Bournemouth played out a 2-2 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage.

The 25-year-old landed both of his efforts on target and he recovered the ball on two occasions. He’s a threat and a grafter. Solanke is in impressive form at the minute too. He now has five goal involvements (two goals and three assists) in his last five starts for the Cherries. It cannot be a coincidence that his team are unbeaten in those matches and have taken nine of their 13 points.

(Images from IMAGO)

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

Oct

2022

This Weekend: El Clásico, Le Classique, Liverpool vs. Man City and more!

The best action to follow this weekend

By Bill Biss

Saturday

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 In truth, you might want to scroll to Sunday for this weekend’s truly massive games but there is – of course – plenty to get your teeth stuck in to on your match feed for Saturday!

In the Premier League, there’s a chance for Spurs to close the gap to the leaders when they play Everton. We’ll see who’ll come out on top in the battle of the high-achieving promoted sides, Fulham or Bournemouth. Plus there’s a relegation six-pointer at Wolves and a survival mission for Brendon Rogers as Leicester face Palace at a restless King Power Stadium.

Fans of lower league English football might be pleased to find this weekend’s FA Cup matches listed in the app as our coverage of this season’s tournament begins with the final qualifying round.

🇪🇸 In LaLiga, with all the attention going on Sunday’s Clásico, you might be interested in the warm-up – the clash between the sides currently billed as the ‘best of the rest’ – Athletic Club and Atlético Madrid. Diego Simeone’s side travel to the Basque Country to take on a side who have only lost once, and conceded just three goals at home, this season.

🇫🇷 Similarly, with France’s big two set to clash later in the weekend, your attention should be on proud Breton club Lorient. Riding a historic high to sit second in the table, the relative minnows will go top of Ligue 1 – should they beat Stade Reims at home. This is a side who had to cancel their first home game of the season due to the damage caused by hosting a traditional local festival on their pitch in the summer!

🇺🇸 Saturday also marks the start of the MLS Play-Offs in the US and Canada. New York Red Bulls play post-season debutants FC Cincinnati to kick-off proceedings, before LA Galaxy, who finished fourth in the West, host Nashville, who ended the regular season in fifth.

🇮🇹 There is a truly massive game in Serie A on Saturday with the Derby della Mole – the Turin Derby – pitting Torino against their more successful, but currently in crisis mode neighbours, Juventus. Despite winning just one of their last six games, the hosts only sit two points down on Juve, with nine games played. And with coach Max Allegri under serious pressure after a run of poor performances that has included league defeats to Monza, and this week’s Champions League humiliation at Maccabi Haifa – this could be Torino’s best opportunity to end a seven-year wait for a win against their city rivals.

Elsewhere, Atalanta can go top of the table, should they maintain their unbeaten start to the season, with a win over ninth placed Sassuolo.

Sunday

🇪🇸 The biggest club game in the world shouldn’t need any introduction, nor much of a build-up in this preview but here we go anyway, because this particular edition of El Clásico should be a cracker. Both defending champions Madrid, and Xavi’s resurgent Barça (domestically at least), go in to the game unbeaten and locked together on points.

Barcelona’s superior defence – they’ve conceded just once so far – means they currently lead the table but that could all be set to change as the league’s best two attacking outfits go head-to-head.

For the record – the all-time list of results reads 100 Madrid wins to Barcelona’s 97, with 52 games resulting in draws.

🇫🇷 The fixture gods continue to bless us on Sunday with the latest edition of France’s biggest game – Le Classique between PSG, and polar opposites, Marseille.

The Southern side have impressed so far this season, although did suffer the first defeat of their season, at home to AC Ajaccio last weekend. PSG also dropped points – at Reims – and are now on a run of three draws after their back-to-back 1-1s with Benfica in the Champions League.

Those results have left a three point gap between the rivals and the potential peculiarity that both sides could be chasing a win to take them back above the un-fancied Lorient come kick-off.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 There’s five Premier League games lined up – four with simultaneous kick-offs. So you might want to check your alerts are working for the games involving leaders Arsenal – who travel to Leeds, fourth placed Chelsea – who go to Villa, and the game between fourth and fifth – Manchester United vs. Newcastle United.

Later in the day, there’s the heavyweight clash between Liverpool and Manchester City, the two sides who’ve shared the last five titles (and more often than not, finished second to the other). Can City inflict further misery on a side currently sitting well off the pace in 10th with just 10 points from their first nine games? Or can Liverpool use their huge 7-1 Champions League win at Rangers – featuring Mo Salah’s record breaking hat-trick – to inspire a change in fortunes? And as if they need further motivation, the Reds are unbeaten in their last four meetings with City.

🇩🇪 This Bundesliga season has been out of the ordinary in a number of ways but this weekend, there’s a chance for the country’s most dominant sides to reassert their authority – albeit, neither can overtake current leaders Union Berlin.

Union face fourth placed Dortmund, with the side from the capital possibly still celebrating their midweek win in the Europa League that ensures the club will be playing continental football post-Christmas, for the first time in their history.

Bayern, who ensured their progression in the Champions League with the win over Viktoria Plzeň, must now refocus on perhaps the trickier task of a taking on second placed Freiburg.

And if both results go the way of the big two, we could see the league’s top four separated by just two points come Sunday evening.

🇮🇹 Back in Serie A, there’s five games on the slate – with action for four of the sides sitting in the top six as we head in to the weekend. Leaders Napoli take on Bologna, a side they’ve not lost to in five meetings and who’ve not kept a clean sheet so far this season.

Defending champions Milan could lift themselves up the table – but only if they can inflict what would be a fifth straight defeat on the out-of-form Hellas Verona. But perhaps the biggest game of the day sees Lazio (third) face Udinese (fourth). Both sides sit on the same number of points – three down on Napoli and both feature some of the season’s best performers in the league. Lazio’s Sergej Milinković-Savić leads Udinese’s Gerard Deulofeu by seven to six in the assist charts while Ciro Immobile has one more goal than Udinese’s Beto at the top of the scoring charts (6 to 5).

🇺🇦 Among a litany of national-clasicos and regional derbies around Europe over the weekend (Sunday also features big clashes in Copenhagen and Stockholm, for example) – there is possibly a more significant game taking place in the Ukrainian Premier League. The besieged nation’s two biggest sides – Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv are set to play each other in a competitive game for the first time since the Russian invasion.

And this week – we published a special feature looking at the Ukrainian League and just what it’s taken to bring football back to the country. You can read that piece by clicking here.

🇯🇵 And finally, keep your eye out for the result of the Final in Japan’s Emperor’s Cup where second division side Ventforet Kofu take on Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who currently sit third in the J.League. For further context, Ventforet Kofu still need a point from their remaining two league games to ensure they don’t slip down to the third tier! Could we see a fairytale #Cupset?

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Cover Image from IMAGO